Our Backyard Homestead

Grain Free Lasagna

For the first time since I began gardening, I have managed to get enough ahead of the squash bugs to have a successful zucchini harvest.  Now, compared to books I have read which mention drowning in zucchini and not being able to even give it away, I am by no means a smashing success, but we are being rewarded with 3-5 zucchinis every day or two for the past two weeks!  In looking for creative ways to use it, I made lasagna at the beginning of the month using thin zucchini slices as our noodles.  It tasted fabulous, but was quite watery.  Thus began my quest for the perfect lasagne.

When two large zucchinis came in from the garden on Monday, I knew they were perfect for a second attempt.  As I brainstormed on how to eliminate some of the moisture, it hit me, the dehydrator!!  I used my mandoline slicer to cut the zucchinis into long, thin strips and then put them in the dehydrator for about 2 hours at 135℉.  I have never dried zucchini, but I would guess they were about halfway to being dry when I took them out.

The dehydrated zucchini worked perfectly!  Our lasagna set up just like it would have had we used traditional lasagna noodles.  The dish had a wonderful sweetness created only by the mix of vegetables that were added.  I don't think there has been a better received meal that I have made since we went grain free!

If you don't have a dehydrator, I would guess that drying the zucchini in a very low oven for a few hours would work the same.  The first time I attempted the lasagna, I read recommendations on several websites of using salt to draw out the water in the zucchini.  I didn't want my lasagna to taste super salty, so I skipped this step and dealt with the excess liquid.  Dehydrating the zucchini first is an extra step, but one that is very much worth it in my book!  Don't let the long list of ingredients or the extra steps keep you from trying it out, you wouldn't have to add everything, but I wanted to load it up with as many healthy veggies as I could.   I also sautéed most everything first to help cut down on the liquid and to improve the flavor.

Grain Free Lasagna with Zucchini Noodles

• 2 medium to large zucchinis, sliced into long strips with a mandolin slicer
• 1 jar Bionaturae tomato paste
• 15 ounces Ricotta Cheese (beware, most have added starch)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese
• 1.5 lbs ground beef
• 1 large red bell pepper, roasted or sautéed
• 1-2 large onion, sauteed
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms, sautéed
• 2-3 cups fresh spinach
• 1 cup fresh basil or 1/2 cup pesto
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp garlic powder*
• 2 tsp onion powder*
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper to taste

1. Mandoline slice your zucchini.  I did not use the thinnest setting, nor the thickest.  Dehydrate as described above.
2. Sauté onions, peppers and mushrooms.  I roasted the peppers in a little coconut oil in the pan I was planning to cook the lasagna in.  Set aside.  I also kept all of the veggies separate so that I could make distinct layers.  You could be a little less OCD than I was and mix them up!
3. Using the pan already dirty from sautéing the veggies, brown the hamburger.  Because I use pastured beef, I do not drain off any fat since there is very little to drain.  Remove from heat and add tomato paste and seasonings.
4. Mix ricotta, egg and Parmesan.
5. Grease lasagna pan.  I used a slightly smaller than 9x13 pan.  Add layer of  zucchini and then layer remaining ingredients in any order.  Divide cheese and meat for a total of 4 layers.
6. My order of layers was roughly, zucchini, spinach, 1/2 of onions, 1/2 of meat, zucchini, basil or pesto, mushrooms, 1/2 of cheese, peppers, meat, cheese and finally topped with mozzarella cheese.

*Anyone avoiding starches should be careful in consideration of these two additions.  They are a source of starch, but seem to be tolerated in our household.

The little bit of juice in the picture is more from the meat than the zucchini.  I should have waited until it cooled more to take a picture because the little bit of leftovers had no moisture at all when I dished them into a storage container.

May have been a little more effort than many of our weekday dinners, but a great meal for an adorable birthday boy seemed like a good idea.  Since we all liked it so much and since the garden continues to reward us with zucchini, the efforts will be repeated and soon!

We celebrated with a grain free rhubarb crumble.  I won't be sharing a recipe for that because it was not quite the success I was looking for.

The birthday boy was happy with his "cake" and we managed to polish it off with no problems.

The Ulitimate Thief

I am so thankful that my  husband held a strong disdain for watching television when we were first married.  Initially, I did not share his sentiment and found it annoying that he would never sit and "veg" with me in the evenings.  Our compromise was to not have cable and this very much limited the time wasted on mindless TV.  Over the years, we have found that the television was on less and less.  Even the kids would go for weeks without interest in watching.

A few years ago, we downsized substantially and simply did not have room for a TV.  We let it live in the garage for a while, but realized that we did not miss it a bit.  One day we were cleaning out the garage and set it on the curb with a sign that read "Free - Works" and in less than an hour, our television found a new home.

