Mix all the ingredients except the spaghetti, then toss well with the spaghetti. A great late summer dish – no cooking and a use for all of the extra tomatoes from the garden!

Cook and drain according to package direction: 12 lasagne noodles

Filling

Steam until limp:
2 bunches fresh spinach, Swiss chard or turnip greens, finely chopped
or simply crumble and stir in 1/2 frozen block of spinach

Add and mix well:
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large tub of cottage cheese
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup onions, diced

Topping

3 cup grated Mozzarella
4 cup pasta sauce

Spread cooked noodles with filling, roll up and lay in rows of three in greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Pour sauce over all and bake covered at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake 30 minutes until cheese is melted and browning. Allow to stand five minutes before serving.

4 tablespoons butter
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 1/2 pounds boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
1 pound leeks (white and pale green parts only), washed and chopped
5 cups homemade chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
salt and ground white pepper to taste
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 1/4 cups half and half
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, or 1 tablespoon dried

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the cabbage, potatoes, and leeks, cover, and cook over medium heat until slightly tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

Add the stock or broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until the vegetables are soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Transfer to a blender or food processor in batches and prcess until smooth. (To make ahead, cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours.)

Return the puree to the same saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the half-and-half. Heat through over medium heat. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with the parsley.

Notes:
Probably I’ll serve this with shredded old cheddar cheese as Mecandes loves it over any sort of potato soup. If today wasn’t a Friday in Lent, I’d also sprinkle some bacon bits over the top with the parsley.

Tonight I’m also trying these recipes I found on allrecipes.com - Irrestible Irish Soda Bread and Gooey Brownies with Shortbread Crust.

In case you’re in the market for a cookbook, Mecandes got me this one just after we got married. A gift right after he bought me The Joy of Cooking… Irish food is that high on the agenda. No recipe I’ve tried from this book has failed. They’re all delicious. The ingredients can sometimes be a tad on the gourmet side – most of the recipes are from famous chefs, doing their interpretation of classic recipes – but substitution has worked for me. I do my best with what is available and it hasn’t diminished our enjoyment of the food. The spirit of your cooking and your love is, after all, what’s most important.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and pepper. Stir in bread, mozzarella and cream cheese. Set aside.

In a 10 inch ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Saute onion, zucchini, mushrooms, red pepper, garlic, and oregano for 2 to 3 minutes or until softened. Remove from heat; pour in egg mixture and mix well. Arrange the tomatoes over the top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until egg mixture is set and golden. Cut into wedges and serve. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Notes:
Left off zucchini – couldn’t find them in winter – and tomatoes
Added bacon bits to the top

From Southern Living – Annual Recipes from the year 2000:

2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4″ thick slices
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
6 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Salsa

Cook potato, in batches, in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stiring often, 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels; sprinkle with salt.

Saute onion and bell pepper in skillet over medium-high heat 7 to 8 minutes or until tender; remove from heat.

Arrange potato mixture over onion mixture.

Whisk together eggs and pepper; pour over potato and onion. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until set.

Invert onto a large plate; return to skillet, top side down.

Cook 1 minute or until lightly browned; sprinkle with parsley. Cut into wedges. Serve warm with salsa. Yields 8 servings.

Scoop out avocados. Add garlic, squeeze lemon, and mash until smooth. Add tomato. Stir, then season to taste. Cover if not serving immediately!

Notes:
I frequently half this recipe, depending on how loud the tummy rumbling is or if we are having guests. We serve this with Tostitos nacho chips warmed in the oven, cheese melted over top. Lately we’ve also had it in a wrap sandwich with turkey and sprouts and inside steak fajitas.

Who is Zoltan you might ask? His whole title was Zoltan the Adequate, and he was a very nice entertainer at a Renaissance fair. He had a rat, and between shows, Mecandes somehow got a conversation and this yummy recipe out of him.

