Gluten-Free Spinach and Artichoke Lasagna

This is an original recipe and remains a great alternative to the more traditional meat lasagna, especially given the recent discovery of "pink slime" and how said slime relates to 70% of the ground beef one may be exposed to at your local INSERT SUPERMARKET HERE. Pink slime? Yes, pink slime, click the link and grab a vomit bag. Somewhere, Jamie Oliver's head just exploded. Just sayin', and I think he would agree, less slime is more.

Ingredients

-Tinkyada Gluten-Free Lasagna Noodles (9-12 noodles)

-1 package of frozen chopped spinach

-1 container of 15 ounce part-skim ricotta cheese

-1, 8 ounce package of fresh mozzarella cheese

-1, 24 ounce jar of your favorite gluten-free spaghetti sauce

-3/4 cup of shredded Parmigianino Reggiano cheese

-10 ounces or one small container of marinated artichoke hearts (we find them at our supermarket olive bar; be sure to check with your market that the marinade is indeed gluten-free)

*Feel free to add any other veggies to this yummy compilation. Sometimes we add sliced tomatoes or Mom has made the suggestion that zucchini would be delicious as well.

Method

*The Day Before Creation: Defrost the spinach in the refridgerator overnight, as it's much easier to drain once it's been thawed.

Day of:

-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

-Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt and a 1/2 tsp of olive oil and then once boiling, add 9-12 lasagna noodles, which can vary and may depend entirely upon the size of the lasagna pan that you'll be using. Boil the noodles for about 10 minutes or until al dente. I know how tempting it can be to kick your heels up, take a moment and toss a noodle straight for the ceiling so as to assess the state of all things al dente, but I assure you that if you do so around The Matriarch of this Outfit, she will most certainly utter some sassy derivative of "stop ****ing around" and therein put a stop to all scientific assessments.

-Whilst the noodles begin to boil, lay a paper towel down and separate all of the artichokes, leaf by leaf and be sure to dab any excess marinade with another paper towel as you go. Mom says that I "do a lot of dabbing" whilst cooking." I can't say that I disagree with her.

-Now it's time to drain the spinach. We literally take fistfuls of Popeye's favorite vegetable and throttle the ever living life out of it so as to drain as much water from it as possible. Seriously, pulverize the spinach and threaten it through clenched teeth "can ya feel that, Buddy, huh?!" And yes, if you clicked that link (hint: clink that link), that is the actual gesticulation that I do whilst throttling the spinach. One must thoroughly drain the vegetables, as ingredients may be too watery or moist (I despise that word; it's right up there with the word panties, but that's a digression for another time or perhaps another blog), which will make for a soupy lasagna; such is the all the dabbing and throttling of both vegetables.

-Next, thinly slice the mozzarella cheese and set it to the side for now. I mean, we're not the boss of you, it's really just a suggestion so as to make space for assembly.

Assembly

-First, we use a paper towel to brush the tiniest amount of olive oil along the entire inside of the pan.

-Next, we layer three noodles along the bottom of our pan and then cover those noodles somewhat liberally with sauce; again, for now, less is more, as you don' t want your creation to become Soupy Sales (R.I.P).

-And now you can begin to cover the bottom layer evenly with first, the spinach and then, the artichokes. Next, give that layer an evenly distributed, yet demure shot of parmigianino reggiano cheese.

-For the second layer, begin with your pasta noodles and then spread the ricotta cheese evenly so as to cover all exposed pasta. That's right, I said exposed. Deal with it. Next, layer all of the mozzarella cheese evenly throughout and upon your ricotta layer and finally, give the entire layer another demure shot of parmigianino reggiano.

-Finally, cover the top of your lasagna with your remaining noodles and then cover those noodles generously with first, sauce and then, the rest of the parmigianino reggiano cheese.

-And now, pop your creation into the oven for about 45 minutes at 375 degrees or as Mom always says let it bake "Until It Bubbles." Once it's out of the oven let it settle or as Mom might say "ferment" before serving. Recipe makes about 9 medium slices of lasagna.

