Making the Shortlist

It is a beautiful sight at the farmer’s market. Inching towards October we are, forgive me, on the Blurred Lines of seasonal produce, colors and flavors abound. Peaches piled alongside pumpkins, basil bouquets tucked near the Brussels sprouts. Our clients are able to enjoy this wonderful produce too, through our Farm to Food Bank Program and Farm-to-Freezer veggies; SHARE Food Network and Capital Area Food Bank also provide a mobile food pantry to those in need of assistance to make affordable, fresh items more accessible.

It’s a great time to get back in the kitchen, I’ve got peach galettes and butternut squash lasagnas taking turns in my oven these days. It might seem as though grand, oozey-bubbling dishes sound like Dennis the Menace-style trouble. No sir, my great pride as a Nutrition Educator is kicking frustration out of the kitchen. Cooking should be pleasing and do-able, a task for which everyone feels equipped. That’s why I’m working on a makeover for our lobby recipe rack: efficient recipes under five ingredients with photos of each ingredient.

My thought is, when you can see the ingredient list with few, familiar items, putting them together doesn’t feel so overwhelming. I want cooking to be a treasure not a task—and this is crucial when your grocery (and time) budget is strict. Simple recipes should be deliciously satisfying, and everyone deserves to bask in the glory of a home cooked meal. Last night, I roasted Brussels sprouts in the oven until crispy caramelized, and mashed a single sweet potato with scallions and olive oil—a satisfying preview of Thanksgiving. Today I’m sharing another use for the wondrous sweet potato, and you’ll need only one.

If you haven’t jumped aboard the no-boil lasagna noodle train, today is the day. Just layer your lasagna with the raw noodles and bake until a toothpick goes all the way through–cover with foil for the first 30 minutes, then uncover for the last few until the cheese is golden. If you don’t have a tomato sauce that includes vegetables, chop frozen or leftover vegetables and stir into the sauce. Frozen spinach is delicious here! Enjoy with salad or roasted veggies.

Vegetable Lasagna

from 4ingredients.com.au, serves 6

6 sheets lasagna pasta

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

1 sweet potato

17-ounce jar vegetable pasta sauce

Preheat oven to 350F. Peel and slice sweet potato then boil till soft, drain liquid and mash. In the bottom of a medium-sized casserole dish (about 10.5″ x 7″), smear 2 tablespoons of sauce. Place 2 sheets of lasagna side by side. Lightly cover with a layer of cheese. Spoon a layer of mashed potato to cover the cheese. Pour pasta sauce over mashed potato. Repeat the layering process until last lasagna sheet has been used and cheese, potato and sauce has been laid over the top of the last sheet. Finish off with 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake for 35 minutes, or until cheese is slightly golden.

About Lindsey Seegers

Lindsey Seegers is the Program Manager of Nutrition Education at Manna Food Center. Her background is in Social Work and Nutrition; her passion is cooking food always delicious and nutritious. She teaches cooking and nutrition classes, and leads grocery store tours around Montgomery County about affordable and do-able healthy cooking. Since 1983, Manna has been feeding Montgomery County’s food insecure residents. In our 30 years of service Manna has served nearly 3 million people, 668,527 households, and distributed 45 million pounds of food. As the designated food bank for Montgomery County we are the main resource people turn to when they find themselves in need of food assistance. Manna delivers emergency food assistance through its three main programs: Food for Families, Smart Sacks, and Agency Food Distribution.

View all posts by Lindsey Seegers