2 cups cooked rice (do not use instant)
3 Tbsp. butter
1 box frozen chopped broccoli or fresh florets from 1 large stem
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 soup can of milk
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Thaw frozen broccoli or wash and chop fresh broccoli. Saute onion and celery in butter. Add soup and soup can of milk to vegetables and simmer until everything is dissolved. Then add cheese and simmer until melted. Remove from heat and mix with cooked rice, chopped broccoli and seasoning. Bake 30 minutes at 350 in a 9 x 13 casserole. Makes 8 – 10 side servings.

I love it because it’s perfect to use any time of year. In the summer, I have fresh tomatoes. In winter, the frozen surplus from the garden is perfect too.

2T olive oil
2 clove garlic
1 medium onion
1 can (28 oz) diced tomato or about 3 fresh

Heat oil in large skillet, sauté garlic and onion for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, breaking up with a fork Bring to a boil, simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 min. to thicken.

For creamy herb:
Choose canned diced tomatoes with herbs
½ t dried thyme
1t sugar
½ t salt
½ c half and half cream
3c dry penne pasta

Add thyme, sugar, and salt with tomatoes. Simmer as directed.
Meanwhile cook pasta. Stir cream into tomato mixture, heat through. Serve over or toss with pasta for 4.

For red pepper with bacon:
4 strips bacon, cooked until crisp, drained and chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, in strips
1/4 t black pepper
1/2 t salt
3c dry penne pasta

It is an option to saute the vegetable in the drippings from the bacon, but it’s a health choice. For this variation, add the red bell pepper to the onion and garlic and saute. With the tomatoes, sprinkle in the salt and black pepper, simmer. Cook pasta and serve sauce over or toss with pasta. Sprinkle bacon over top.

1 pound boiling potatoes, peeled
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil for cooking

Cut half of the potatoes into pieces. Cook the cut-up potatoes in boiling salted water until tender,12 to 15 minutes. Drain and mash. Transfer to a bowl.

Grate the remaining potatoes into a small bowl lined with cheesecloth. Squeeze the cloth to extract as much of the starchy liquid as possible, catching it in the bowl. Add the grated potatoes to the mashed potatoes, then sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together over them. Add the potatoe starch liquid and buttermilk. Mix well.

Brush a large nonstick skillet [though I love and use my cast iron!] with vegetable oil and heat it over medium-high heat. Drop the potato mixture, a tablespoon at a time, onto the skillet. Flatten each cake with the back of a spatula, then cook on each side until browned and slightly raised, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Repeat until all the mixture is used.

Serve immediately or transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in a preheated 200F oven.

Broccoli Salad
Recipe from Ptelea

5c. broccoli florets
½ c diced red onion
½ c grated cheddar
¼ c sunflower seeds
6 bacon slices, in bits
¼ c raisins

With dressing:
2T sugar
2T red wine vinegar
6T mayonnaise

Combine all salad ingredients in mixing bowl. Stir together dressing in another small bowl. Toss the salad into the dressing and chill.

Notes:
This salad is easy on substitutions and omissions. Last time I used mozzarella instead of cheddar, white onions instead of red, and had to leave out the bacon and raisins completely. Personally, I like to lower the broccoli to about three or four cups and replace what’s missing with shredded raw cabbage. Any way you do it, you are not likely to miss.

So, that begs the question – where do the broccoli *stems* belong? In the compost, the trashcan OR a new dish? For so long, it was one of the first two for me. I had no idea what to do with them. Then a little recipe gave me an idea, and eureka, no waste. Hurray!

Fancy Vegetable Medley
From Whole Foods for the Whole Family

1 c. thinly sliced onions
2 T. butter
2 c. diagonally sliced carrots
4 c. broccoli
1 t. basil
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. salt
dash of pepper

Saute onion in butter in large skillet until tender. Add carrots. Saute 5 minutes. Slice broccoli stems thinly and cut florets 1 inch long. Add broccoli stems to skillet; saute for 2 minutes longer. Add florets to skillet with seasonings. Simmer, covered, for 3 to 5 minutes.

Notes:
My spin on this is to only use the broccoli stem, as the florets have been enjoyed in the above salad. Without the florets, I don’t have to worry about overcooking them and can therefore keep the other vegetables on the fire a little longer. So, I add in 1/2 to one cup of chicken broth with the seasonings.