4- White Lasagna with Lovage

For the past two weeks I have had 2 bands visit. That means boy bands - which means farty and stinky and drunken messes (Except for Ed Ho. If Ed Ho ever asks to stay with you, say yes. He cleans!) and lots of wheat beer for me (I just gained another few Kilos). And they need to eat.

I had to cook for 12 people: 6 meat-eaters, 5 vegetarians, 1 vegan. One of the meat eaters has a Fructose and Lactose intolerance, while the other with the intolerance prefers vegetarian meals. As you can see this was a bit all over the place. I decided on a vegitarian white lasagna, and one small vegan lasagna. They were so similar, that I made them at the same time. In total you need about 30 min for chopping, 10 min to make the sauce, 10 min for the layers, and then another 20 to clean the splattered chaos (if you cook like me).

First is the vegetarian Lasagna (the vegan** note is at the end):

Pan 30cm x 25cm rubbed with margarine

Béchamel* (white sauce)

1 oz margarine

1 oz flour

3/4 pint of Lactose free milk (soy, rice, or almond milk for the vegan)

salt

nutmeg

salt (natural salt! if not natural then cut the amount down by a third)

pepper ground or from mill

3 eggs

1 medium zucchini sliced 1/2cm thick

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 small fennel sliced

1 box of lasagna

lovage (garlich substitute)

250 grams hard goat cheese (like a gouda) or Buffalo Mozzarella - thinly sliced

2 Shallots

How to make a Béchamel*:

3/4 of a pint (medium thickness)

in a heavy bottomed saucepan mix the butter and the flour on low heat for about 2 minutes. Turn off the stove and in another pan heat the milk with 1/4 tsp salt. When heated pour the "milk" into the flour mix using a wire whisk until smooth.

Add 1 tablespoon of lovage 1/4 tsp of black pepper, a sprinkle of nutmeg, and a 1 teaspoon of salt.

Divide the Béchamel in thirds add the eggs to one third and whisk until smooth. Leave the other 2/3 alone.

chop the shallots and sauté.

At this point you should have a greased pan. sautéed shallots, a bowl of béchamel, a bowl of egg/béchamel, sliced cheese, separate bowls of sliced mushrooms, zucchini and fennel, and a box of Lasagna.

Use a ladle for the sauces.

1-Start with a layer of Lasagna, then cover with béchamel, all the shallots,

2-then Lasagna, all the zucchini, cover with egg/béchamel,

3- Lasagna, mushrooms, cover with egg/béchamel, cheese, then the béchamel

4- Lasagna, fennel, cover with egg/béchamel

5- Lasagna, and cover with the béchamel.

You may have bechamel left, but that is fine. You can use it for a pasta sauce...

Bake at 350 for 45 min. Since all ovens vary, check it periodically to see if it is getting to brown. You don't want to see any fluid in the pan at the bottom, but you want the top to get lightly brown and crust.

Vegan**

If you are making it vegan, instead of cheese add 1/2 teaspoon of dry yeast to the last ladle of béchamel, and leave out the eggs.

enjoy!

C.C.C. - Crepes and Carob and no more Cigarettes.

-Recipe below-
I have a ciggerett hangover, and didn't even smoke! I worked last night in the Bar that looks like a golden cave. I know what you're thinking - it was probably the alcohol. Nope. I didn't drink either. It was all second hand.
People are still allowed to smoke in some Bars in Germany. I think it's crap. They make a law to protect the employees (me), but say if the bar is too small for an extra smoking room then smoking is allowed! What is that? I don't get it.

When I wake up feeling like this, the only things that help are Nux Vomica, and Crepes. Then thereafter, a Carob bar.
I did some research on the Carob. It is a suprisingly healthy Legume. It grows in areas with little water, like Italy or Turkey, and Spain. In times of need people have lived off of it.

Nutritional Information
Carob is up to 8% protein and contains vitamins A, B, B2, B3 and D. It is also high in calcium, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium and contains iron, manganese, barium, copper and nickel. However, it should of course only be eaten in moderation alongside a balanced diet. It has no oxalic acid which prevents the body using calcium and zinc. These minerals are vital to a healthy skin and the presence of oxalic acid in chocolate may be connected to the onset of spottiness noticed by some teenagers on the consumption of larger amounts of chocolate.

From Living and Raw Foods

http://www.living-foods.com/articles/rawcarob.html


Crepes
4 eggs
4 tablespoons of water
2 tablespoons of flour
pinch of salt
sunflower or olive or raps margarine - avoid margarine made from Plants - fructose!

Mix the wet ingredients together, then sprinkle the flour and mix again. If you put it all together at once, it becomes lumpy. Then add the salt. Heat the pan, add a 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of margarine to it. When a drop of water in the pan hisses, then it is ready. Pour 2 tablespoons in the pan. Take the handle and swirl it around so that it becomes very thin. Pay attention because it cooks very quickly, and we don't want them to turn paper stiff! As soon as the edges look dry, flip it. Then wait 10-20 seconds and it is done.
Remember to keep margarine in the pan. They don't taste as good when dry.
You can eat them plain, or with Maple Syrup (not traditional, but who cares). My husband likes them with cheese - any kind will do. They are very neutral: Unlike pancakes they can be sweet or savory.

Some other sweet toppings:
1) Mix in a bowl a little glucose and carob or coco powder. I would say equal parts, but you need to do it to taste. Then pour it on the crepes, and fold or roll.
2) Pour on the crepes glucose powder, and then squeeze a slice of lemon on top! Lovely...
3) Mix glucose powder, a pinch of cinnamon, and a sprinkle of clove (no more than that) in a bowl, and add a teaspoon of water to make it spreadable.

Enjoy!