Our work here is done. Enjoy.

Snickerdoodles

A friend of mine used to make the most scrumptious Snickerdoodles--moist and flavorful, yet oddly tender, in both consistency and attitude--and I would look forward to these tasty treats each and every holiday season.

And then I had to go gluten-free. Stupid guts, always dictating my gastronomic indulgences.

And so, along with that reality went my annual delivery of tasty holiday treats--holiday treats that were delivered directly to my doorstep, I might add--although, one year, my dear friend still made me a dozen (eternal optimist), but alas, I had to give them away to others instead. And by that I mean: I have had to begrudgingly give them away to others instead.

Eventually I stumbled upon a more than palatable gluten-free recipe for Snickerdoodles that didn't just suffice-- No, no, no....they made my insides do The Peanuts' Dance-- in a good way! In fact, these cookies had both Mother and Daughter doing The Peanuts' Dance.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of sugar (+put 2 tablespoons more aside for later)

1/2 pound (2 sticks) of salted butter

2 eggs

3 cups of GF Flour Mix (we use Red Mill All Purpose Flour)

1 tablespoon xantham gum

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

*Creatively Tweaked Method

-Preheat the oven to 400F

-cream together 1 1/2 cups of sugar with the softened butter in a mixer until fluffy. We mix this by hand, as neither one of us have a heavy duty mixer; Santa just never gets the hint. Stir in the eggs one at a time and continue to mix

-Stir in the flour, xantham gum, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt

-Mix together the 2 tablespoons of sugar previously set aside with the 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon in a small bowl

-Using a teaspoon, scoop the dough and roll it in your palms into a ball. Then, roll the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar combo and place on ungreased cookie sheets 2 inches apart

-Bake for 8-10 minutes, until slightly brown on the edges. Remove the cookies from oven and then let them rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Be very, very quiet because they're resting. This means, use your inside voice.

-Then, put these delightful spheres of perfection on a wire rack to cool. In our opinion, they tend to have a viscous quality to them if you chose to eat them whilst warm. We recommend one waits until they're cool, as the viscosity will quickly dissipate once they're cool. Yes, this includes in both temperature and attitude.

Try one.

Our work here is done. Enjoy.

*precise phraseology has been creatively tweaked. Please see original recipe, cited below, for proper grammar, punctuation and spelling.

Original recipe:

Bronski, Kelli and Peter Bronski. Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking. New York: The Experiment, LLC. 2009. Print.

Vegetarian Chili

In our experience, chili has always been brimming with ground beef. For this venture, we decided to have a go at vegetarian chili. Spicy, yet not so much so that your body is inclined to act out in utter outrage.

And so...

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
*1 medium red pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 to 3 tablespoons finely chopped chipotles in adobo 1 tbsp dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
3 cups cooked, drained red kidney beans
1 1/2 cups cooked, drained black beans
*1 1/2 cups cooked, drained white beans
*1/2 cup of tomato puree, if desired

Creatively Tweaked Method

(precise method has been creatively tweaked. Please see original recipe, cited below, for proper grammar, punctuation and spelling)

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, celery, peppers and garlic and then cook for 10-12 minutes or until veggies are softened, but not browned.

Add chipotles, oregano, cumin, chili powder and salt. Stir to blend. Add tomatoes and 4 cups of water. Gently simmer over low heat for 45 minutes sans cover.

Finally, add all of the beans and let the concoction simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

Next, it's time to sing, as Mom will invariably break into the following spontaneous song whilst adding the beans:

Beans, beans the musical fruit,

the more you eat, the more you toot.

My Mother can relate almost any noun in the English language to an old-school rhyme or song. I believe it's an asset, a gift.

But I digress.

Yes, allow the chili to simmer for the additional amount of time noted above. Or, you know, Until It Bubbles.

For some extra flavor, serve with some shredded cheddar cheese on top.

Our work here is done. Enjoy.

Serves 6-8

*denotes our own additions

From wholefoodsmarket.com