Leek, Asparagus and Mushroom Lasagna

A few days ago my April issue of Bon Appetit Magazine arrived here at the travel trailer. It featured recipes highlighting Spring vegetables. One of the recipes that caught my attention was for a vegetable lasagna. I still had a package of fresh pasta egg roll wrappers sitting in the refrigerator. I still had my fresh pasta lasagna mojo going. The magazine recipe called for making four individual lasagnas in small round pans. It also called for ridiculously expensive difficult -to -find here -in- ruralish- west -coast- Florida Morel mushrooms. I used on sale Baby Bella mushrooms and made a large one pan lasagna. This is a very easy to make vegetable lasagna using the bounty of Springtime goodness. We both really loved it.

 Leek, Asparagus and Mushroom Egg Roll Wrapper Lasagna

 Ingredients:

1 package fresh pasta egg roll sheets (usually found in produce section of grocery store)

2 large leeks

1 lb fresh asparagus spears

8 oz (small box) fresh mushrooms (I used pre-cleaned and sliced Baby Bellas)

1 ½ cups heavy cream

3 cups chicken broth

3 Tablespoons Flour

2 Tsp nutmeg

2 bay leaves

 ½ stick butter, divided

 Salt & Pepper to taste

12 oz shredded fresh mozzarella cheese

12 oz shredded romano or parmesan cheese

How To Make This Recipe

Clean Leeks by cutting off dark green tops and root end. Slice in half lengthwise. Run under cold water to remove any dirt lurking in layers. Slice thinly.

Sautee’ Leeks in 2 T butter slowly until translucent in large pan

Clean asparagus and slice diagonally into 1 inch pieces

Clean and slice mushrooms

Remove Leeks from pan to large bowl.

Add more butter to pan and sautee’ asparagus and mushrooms until asparagus is tender crisp.

 Add all to bowl with Leeks and gently stir to evenly combine.

Add 3 ½ cups chicken broth to pan

Add 1 ½ cup heavy cream

Add 2 small Bay Leaves

Add salt and pepper to taste

Cook stirring over medium heat until mixture slightly thickens.

Sprinkle with 3T blending flour and cook, stirring constantly until sauce thickens.

Stir in 2 tsp Nutmeg.

Remove from heat.

Assemble Lasagna

Lightly spray 9x13” pan. Spoon in a very thin layer of white sauce (Bechamel). Cover with layer of egg roll pasta sheets. Add dollops of vegetable mix. Hand sprinkle with mozzarella and romano cheeses. Dollop on Bechamel. Continue layers, ending with layer of Bechamel topped with cheese. Bake Cover pan tightly with foil. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove foil and bake 10-15 minutes until top is lightly browned and bubbled. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Round and Round She Goes

I finished my five days of infusions Saturday around 3 PM.  That's it!  Twenty thousand dollars of anitbodies suspended in plasma shot into old Dana's friable (?) veins.   I've taken this stuff before.  I quit it.  My veins were bad and I got mad and quit.  I've never had adverse physical effects before (aside from the veins).  This time was bad, headaches, nausea, diarrhea.  I finally think I know why.  Before I got the infusions at a doctor's office where they had an infusion lab.  It would take about six hours to infuse the stuff.  This time, I had them at home.  Nurses from a home health care came.  They came from Miami, 60 miles south and then had another patient back south to end their day.  Time is money.  I think they did way too many drops per minute for me.  I know they did.  I'm sure it's why I had such reactions.  They (2 of them, one for 4 days, another for the last day) were wonderful women,  I just paid the price for bottom line costs.

As soon as all the IV tubing was removed and the nurse cleaned up and left. I took a shower.  The original nurse started off thinking she could leave the same needle in my arm for the entire five days.  It didn't work that way.  The most I got was two days in a row and then switch arms for a total of three insertions.  That doesn't sound like a big deal if you've got good veins, but believe me, for me every reinsertion is a very big deal.  So, I really only had two showers in five days because I was afraid of moving the needle in the vein.  My shower on Saturday with no needle, no tubing was heavenly.  It really is the little things in life that count.

I hadn't left the house for five days so I went out.  Where would you go if you were just sprung from jail?  I went to my very favorite place.........Publix!  I thought to myself, "How pathetic is this?  You think of Publix as some place to go to celebrate."  I do not know why I did this, but I got a visual image from my childhood....Do you remember pony rides?  Where those poor wretched ponies are saddled up and their halters chained to this revolving spoke thing and kids sit on their back as they hang their little heads and just plod along with dull eyes, one little hoof in front of another all day long while smiling parents wave to happy children.  It seems inhumane now seen through my adult eyes.  I loved it as a child.

  I was like one of those ponies, dull eyed and knowing only to do what it is I always do  I got my grocery cart and just plodded up and down the aisles of Publix.  I couldn't think of one thing more interesting to do.  We have a huge Publix and I went up and down every single isle, just looking, looking looking.  Finally, I decide to pick up the ingredients to make a European-style lasagna using ultra thin sheets of wonton wrapper pasta dough.  It is definately fantastic and contains no Ricotta cheese, but rather a Bechamel sauce.  I made the lasagna yesterday and it is the best I've ever made...definately European....layer after paper thin layer of sheets of fresh pasta  I will try to write it up tomorrow if I have the energy.  Here's a teaser....Yes, I cooked for my husband.

Before I left the store, I kicked over my traces, or bucked off my saddle or whatever metaphor fits and doubled back to the cookie aisle.  I'd already slowly ambled down it, but that little voice in my head said "Just keep on going....danger! danger! danger!  fattening!!"  This time I grabbed a present for myself and thought, "Love Thyself" and..... I did....