Before I get to the “meat” (pun sort of intended) of today’s post, let me tell you what is in the above bento container: basil garlic green beans (doesn’t that sound fancy? it’s not), vegetable lasagna, and a hard-boiled egg. I might pack something in a side dish container since I’m not sure this won’t leave me feeling a wee bit hungry an hour after consumption.
This weekend was quite the family affair. Crawfish boil for my bro and his s.o. on Saturday, and a reception full of tasty food on Sunday for the First Communion for the children of two cousins. As my cousin was packing up food Sunday as the reception wound down, she handed me the veggies from the vegetable tray and asked if I could use them. I said sure, and came home with a gallon size bag full of broccoli, celery, cauliflower, and sweet peppers. Wowzers.
I wasn’t sure quite what to do with it all. That was WAY too much food for just me. It would go bad in my fridge before I could use it all. I was a bit leery of trying to freeze it (I know I could have blanched the broccoli and cauliflower). Instead, I decided to try to make a lasagna without the noodles. I guess the absence of the noodles sort of defeats the whole purpose of a lasagna, but in my current state of low-carb veggie-ness I’m willing to give things a try. Or to at least think about them.
The thing is, I really enjoy pasta and tomato sauce. Now, I might be able to do without the pasta on occasion, but I surely hate the idea of giving up my tomato sauce, even if I do have to take heartburn medication as I enjoy it all. As I’ve contemplated this whole veggie lifestyle, I’ve been looking at tomato-based dishes that come close to spaghetti or chili type meals. If you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know that old staples of my bento lifestyle have been meatloaf and spaghetti. People, I need a substitute! Truly!
When the concoction first came out of the oven and I took out the first scoop, my heart sank. Things didn’t look good for the home team. I tasted it. Well, looks can be deceiving. The dish tastes great. It just has one major problem, which I think you can see in the picture above: excess liquid. I’m not sure if the liquid came from the squash, or the tomato sauce, or even the ricotta cheese. All I know is that there is too much of it. Quite frankly, I drained alot of that liquid out of the dish before (1) packing some for tomorrow’s bento, (2) storing some for the next day’s bento, and (3) freezing some for later meals.
My question is, anyone have a suggestion on helping this liquidy situation? Otherwise this was a way tasty meal.
Be the bento everyone!
I don’t think I have any good suggestions for the liquid problem here. I would guess that it’s from all the veggies since they have so much water in them. Would whole wheat lasagna noodles be out of the question? I know you’re trying to cut down on carbs, but at least whole wheat is a complex carb. Or they even make noodles out of quinoa (check Whole Foods). The dish really looks and sounds delicious, even with the excess moisture.
Since you mention meatloaf, I do have a really great recipe to pass on for “meatloaf.” Before my vegan days, I made this often and it’s SO GOOD! Like really, really good!
http://www.recipezaar.com/Really-Good-Vegetarian-Meatloaf-really-33921
I’ve never tried it, but maybe adding eggplant would help with the extra liquid. Eggplant can be really absorbent.
Hi, if you are trying to cut out your pasta, eat your veggies but still have that “Italian” dish…I would try googling Spaghetti Squash recipes. I have not tried it myself yet, but I have a couple of coworkers that just rave about the squash tasting just like Spaghetti and that you can throw some of your sauce on there and there you have a great Spaghetti dinner but it’s more healthly! And I bet you could even fit it into a Bento box!
Good luck! Love your blog too BTW!
No suggestions either hon but don’t forget the amount of water in the veggies to begin with is going to produce a bit of runniness. However…you made a great effort and as long as it tastes good then thats all that counts. Besides, I think it looks great!! Good job!
Wow, this is surreal! My bento for today is eggplant lasagna (using eggplant slices instead of noodles)! It doesn’t have that watery issue that you had. I guess because you squeeze the moisture out of the eggplant slices before they get the saucy treatment. :3
Actually, I’m wondering if that might be the issue since yellow squash tends to have that moisture deal going for it.
I think that the squash may be the culprit here. Usually broccoli and cauliflower don’t exude that much liquid when cooked, but squash? It is almost entirely water and disintegrates into nothingness when cooked for long periods of time.
I second (third?) the eggplant as noodle substitute. There is a Greek dish, mousakka (sp?) that is basically a lasagne with eggplant. It is usually a pretty heavy dish with ground lamb and a thick white sauce in addition to the tomatoes and eggplat, but you could always change it up to suit your tastes.
I am no help whatsoever but damn that looks good. Gonna go see if you posted the method
The method isn’t up yet, but it is coming. I was working on processing those photos last night.
Squash is your liquid culprit.
try instant mashed potatoes, or bread crumbs in the mix, 1 cup instant rice might work too…..Play with diffrent options & see what happens
What a great idea! I was thinking maybe you could add some diced potatoes, not too many because they’re very carb-y, but they would maybe soak up some liquid. Or a little cornstarch?
How about adding couscous to it? Good luck experimenting? Maybe if you cooked the veggies ahead of time? Slightly in a skillet. Then mixed some uncooked couscous with it so the juices would cook them?
The veggies were cooked in a skillet ahead of time. I just think that squash is too watery for this particular dish. Bet it would work well as a substitute in regular spaghetti, hmmm…. I’m not so sure about the couscous though. Wonder if there is enough protein in there to offset it…hmmmm? Good things for me to ponder. Thanks for the suggestion!