This Week in My Kitchen: Lactation Cookies, Peach Crumble, Zucchini-Noodle Lasagna

Now that Odin is getting old enough to amuse himself for periods of time, I can get back in the kitchen and get cooking again! I'm watching my caloric intake at the moment, so I've been trying to make healthier options. Here's some of what I made this week:

Lactation Cookies

My sweet tooth (which didn't exist before my pregnancy) was hitting me hard this week. I decided to justify baking by making these Major Milk Makin' Cookies from the Peaceful Parenting blog. The brewer's yeast, oats and flax in them are supposed to increase your milk supply. I don't know if they increased my milk, but they were delicious! I used almond butter, Bob's Red Mill egg replacer, half & half dark chocolate and butterscotch chips, and no nuts. These are pretty high in calories, but fairly healthy.

Peach Crisp

Kirk and I took Odin to the Okanagan recently to meet his great-grandparents. I took the opportunity to stock up on some juicy ripe fruits and veggies, including a bunch of peaches. I peeled and sliced them all and used 6 cups of them to make a delicious crumble. For the topping I used rolled oats, whole wheat flour, ground flax seeds (and some whole ones too), demerara sugar and coconut flakes with a bit of vegetable oil. Odin started fussing as I was making the crumble and I forgot the seasoning, but I would have included nutmeg, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Either way, it still turned out pretty great.

Zucchini-Noodle Lasagna
While in the Okanagan we also got a huge zucchini from Kirk's Gramma's organic garden. I decided to slice it thin (about 1/4") lengthwise and use the slices as lasagna noodles. Here's the step-by-step on how I made it.

 1. First layers: Cover the bottom of the casserole dish with slices of zucchini. Pour some tomato sauce over top, then layer a half head of cauliflower, steamed lightly and mashed. Sprinkle seasoning - I used oregano and garlic salt.

 2. Add a layer of baby spinach (or regular spinach chopped roughly), then one container of cottage cheese or ricotta (for vegan option, use cashew ricotta or other vegan cheese).

 3. Add a layer or mushrooms (any kind), then more tomato sauce.

 4. Cover with more zucchini slices and oregano and red pepper flakes to taste.

5. Top with mozzarella cheese (Daiya is a good vegan option), then bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes, or until the veggies are fork tender an the cheese is melty and browned. Let cool and serve warm. Mine was pretty soupy since it's just vegetables and they let out water as they cook, but it was delicious nonetheless.

This Week in My Kitchen: Pasta Galore!

Even though it's the new year and time for a stab at healthier eating and weight loss, we're on carb overload in my house this week.

Rotini with Mushroom-Tomato Sauce
This is a weeknight favourite for Kirk and I. Easy to make, even easier to eat! Sauteed mushrooms, shallots and garlic with sun dried tomatoes and black olives in a can of crushed tomatoes, simmered with oregano and crushed pepper flakes and served over your favourite pasta noodles. What's not to like?

1 shallot, 1 clove of elephant garlic and a bunch of brown mushrooms in olive oil

Kirk doesn't like whole wheat pasta, so sometimes I humour him by going half & half

I dressed it up with a little Daiya that I bought for making lasagna.
I discovered that as good as Daiya is melted, it's kinda gross if it's not melted.

Veggie Lasagna
The only things I really miss cheese on are poutine and lasagna. I have to say, Daiya cheese has improved vegan lasagna for me tenfold. This is not something I make often, as it's a lot of work to put together, but I sure love it!
Here's a step-by-step of my lasagna building process:

1. Not pictured: Tomato Sauce - Sweat 2-3 cloves of garlic and 1 small onion in 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add 1 can of crushed tomatoes, some oregano, rosemary and crushed red pepper flakes to taste, and a pinch of salt. Simmer for a while, until slightly thickened.

 2. Layer One: Spread some tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan and cover with lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat noodles that needed to be precooked - just check your package and follow the instructions). Cover the noodles with a generous layer of fresh spinach, torn into bite-sized pieces and some Cashew Ricotta from Veganomicon.

3. Layer Two: Cover the spinach and ricotta layer with another layer of lasagna noodles. Top with a generous layer of tomato sauce and sliced mushrooms (any kind works).

4. Layer Two cont'd: Top the mushrooms with zucchini, sliced long & thin (I could have used a bigger zucchini).

5. Layer Three: Top the zucchini with another layer of noodles and tomato sauce, then more spinach, mushrooms and ricotta.

6. Top Layer: Top with one more layer of noodles and lots of tomato sauce, then 1/2-3/4 of a small bag of Daiya cheese.

7. Pop it in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. If the cheese doesn't brown, put it under the broiler, but only for a minute or two.

8. Take the lasagna out of the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes (it'll be watery if you cut it too soon).

9. Dig in! Eat up! Yum! I love the crusty end bits...

This Week in My Kitchen: Gnocchi, Lasagna & Cake

Gnocchi with Veggies and Pesto
Gnocchi is the go-to meal in our house when neither of us feels like cooking. Unfortunately we generally rely on the packaged variety, but one of these days I plan on making up a bunch of fluffy little nuggets of dough from scratch and freezing them for quick & easy use. Until then, packaged gnocchi it is... This week I had some oyster mushrooms on hand, so I sliced them up and sauteed them with bell peppers, garlic, shallots and sundried tomatoes. I tossed the gnocchi with some basil pesto and the veggies and chowed down. Not bad for a 15-minute dinner!

Veggie Lasagna with Daiya Cheese
So I finally got some Daiya vegan cheese in Toronto (I've only seen 5 lb bags here in Vancouver, and that's just ridiculous!) and I decided to use it to make lasagna, the only dish that I really miss making with cheese (the top always gets dry without it). I layered some cooked whole wheat lasagna noodles with homemade tomato sauce with onions and tvp, thinly sliced mushrooms and spinach leaves, and used the cheese only on the top. It turned out really good! The best vegan lasagna I've made so far, and the cheese wasn't yucky like most vegan cheeses. Kirk even liked it! I think next time I'll chop up the spinach so I can add more, but my lasagna pan is fairly shallow, so there's only so far I can go...

Chocolate Cake with Coconut Buttercream Frosting
My sister-in-law's birthday was this week, and last night we all went over to my mother-in-laws for a celebratory dinner. I brought cake, because what's a birthday without cake? I made two chocolate cake layers using this recipe, which turned out beautifully moist and rich. I made a batch of Buttercream Frosting from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, but added some coconut extract. I also put shredded coconut between the layers and some toasted coconut on top. Add some pink candles from the dollar store, and you've got a festive treat! It was scrumptious!

Just ignore my uneven frosting...