Soy-Yogurt Curry Salad with Quinoa

Soy-Yogurt Curry Chicken Salad with Quinoa
Can also be made without Chicken, and then it's Vegan

Sorry this is the second recipe in two weeks. I have been busy.

Curry Chicken Salad with Quinoa*
Serves 4
Cook 250grams Quinoa
1/2 cucumber chopped
1 medium Fennel chopped
6 medium sliced mushrooms lightly browned in oil.
1 bundle of Arugula
(shredded chicken meat from 1 small chicken **)
DRESSING
3-4 tablespoons of Soy Yogurt (make sure it is plane without tapioca!)
1 tablespoon of curry
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
a sprinkle of clove
1/8 teaspoon glucose powder, or 1/2 teaspoon of Maple syrup
a squeeze of a fresh lemon
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the Quinoa first, and let it cool (it is okay if it is a little warm).
While it is cooling do the chopping, and then the mushroom browning.
Add all the vegetables to the Quinoa. In a separate bowl add all the dressing ingredients together until smooth. Taste to see if it needs a little more lemon, or what ever.
Then add the chicken and mix with a fork so that it falls apart, and gets everywhere (if not using the chicken, then just skip this step).
Then add the chicken/DRESSING mix to the other ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Let me know what you think!

*What is Quinoa? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa)
"a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a grass."

** I usually buy an organic chicken and boil it in a pot of water with 1/2 a tablespoon of salt, freshly grounded pepper, and a half a lemmon. I let it simmer for 6 hours. That way the healthy properties of the marrow seep into the soup. I take the chicken out, let it cool and then shred it with a fork. The broth can keep up to a week in the fridge.

Intoduction: I Hate Passing Gas! - Recipe 1

This blog is dedicated to sharing recipes that are low in Fructose, and lactose. Recipe 1 at the bottom.

Just to introduce myself, I am Maggie. I am from New York (not the city) but am now what you consider an ex-pat (which is why I may write in a strange manner). I moved to Germany in 1999 right before the "spooky" millennium change to be with my Daniel - I really did fill my bathtub with water (just in case). I was 24 at the time.

I was passing gas all the time. I even woke up Daniel one morning "ripping a loud one". This 6'4" man jumped frightened out of bed crawling across the room wondering what that "disturbing" sound was.

Scaring my husband with my flatulence was the beginning of the end. This wasn't the only problem though: There were also the daily buckle-over-in-pain stomachaches, plus the rashes on my arms and stomach, the random diarrhea mixed with constipation (I had learned severe control of my body during this time - especially when there is no bathroom in view), and the ever recurring colds that would happen every weekend making going out on the weekend not fun in smokey Europe.

I went to more Doctors than I can remember over a 5 year period. They would say the same thing: Take these little pills and it will be better. When it wasn't better I would go back and they would talk to me as if I were a hypochondriac. It had gotten to the point that I was wishing I was.

I was so frustrated I tried everything:

My friend Spider said "You have Candida! That's it!" I was hoping she was right- I was actually hoping I had a fungus problem. It was getting that debilitating.

Spider gave me a diet that I needed to follow, and "after 6 months you should be better". She even explained that this was causing my moments of Anxiety. My diet was making me scared? And all those years I thought it was from taking a bad E pill in Prague.

The diet was hell, the good part of hell though, is you loose 15 pounds! I am 5'3, and weighed 135 pounds (and I can assure you that was not muscle). I was finally my dream body. That was great. The problem was that the rashes, and all other maladies were still there and going strong.

I finally was given the name of a doctor who in the end said "You're too skinny to have a belly like that!" And said "Your tonsils are very swollen... they are infected." (Since I was a child I thought I had large tonsils). someone finally knew the problem.

One thing I need to point out is that all my life I have had a belly. The type of belly a 4 month pregnant women has. I have even been asked many a time if I were pregnant. So you can imagine my joy when she said that was not normal and that I can make it go away!!!! God that felt so good to hear.

When the tests came back it had turned out that I have a Fructose, and Lactose intolerance. My body (along with around 1 out of 4 adults) doesn't have the proper enzymes to digest these things, resulting in the production of gases creating bloating (the belly), ergo Flatulence! I was so happy!

I went home practically skipping, singing, "I'm intolerant, I'm intolerant!"

Then it hit me - after the euphoria ended, "OH crap! What am I going to eat now?"

After 5 weeks of depression and 3 years of research and recipe attempts (not always fun), I found a way of cooking that not only kept me healthy, but was yummy. There was no one cookbook that helped me. I took my knowledge and creativity and went for it. I want to share this with all those out there who may be in that frustrating I-am-ugly-and-sick-feeling place I once was. I hope this helps.

I will publish these about every week, once a week. And I promise the next blogs won't be so lengthy. Good luck to anyone who might read this...

We'll start with a simple one:

Fish with rice

you need:

2 quart baking dish

2 medium whole Bass or Trout

2 tablespoons of Lovage (a cousin of garlic, but since garlic is high in fructose I use this)

if you can't fine Lovage use rosemary.

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 large, or 2 small lemons

salt

pepper

3 large carrots (organic)

3 cups of salted water

Preheat oven at 350°

Put the rice on (add a little salt and pepper in the water) and then do the following:

wash the fish inside and out in cold water, then pat with a dry towel.

mix the Lovage and with the oil and a 1/4 tsp of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

bast the fish with the Lovage mixture inside and out. then place sliced lemon pieces in the belly of the fish.

check the rice!

If you don't have a grill for your baking dish, then peel the carrots, and slice them lenghtwise. Place the flat side down in the baking dish so that you can lay the fish on top not touching the 3 cups of water you will add next. Otherwise just place the carrots under the grill.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the fish flakes.

place on plate next to rice with a sprinkle of cracked pepper on top.

Guten Appetit!