Noodle-less Lasagna or squash stock depleter

So the lasagna I tried last night was a success! I am actually quite proud of my culinary prowess on this one. I should have taken a picture! (Update: I  made it again, and this now includes pictures!) Anyhow, here is the promised recipe.
Noodle-less Zucchini Lasagna
Makes one 9 x 13 pan
Oven: 350 if glass pan, 375 if metal
Servings: Depends on how hungry you are. 6 mildly hungry, 4 fairly hungry, 2 ravished
Ingredients:
2 small-ish zucchini (about as wide as your peeler)
2 italian sausages, casings removed
1 large onion
2 medium patti-pan squash (or sub whatever squash you have on hand)
1 large green bell pepper
2 large cloves garlic
1 12 oz container ricotta cheese
1 cup grated parmesan
1 cup grated mozzerella
1 jar marinara sauce (or make your own)
1 egg
bunch fresh herbs of choice. I used rosemary and basil

Slice (or using a peeler, peel) long thin strips of zucchini. Set out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt. This will help dry out the zucchini so the lasagna isn't too runny. Let sit for about 10-15 minutes, then rinse excess salt off.

To remove water, sandwich lasagna "noodles" between two kitchen towels and run over them with a roller. Set aside.

Cook up sausage until no longer pink. Add onion, garlic, squash and bell pepper and cook until onion has softened. Add marinara sauce.

In a medium bowl, slightly beat one egg. Add container of ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and fresh herbs and mix well.

Now it is time for layering! Add about 1/3 of sauce to bottom of pan. Layer zucchini "noodles". Place 1/2  Ricotta cheese mixture over that, then 1/3 mozzarella cheese. Repeat until you run out of ingredients. On top, add last bit of sauce and top with the rest of the mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmesan. I added some pepper and a small handful of freshly chopped basil to the top.

Cook in preheated oven around 30-40 minutes, or until sauce is bubbling and cheese on top is melted and a bit browned.
Enjoy!
Noodle-Less Zucchini Lasagna

Soooo much zucchini

One of the mixed blessings of a home garden is the huge amounts of zucchini it produces. On the one hand, it is very gratifying to one's ego as a gardener to have these plants do so well and produce so many large and beautiful fruits. However, to have to come up with ways to consume all these zucchinis takes more patience, creativity, and appetite than I profess to possess. My neighbor has described August as a month where you can tell whether or not someone has many friends by whether or not they have to BUY zucchini. Happily for him, this year he can be counted as one of those WITH friends since I keep pawning off some of my crop on him and his family.
So today's mission is to try to use up, hide, give away or otherwise disperse with some of the 20 zucchinis currently sitting on my kitchen counter. To that end I have decided to freeze a good deal of it for future use in veggie hummus wraps and zucchini bread. Another portion I am going to use for dinner tonight when I try to make a noodle-less version of lasagna. (thinly sliced zucchini will replace the lasagna noodles). If it turns out at all edible, you can expect a recipe.

A Tidy Girl's Lament

After a nice evening of bicycling and beer I awoke refreshed and inspired. After drinking my coffee and performing a couple of other morning rituals I got out my trusty ukulele and wrote a little song. Then, I recorded it (badly) on garage band in order to bring it to you.  I keep finding the need to preface my songs with a disclaimer that the song is NOT autobiographical. It is more of a work of fancy. If you would like to listen to my little ditty click on the link on the sidebar of the home page. Well that didn't work. I'll keep trying to figure that bit of fancy code later. In the mean-time you can listen to my song here : A Tidy Girl's Lament

Oh, as a bonus I also have linked another song that I recorded today. Be gentle. My recording skills (or lack thereof) are in their baby stage, and you wouldn't want to hurt a baby, would you?
Sweet Dreams

Oh Boo. These links have died. If you would like to listen to these songs, follow this link: Autumn's Songs

How My Garden Grows

Well actually, this isn't my garden. This is the public garden down the street, but I love these pictures!

It's just gorgeous isn't it?

Hello New World!

I am brand new to this blogging business (though I'm apparently a genius at alliteration), and I'm guessing the standard protocol for opening a new blog is to spend the first post introducing oneself. So here goes: My name is Autumn (you probably figured that out from the name of this site). I'm the happily married mother of one cat and a rather unruly garden. My dear husband (heretofore named Dr. Husband or Dr. H) has recently entered his indentured servitude as a family medicine resident, leaving me, the cat and the garden with plenty of time to do the things we like best. For Monty (the cat) that generally means lounging in the sun, grooming, and attacking small bugs and toilet paper rolls.  The garden amuses itself by producing far more zucchini than I can possible eat, and I amuse myself with crafting, music-ing, and cooking. Just for fun I hope to soon throw in the odd day of work (anyone know of a good job opening in my area?)

So why, you ask, have I decided to write a blog? Well mostly because I found pretty backgrounds, but also because I'm hoping this will be a good way to let me friends, family, and countless adorers know what I'm up to. In this blog I intend to write (gasp!) about my days, and more importantly, post pictures/videos of things that I have made. If you like anything you see, well then, I have a treat for you! One of my pages will soon possess a link to my brand new etsy shop. In addition to selling my wares (a girl's gotta eat), I will also generously post some free tutorials, recipes, templates and helpful tips. So stay tuned!