Autumn Root Veggie & Kale Gratin

Earlier I posted that October was the beginning of soup season. I'd like to add that it's also the beginning of casserole season. Cooler temperatures mean I will actually turn the oven back on! I love a good casserole. Casseroles make the house smell amazing, once baking in the oven they free up my hands for more cooking or other projects, their ample servings make great lunches for our entire work week, they are freezable and I love to share casseroles with my friends! I find I am quite at my happiest during the winter months with a casserole in the oven, a soup bubbling in the crockpot and I'm curled under a blanket with a cup of my favorite tea and a good book. Simple pleasures!

Today's gratin was inspired by the autumn flavors of root vegetables, winter squash, and kale. Rutabaga is one of my favorite autumn/winter root vegetables. It does not have the spiciness of a turnip and is actually quite creamy and delicious. I encourage you to try the weird-looking neglected rutabaga this season! An exploration of my favorite neighborhood specialty cheese counter yielded a cow's milk gruyere from Switzerland and a goat's milk gouda from Holland. I returned from a trip to my own garden with a handful of fresh thyme and chives.

This casserole takes quite a few steps to prepare, so I'd save it for your day-off rather than a busy work night. It yields many delicious servings, so is well worth the effort!

Olive Oil
1 yukon gold potato, thinly sliced
1 yam, peeled & thinly sliced
1 rutabaga, peeled & thinly sliced
1 delicata squash, peeled, seeds removed & thinly sliced
2 cups shredded cheese, your choice (I used gruyere and gouda)
1 bunch lacinato kale, leaves de-ribbed, thinly sliced
1 yellow onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed and minced
1 vegan broth cube
1 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup unsweetened plain soy milk
2 eggs
a handful fresh chives, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep your casserole dish by rubbing a tbsp or so of olive oil onto the bottom of the dish.
2. Sauté over medium heat the minced onion with a splash of olive oil. Cook a few minutes until translucent and lightly browned. Add the garlic and thyme and sauté a few minutes more until very fragrant. Set aside.
3. Begin layering with yam, rutabaga, 1 cup of cheese, potato, onion-garlic-herb mixture, kale, delicata squash.
4. Dissolve the broth cube into boiling water. Add the melted butter and soy milk. Whisk in the eggs until mixed. Pour this mixture over the casserole.
5. Top with remaining 1 cup of cheese and the chives.
6. Cover the casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Creamy Mushroom Casserole

Dear Readers,

I love mushrooms. But, what's weird is I am picky about what kind of mushrooms. I adore white button, cremini and portobellos--your standard grocery store mushrooms. This recipe has all three. I am not a fan of the shiitake, porcini, chanterelle or any other wild fungi. Also, I will only eat mushrooms that are perfectly fresh. Any signs of browning or smell creep me out. I hate raw mushrooms or undercooked mushrooms. I love them sauteed just perfectly so they are soft and melt in my mouth. That's my tangent about mushrooms. Thanks for listening.

This recipe has more dairy that I'd typically eat but I was feeling inspired for a rich creamy casserole tonight. Portland has been blessed by unseasonably warm Spring weather throughout January & February. Today it was cold, rainy, windy, dark and down right dreary. It felt like Winter again and that made me crave a substantial hearty casserole. It seemed the perfect night to create this recipe. 3 types of mushrooms mingle with wild rice and brown rice. The sour cream adds a stroganoff-ish flavor. The casserole is topped with bread crumbs browned in butter & lemon zest. This recipe takes about an hour to bake after you are done with all the prep, so probably 2 hours total. That means it's not a quick week night supper. Better to do when you can futz around the kitchen doing other things while it cooks. But what I love about casseroles is they make many servings. And for a single eater this means leftover meals all week. Or you can freeze portions to enjoy later on when you are really hungry and don't feel like cooking. Take it to your next potluck and tell them the recipe came from my blog.

I absolutely love the bread crumbs in this recipe. When I have extra bread (which I don't have around anymore since I drastically reduced my gluten intake) I chop it up, toast it in the oven for a minutes until browned, then freeze it for later use as bread crumbs. It is way better than any store bought packaged bread crumbs. In this recipe I saute the bread crumbs in butter and lemon zest until they are saturated and browned. The aroma is heavenly and they taste amazing.

Hope you enjoy the recipe. And, hey, if you are out there reading...I really have no idea if anyone ever reads my blog! Drop me a comment once and a while so I know I have some readership. I'd appreciate the encouragement. I know my book deal or HGTV show is out there somewhere. Help me find it. I love hearing from you. Thank you people.

In Health, ,
Miss Jolie Ann

Creamy Mushroom Casserole
6-8 servings

1 cup short grain brown rice
1 cup wild rice
4 cups water
bay leaf
1 tbsp butter
1 cup dried bread crumbs
zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
1/2 pound mixed mushrooms-white button & cremini
1 portobello mushroom
sea salt
black pepper
pinch each of nutmeg
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup fat free cottage cheese
1 cup light sour cream
1/2 shredded asiago cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Rinse well the wild rice. Combine wild rice, brown rice, bay leaf and 4 cups of water in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce the heat to a low and simmer covered for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside covered for 5 minutes. Remove cover, discard bay leaf and fluff with fork.
2. While the rice cooks prepare the bread crumbs. In a skillet warm 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add the bread crumbs, lemon zest, and a pinch of sea salt. Saute for about 5 minutes until the bread crumbs have saturated the butter and have browned up nice and crispy. Set aside.
3. In the same pan warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes until onions begin to soften. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes. You want the mushrooms to be soft and their liquid to have absorbed. Add the garlic, nutmeg, sage, tarragon, and rosemary. Saute for 1-2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
4. In a large mixing bowl combine the cooked rice, the mushroom mixture, eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, and asiago cheese. Stir until well mixed.
5. Grease a 13x9x2 baking dish with butter or olive oil. Spread the casserole into the pan. Cover with foil. Bake in oven at 350 for 45 minutes. At 45 minutes remove the foil, spread the bread crumbs on top of the casserole and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes until the top is toasted. Done. Enjoy the creamy goodness Gina Drew.

