For my first trick . . .

Yesterday (Sunday) was a fun food day . . . because I made something yummy on Saturday and baked it up yesterday.  I had the following ingredients in my house which usually aren't there - whole milk ricotta, baby zucchinies (that word looks kinda like that word you call your bottom - HA!) and a block of pretty tasty organic mozzarella.  I also had garlic cloves (I keep a ton of it in my freezer - buy the big container of peeled garlic in your monster-mart's cold produce section and pop it into your freezer when you get home - I swear is cooks up white and garlic-y looking), mushrooms (white button and cremini - which are marketed as 'baby portabellos''), an egg and grated parmesan cheese.


It went something like this - for an 8 in square pan . . .

Combine and set aside:

• 1 8oz container ricotta cheese - whole or part skim
• 1 egg
• Sprinkle of salt
• Hearty dash / grind of pepper
• 1/4 c parmesan cheese
• 1/2 c shredded/grated mozzarella (or cheddar or your favorite cheese to serve with veggies)

Next step:

• 1 pound mushrooms (of your choice - white button, cremini, portabello, etc)
• 7 - 10 cloves garlic - depending on your tastebuds
• Sprinkle of salt
• Grind or two of pepper
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 tsp olive oil

Slice the mushrooms about 1/8 inch thick
Mince garlic
Heat non-stick pan over medium high with butter and olive oil in the pan
Add mushrooms and garlic when butter is melted and pan is hot
Toss and cook with salt and pepper until mushrooms are golden
Set aside

Zucchinl:
Rinse zucchini, trim stem and blossom ends and slice length-wise as thin as you can (I used a mandolin slicer)
NOTE: How much zucchini depends on how thick your slices are - mine were paper thin and I would have used about 2 - 6"ones.  "Would have" because the pan in the picture is smaller and I only used one zucchini . . .

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly oil an 8" square pan and layer the bottom with zucchini slices.  Top with about 1/3 of the ricotta mixture.  Top with 1/3 of the mushroom garlic mixture.  Continue to layer and end with zucchini.  Cover with foil and bake covered for about 20 minutes.  Remove foil and continue baking another 25 - 30 minutes or until the casserole starts to puff up but is not golden brown.  Remove from oven and top with about 1/2 c shredded mozzarella, return to oven and bake until golden brown.  Remove from oven and let sit about 10 minutes to cool and set before serving.  Mine fell slightly as it cooled and was somewhat wet so I recommended the additional uncovered cooking time above.

This is kind of a lasagna with zucchini instead of lasagna noodles.  You can top with sliced tomatoes, add some artichoke hearts or spinach or onions or any other favorite veg to the mushroom layer, or perhaps throw in some black olives.  The possibilities, as they say, are endless.  This would also be good with chopped broccoli and cheddar in place of the zucchini and mozzarella.


And so you have my first go at sharing a 'recipe'.  Hope you enjoy it!  See below for additional shots of deliciousness.  And yes - I'm working on my food photography skills.

Peace out, ya'll!!