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I admit that a lot of my recipes have chicken sausage in it- but I do think it is a very versatile ingredient. I bought a Sicilian style chicken sausage from Traders Joes. They were raw, and very easy to take out of the casings. Any kind of sausage can be used for this recipe- whatever flavor you like. My sister-in-law bought the most beautiful looking thin bunch of asparagus I have ever seen. The initial plan was to make a pasta with asparagus in it, so I started looking at recipes. She informed me that my brother and niece like marinara sauce with their pasta- so I started thinking about a lasagna! I love lasagnas- sky is the limit, you can add whatever you want. So, I decided to add a meat element and of course the first thing I thought of was sausage! My other favorite ingredient is pesto. It adds great flavor to a dish without a lot of effort, especially if you get the store bought one. It is good to have it in your fridge. I made a yummy concoction with the sausage, onion and pesto. I also added parmesan cheese to the ricotta as well as garlic- it gives the cheese mixture great flavor! I topped the lasagna off with grated fontina cheese. I love using this particular Italian cheese in my dishes- it melts really well and the creamy flavor goes really well with the sausage and pesto. We washed the lasagna down with some garlic bread and a California Merlot! It was a very enjoyable meal!

• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Mix the ricotta, egg, garlic, salt and Parmesan in a small bowl and keep aside.

• 1 portion basic marinara sauce (recipe on the blog)
• 9 no-bake lasagna noodles
• 1 pound uncooked chicken sausage
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 bunch asparagus, cut into 2-3 inches
• 1 medium onion, chopped into 1 inch squares
• 3 tablespoons pesto, store bought is fine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups Fontina cheese, grated

In a large pan, heat the olive oil. Take the sausage out of the casings and add to the pan. Cook on high heat and separate the meat as it cooks. Brown the sausage for about 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the asparagus and cook for another 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and add the pesto and the salt. Mix well and keep aside.

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.

In a lasagna pan add ½ cup of marinara sauce and spread. Add three lasagna noodles. Add about 2/3 cups of the ricotta mixture and spread on the noodles. Add half of the chicken sausage mixture and spread on top of the ricotta mixture. Add the noodles and repeat the process with the ricotta mixture and the chicken sausage mixture. Top with the last three noodles and top it with a cup of marinara sauce. Bake covered for 40 minutes. Uncover and add the cheese and bake for another 20 minutes.

I found something called cocktail grapefruits in Trader Joes. They looked raw since they were mostly green and yellow. I was told they are extremely juicy and sweet. I bought a few since I love citrus. I came home and ate one and it was delicious. I decided to use it in a salad including the juice for the salad dressing. If you can’t find the cocktail grapefruits, oranges or pink grapefruits can be substituted. I cut segments out of the grapefruit- segments are pieces of the fruit separated from the bitter membrane. I love the sweet, savory and tart element in most of my dishes including a salad. I usually make my dressings with vinegar and, honey to introduce a sweet element. A lot of people get lazy about making their own dressing but it is easy to make and it doesn’t take very long. The key things to remember are: use a tart element- usually vinegar- all sorts are possible- white wine, champagne, sherry, balsamic. Also a citrus element can be added, like lemon, lime and oranges- tamarind can be used as well. A sweet element- honey, molasses, sugar or even maple syrup can be used. The fat element can be extra virgin olive oil, walnut oil, grape seed oil or even regular canola oil. Dijon mustard is a great ingredient to emulsify (thicken) the dressing. Usually recipes follow a three to one ratio- oil to vinegar. I tend to use less oil than that – you really don’t need too much. I would suggest a taste as you go along method and be your own taster. In this recipe I decided to use extra virgin olive oil with the juice of the grape fruit and white wine vinegar. I also added Meyer lemon juice to the dressing. Meyer lemons are native to China and are thought to be a mix between lemons and mandarin oranges. They have a very sweet and fragrant juice. They tend to be in season November to April. So in case you don’t find them, use regular lemons. Some honey, mustard, salt and pepper finished it off. You may need to add more honey in case you use regular lemons instead of Meyer.
I also decided to add Pecorino cheese. It is quite strong and can hold it’s own. The pungent taste is a good balance with the mild and sweet flavor of the dressing. The cheese also adds a nice texture to the salad. I make it a point to add freshly ground pepper to the salad right before serving.

• Salad greens for 2-3 people
• Segments of the cocktail grapefruit- save the rest for the juice
• ½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese- grated or sliced with a peeler

Dressing

• ¼ cup juice of cocktail grapefruit & 1 Meyer lemon- (an orange can be substituted for the grapefruit and a lemon can be substituted for the Meyer lemon)
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and Pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the grapefruit and Meyer lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper.  While whisking, slowly add the olive oil until the vinaigrette is emulsified.