Root Vegetable Gratin

Root Vegetable Gratin
Original Recipe by Miss Jolie Ann

This was the main dish at the February 2nd Friday Suppers at Jolie's recipe tasting. It was rich, creamy, satisfying...healthy comfort food. Many of my friends had not ever tried several of these veggies like parsnips and turnips. The key to even cooking in this dish is slicing the veggies all the same size. And, if you use organic produce you can leave the peels on most of these veggies, because there's great nutrition and texture in the skins. This gratin is another pan licked clean by my happy guests. Enjoy!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Root Vegetable Gratin

Serves about 8

2 yukon gold potatoes, washed & thinly sliced

2 turnips, peeled & thinly sliced

sea salt & black pepper
4 tbsp whole wheat flour

3 medium carrots, washed & thinly sliced

2 medium parsnips, washed & thinly sliced

2 red skin potatoes, washed & thinly sliced

1 fuji apple, peeled, cored, thinly sliced

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 cups unsweetened plain soymilk

2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Prepare a 13x9 baking dish by spaying or thinly coating with olive oil.

3. Layer the yukon gold potatoes and turnips in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and 1 tbsp of the flour.

4. Next layer the parsnips and carrots. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and 1 tbsp of the flour.

5. Next layer the red potatoes and apple. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and 1 tbsp of the flour.

6. Next layer the onion slices. Sprinkle with the last tbsp of flour.

7. Pour over everything the soymilk. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake covered for 1 hour.

8. At 1 hour, remove the pan from the oven, take off the foil. Add cheese on the top. Return pan to oven and bake uncovered for about 30 minutes. Cheese should be bubbly and browned.

9. Remove from oven and let sit about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Golden Potato Gratin

Recipe inspired by "Golden Parsley Potatoes" in Diet for a Small Planet

This is a hearty filling delicious potato & cheese casserole packed full of calcium! The "golden" comes from lots of flavorful and colorful turmeric-which is great for your joints. (*Turmeric is especially helpful for those of us, like me, with arthritis!) Originally I tried the golden parsley potato recipe in Diet for a Small Planet and found it bland and lacking. However, it did inspire me to experiment with ingredients for a good potato & cheese casserole to warm and satisfy during the suppers of the cold winter and spring nights. During my experimentation I tried fresh parsley in this recipe and it turned out all gross brownish looking, so I've opted for dried parsley in every version since. This casserole is crisp on the top filled with a savory & slightly sweet creamy filling. Enjoy!
In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

GOLDEN POTATO GRATIN

Makes 6 large servings

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a large casserole dish

2 large organic russet potatoes, peeled & thinly sliced

1 medium organic yellow onion, peeled & thinly sliced

2 tbsp+ organic extra virgin olive oil

sea salt & black pepper

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tsp smoked paprika

In a large skillet warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the potatoes, onion, turmeric, paprika and salt & pepper (to taste). Cover the pan and saute until the edges of potatoes & onions are crispy and the potatoes are soft but not mushy. This takes approximately 20 minutes.

While the potatoes cook, mix together in a large bowl the following ingredients:

3 organic brown eggs, beaten

2 cups organic nonfat cottage cheese

2 tbsp dried parsley

2 tbsp grated organic Parmesan cheese

Sea Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Combine cooked potato mixture with egg mixture in the large bowl. Once well mixed, pour into a lightly greased casserole dish. Top with:

2 cups grated organic mild or medium cheddar cheese

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.

Spinach-Rice Casserole Recipe

Spinach Rice Casserole Recipe
Adapted from Moosewood Cookbook (2nd Edition 1992) by Mollie Katzen

I'm always looking for filling and delicious healthy casseroles. I found this one in the Moosewood Cookbook which I frequently cook from. I adjusted, added and deleted ingredients here and there with a delicious result. This casserole makes TONS of servings. I ate it for dinner 5 nights in a row and at one point started stuffing it inside buritos and still I didn't even eat half of it. So if you are cooking for a family it's a great size. If you are cooking for one, like I am, I'd chop this recipe in half!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Spinach Rice Casserole

Yield: 10 servings

2 cups organic short-grain brown rice--Uncooked

1 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil

1 medium organic yellow onion-chopped

2 lbs. organic spinach-chopped

1 tsp organic sea salt

5 medium cloves organic garlic-minced

1/4 tsp organic nutmeg

1/4 tsp organic dry mustard

1/8 tsp organic cayenne pepper

black pepper, to taste

2 organic brown eggs-beaten

1 cup organic unsweetened plain soymilk

1 cup organic swiss cheese-grated/shredded

1. To cook the rice: place rice in a medium-sized saucepan with 4 cups water. Cover, bring to a boil, then lower heat to the lowest possible simmer. Cook covered and undisturbed for 50 minutes. Place cooked rice in a large mixing bowl.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a large casserole dish.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and saute over medium-low heat for 10 minutes until soft and slightly browned. Add spinach, salt, garlic, nutmeg, mustard and cayenne pepper to the pan with onions. Cook about 5 more minutes until the spinach is wilted but still bright green. Combine onion & spinach mixture with cooked rice in the large mixing bowl.

4. Add eggs, soymilk and swiss cheese to the bowl and mix well until combined. Add black pepper to your liking.

5. Spread mixture into the greased casserole dish. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes until heated through and lightly browned on top.