Ingredients:

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350∞F.

Place flour in a small saucepan and very gradually whisk in milk and garlic. Warm over low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce simmers and is thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Spread 1/4 cup of cheese sauce over bottom of a 9 X 13-inch glass or metal pan and cover with 3 lasagna noodles; top with 1/3 of squash and 1/2 cup of cheese sauce. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup of raisins. Cover with 3 more lasagna noodles and spread with 1/3 of remaining squash and 1/2 cup of cheese sauce; sprinkle with 1/4 cup of raisins. Cover with 3 more lasagna noodles and top with remaining squash and raisins; cover with last 3 lasagna noodles, pressing sheets firmly down. Top with remaining cheese sauce; sprinkle with pine nuts and remaining mozzarella cheese

Bake until lasagna bubbles around edges and is browned on top, about 30 minutes. Slice into 8 pieces and serve.

(Serves

Ingredients:

Directions:
*I only used 2 slices of eggplant per person, so you won’t need an entire eggplant to make this dish.

Preheat your oven to 450º F.

Roasted Red PepperBegin by sauteing the garlic and onion in olive oil in an oven safe sauté pan that has high sides and a tight fitting lid. While the onion is cooking over medium heat, begin roasting the pepper if you are using a fresh one. Instructions can be found here.

Once the onion has softened and browned, add the rice and stir to coat with the oil. Sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and herbs. Add the cooking sherry and stir until absorbed by the rice. Add the stock/water, stir, cover and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a cast-iron grill pan with some olive oil. When the pan is very hot, add slices of eggplant and drizzle with olive oil. Grill until tender, remove from the pan. Slice the artichoke hearts in quarters and grill for a few minutes, set aside when completed. Sprinkle both lightly with salt.

To make the reduction, heat balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan, reducing by half until the vinegar is syrupy. The more vinegar you use, the easier it is to make, but the longer it takes. If you only use a small amount of vinegar, you can overcook it easily; keep a close eye on it. While the vinegar is reducing, check for consistency by drizzling some on a plate. If it is thick and syrupy, and tastes sweet and tangy, you’re ready to go. Try not to burn or completely caramelize the vinegar.

One the risotto comes out of the oven, remove the cover and fluff it with a fork. BE CAREFUL. While I was plating the dish, I had forgotten that the pan had just come out of a 450º oven and tried to move it out of the way. I plated, photographed, and wrote about this dish one hand because of that. Ouch.

Plate the dish. I used a cooking ring to form the risotto, put the artichokes on top, and the eggplant and pepper next to the risotto. Drizzle with the reduction and serve.

(Serves 3)

Ingredients:

Directions: Soak beans overnight. Drain.

Heat cooker and sear diced salt pork.

Add beans, sugar, molasses, salt, mustard, onion, catsup and water enough to just cover beans.

Place cover on cooker.

Allow steam to flow from vent pipe to release all air from cooker.

Place indicator weight on vent pipe and cook beans 40 minutes with stem at cook position.

Let stem return to down position. This is a Presto pressure cooker recipe. (Serves –)

Ingredients:

Directions:
Rinse the asparagus and remove the tough stem ends. Steam or boil the spears until tender but still crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain, rinse under a gentle stream of cold running water or plunge into a pot of cold water to cool them quickly, and drain again. Set aside in a serving bowl.
Remove any tough stem ends from the snow peas. Blanch for just a minute or two, until the color brightens and they are crisp-tender. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again. Add the snow peas to the serving bowl and refrigerate.
When ready to serve, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle the asparagus and snow peas with the dressing, top with some scallions and mung sprouts, and garnish with a few cherry tomato quarters.

(Serves 6)

We get excited when fresh asparagus and snow peas become abundant in our local markets. The lovely presentation of these wonderful, bright green vegetables makes this a delightful spring and early summer salad. We use both asparagus and snow peas, but if you prefer to make the salad with only one or the other, use 1 ½ pounds of asparagus or a pound of snow peas.

Ingredients:

Directions:
Place all ingredients into food processor and puree. Serve with tortilla chips.

(Serves –)