Asparagus + leek + mushroom risotto

Asparagus + leek +  mushroom risotto

• 2 cups arborio rice
• 5 cups water
• .5 large onion
• 1 leek
• 1 bunch asparagus, grilled at 400F for 10 minutes
• .5 cup dried mushrooms, reconstituted
• salt, pepper, parmesan to taste

1. Saute the onion until golden brown.
2. Add rice; stir dreamily for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the first 3 cups of water one by one, stirring regularly and replenishing the liquid as soon as it starts getting puny.  I know that this seems like a nuisance–but it won’t be, really, if you’re chopping the leeks and watching Rachel Maddow along the way.
4. Dump in another cup of water, along with the leeks and mushrooms.
5. You will know when the final cup is needed, just as everything is starting to look almost done.
6. Top with asparagus and parmesan.

Roasted vegetable lasagna

Here’s the recipe I was originally going to share:

Wretched January

• 1 earthquake
• 1 removal of limits on corporate campaign financing
• 1 healthcare reform bill at risk of deflating like a botched soufflé
• 1 f#@%ing roof leak

1. Combine all ingredients.
2. Season with endless hours of darkness.
3. Serve cold.

But, I actually have a cheery addendum.  Mr. Onepot informed me earlier that a lasagna would make him feel better–this from a man who never makes food requests!  I mean, he’s equally happy regardless of whether he’s eating a decadent multi-course meal or some strange whole grain/mystery fungus experiment of mine.  So how was I to say no?

Roasted vegetable lasagna

• 3 red bell peppers
• 2 zucchini

(What’s that?  You’re about to tell me that those are not in season?   You know what’s in season in Chicago right now?  Icicles.  So let’s move on, shall we?)

• 1 medium onion
• 1 lb frozen spinach
• 1 lb cottage cheese
• 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 8oz cans tomato sauce
• 1 box no-boil lasagna noodles
• a fistful of shredded cheddar, a bit of parmesan, and some gorgonzola crumbles
• capers
• salt and pepper to taste

1. I seasoned the first 3 ingredients and roasted them at 400F for 25 minutes.
2. Then I combined them with spinach, cottage cheese, and diced tomatoes.  Yup–all together just like that.
3. Then it was time to layer, and there’s really nothing to tell.  I used 1 little can of tomato sauce under the bottom noodle layer and the other on the very top.  In between: a layer of vegetable+cottage cheese mixture, a sprinkling of other cheeses, a layer of noodles, and so on and so forth until I ran out of ingredients…
4. …and heaved the overflowing dish, cursing a little, into the 380-degree oven.  It spent the first 45 minutes in there bashfully covered with aluminum foil, and the final 10 minutes naked, under a sprinkling of cheese and capers.

Ah, it was good.  And, as we patted our full bellies, we started to feel just a tad hopeful again.

For starters: the roofer comes tomorrow.