Have you thought of how much time you spend in front of the TV?  If the TV were still in our lives, there is no chance that I would have the time for a garden.  I wouldn't have a list of several books read in the past year.  My kids would not be playing two instruments.  They would not have the vivid imaginations that they have today. 

Do you think you will look back at your life and wish that you had watched more TV?  I dare you to watch this and be honest with yourself at how much time the television is stealing from your life. 

It's Harvest Time Already

Let the record show that we picked our first ripe blackberries on May 8!  This is at least three weeks earlier than ever before.

We have also been harvesting zucchini, cucumbers and onions for two weeks now.  I have three large-ish zucchinis in the fridge that will hopefully be turned into a successful attempt at grain free lasagna for dinner tonight.  The above pictures is the 3 squash and 2 cucumbers harvested last week.  Below is the 3 zucchini and 2 cucumbers that marked the very first harvest of the season!

My lettuce is finished and I finally pulled the long been flowering cauliflower and cabbage plants that once again produced nothing more than butterflies.  Maybe I could be successful at growing this category of cruciferous vegetables in a fall/winter garden?

We have not had any measurable rainfall for about two weeks now and the cracks are forming in the back yard.  Our watering restrictions have been changed from twice a month to once a week, but I am still glad to not have much planted this year.  I am hoping for the kind of summer that we had when we first moved back to the North Texas area.  It started raining in July and I believe set all kinds of records for how much rain we had in July and August.  One and hope right?!

The chiggers and all other bugs are pretty much TERRIBLE thanks to our very mild winter.  We need to get the yard treated with sulfur ASAP so as to cut down on the number of chigger bites that is growing by the day.  I have found that if you treat a bite with apple cider vinegar immediately after discovering it, this will almost completely eliminate it.  I have also been taking Epsom salt baths after working in the yard. 

Meatza Pizza Pie

Last week I had some extra kids staying with me and had a bit of a panic when I realized that I was all out of our "normal" lunch options, ie nitrate free organic hot dogs.  I had some already cooked ground beef in the freezer and started brainstorming on what I could do with it.  The result was a pizza-ish creation.  My kids wanted to try it again, but this time with more pizza like toppings.  The second attempt was better, but still somewhat lacking. 

As they say, the third time is the charm!  Last night I tweaked the spices and we had the closest thing to pizza that we have had since going grain free.  There are several grain free crust recipes out there, but I don't think any of us missed the crust a bit.  I like that this is quick and easy to throw together and I only dirtied one pan!!

We have been flirting with adding some dairy back in to the diet, but it appears that, for now, it should continue to be on a very limited basis.  A little cheese to make this yummy dinner was worth making the exception.  The kids came up with the name of the recipe.  I added the "pie" since the first time I made it, I baked it in my pie pan.  I discovered that my cast iron pan is perfect to make it a one dish meal, so if you have pan that can go from stovetop to oven, give it a try and enjoy a dish or five less to wash.

Meatza Pizza Pie

• 1.5 pounds lean hamburger (preferable to use grassfed beef)
• 7 ounce jar tomato paste (see note)
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp garlic powder*
• 2 tsp onion powder*
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper to taste

Toppings:

• nitrate free pepperoni
• sautéed onion
• sautéed red bell pepper
• sliced black olives
• grated cheese (I used Kerrygold Dubliner cheese and it was an excellent alternative to mozzarella)

To go with the one pan method, sauté red bell pepper and onion in a little coconut oil until soft.  Transfer to a bowl and then brown hamburger meat.  Turn burner off, but continue to prepare on the warm burner to keep it hot.  If using grass fed beef, there should be no need to drain the meat because there is very little fat.  If there is excessive fat, you would want to drain off.  Add the spices to the meat and mix well.  Stir in tomato paste.  I used about 1 tbsp of water to get all of the paste out of the jar and thin it slightly.

Press meat into bottom of pan or transfer to pie plate to form the crust.  Add desired toppings and bake at 400℉ until cheese is beginning to brown, 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

*Anyone avoiding starches should be careful in consideration of these two additions.  They are a source of starch, but seem to be tolerated in our household.

About the tomato paste, I have started using jarred tomato products after reading more and more about the effects of BPA.  Canned tomatoes are known source of BPA exposure:

Beyond baby bottles, BPA is widely used in the linings of food and beverage cans. In many cases, particularly where the can’s contents are acidic or corrosive, as with tomato sauce or soda, researchers have found that the BPA leaches out of the can lining and into the food…and into the bodies of people who consume the products. In fact, BPA can be found in the bodies of some 90 percent of Americans.

You can read more about BPA in this article where I found the above quote.  The more I learn about BPA, the more angry it makes me.  When I found a jarred option for tomato products, I was glad to have the option of using tomato sauces again.