Toss the greens with enough dressing to moisten.  Add the grapefruit segments and cheese.  Serve immediately.

We were going to have some friends over for dinner and I was debating what to serve for dessert. I had the banana bread I had baked the day before. I decided to take it a step further and make an actual dessert out of it. I had fresh ricotta in the fridge- I added some honey to it. It tasted like delicious sweet cream! I then sliced the strawberries and added some vanilla sugar to them. If you don’t have vanilla sugar, add some regular sugar with half a teaspoon of vanilla extract.  I let them macerate (soak) for an hour- even if the strawberries are not sweet, this process makes them juicy and delicious! I decided to toast the banana bread to make it a bit more sturdy. I added a dollop of the sweet ricotta cheese on top of the bread and then added the strawberries with some juice. A sprinkle of powdered sugar finished the dish! It was quite delicious. Toasting the bread added another layer of texture to the dessert with the soft strawberries and the creamy ricotta! All in all it was a successful attempt! We finished off the night with some double espresso vodka!!
1 loaf banana bread (there is a recipe on the blog)- cut into one-inch slices

• ½ cup fresh ricotta cheese
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup strawberries, sliced
• 1 heaping teaspoon vanilla sugar
• Powdered sugar for garnish

Add the sugar to the strawberries and macerate them for at least an hour. Mix the ricotta cheese with the honey and keep aside.
Toast a slice of the banana bread and place it on a serving plate. Top it with a dollop of ricotta cheese and then the strawberries. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!

This was our first meal here in Seattle. My sister-in-law had the burger mixture made all ready in the fridge. Her kids enjoy these burgers especially because they are not spicy but very flavorful. For the adults, she makes a special mayo mixture with chilies and cilantro in it. I realized she used the same recipe as the seekh kebabs I have on this blog.  It’s a great idea to be able to use them as burgers and create a new meal. She uses whole-wheat buns plus the seekh kebab recipe calls for ground turkey instead of beef, which make the meal healthier, and the kids don’t really notice. Oven roasted potatoes shaped like fries will go really well with this meal. You can spice them up or keep them simple for the kids. I would also add some sliced Monterey jack or a Cheddar cheese for extra pizzazz. Beer will go really well with this meal especially if the mayo is nice and spicy! Overall it was a very delicious meal and enjoyable for the adults as well as the kids.

• One portion Seekh Kebab- recipe on the blog for one pound of meat- Makes 4 large or 6 small burgers
• Oil for cooking the burgers
• 4-6 whole-wheat burger buns
• One large tomato, sliced

Cilantro Mayo

• 1 cup store bought mayo
• ½ cup cilantro, minced
• 1-2 serrano chilies, minced (use more or less according to how spicy you want)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

In a small bowl mix the mayo, cilantro, chilies, salt and lemon juice. Keep aside.

Shape the seekh kebab meat into desired size rounds for burger patties. Cook on a skillet, broiler or grill. Heat the buns in the oven.

Spread the cilantro mayo on both sides of a bun, place a cooked burger on one side and top it with sliced tomatoes.

My daughter and I are sitting on a plane heading to Seattle. When I started thinking about our trip, especially the plane ride, food came to mind.  What will we eat on the plane??  These days they don’t give much on board and if they do, it’s not worth eating!  Ours was an early morning flight so I was not sure if the usual restaurants would be open.  I decided to pack some food for us, especially since my daughter does not care for sandwiches- that is what they ended up serving on the flight!  I initially thought of packing something just for her but then decided to pack for myself also.  I make a veggie sandwich for lunch most days (I am a creature of habit and look forward to eating the same thing everyday!), which seemed like a good idea to pack.  The problem was that it had mayo and tomato chutney, which would make the sandwich soft and wet.  It had to be something that would keep well and easy to eat!  I thought of the lunch my daughter takes a couple times a week.  I always have chicken tikkas (recipe on the blog) made in the fridge or freezer.  I make a homemade whole-wheat roti (Indian version of a tortilla), put some chicken pieces in it and roll it up!  It is very easy to eat and has two important food groups- whole grains and protein.  I decided to make two for us.  I also had two apples left in the fridge which I decided to cut and pack.  I packed a yogurt in a tube for my daughter as an additional snack. 

When it came time to eat, we got two trays with a sandwich, muffin and fruit.  I decided to open the egg and cheese sandwich on a biscuit because I was curious and was prepared to eat it.  It didn’t look very appetizing but I thought one couldn’t really mess up an egg sandwich!!  I was wrong- all I could taste was a little salt and a lot of fat and grease!  I was very glad I packed food for myself.  I had the rolled up chicken roti, the muffin and the fruit.  I washed it down with something they called hot tea- it vaguely tasted like warm soap water with milk- I should have had water instead!!!