Mediterranean Feta Spinach Bake

Spanikopita is one of my favorite foods. After I stopped eating gluten, I started thinking about a way to satisfy my love for spanakopita even though I had given up on filo dough. This casserole did the trick.

Ingredients

2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. butter
½ onion, chopped (about ¾ cup) or 2 tbsp. onion powder
2 crushed cloves of garlic
10 baby Portobello mushrooms (sliced)
1 lb. spinach washed and chopped (be sure to wash out all the grit)
1c. crumbled feta cheese
1 c. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
10 eggs
3-4 tbsp. chopped oregano (fresh or dry)
¼ tsp. black pepper
salt to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Chop the onion and slice the mushroom. Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet until medium hot then add the onion, mushrooms, and crushed garlic. Reduce the heat, add 1 tbsp. butter and the oregano and black pepper. Gently fry the vegetables on medium-hot heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Add a little water if necessary to prevent sticking. Wash and chop the spinach. Turn the heat down very low and add the spinach. Cover the pan and steam until the spinach wilts. (You might need to add a bit of water to the skillet to prevent the other vegetables from sticking while you steam the spinach.)

Strain all the liquid out of the vegetables. Add the other 1 tbsp. of butter to the vegetables and melt it in. Beat the eggs and add them to the vegetable mixture along with the crumbled feta cheese and ½ c. of grated Parmesan. Blend the ingredients together. Add salt if desired (I don’t use salt much since it can always be added afterward and everyone has a different taste for salt, it seems). Pour the mixture into a greased oblong casserole dish and sprinkle the other ½ c. of the Parmesan cheese on top.

(Note:  for an extra flavor treat, add approximately 3-4 tbsp. each of the following fresh, chopped herbs:  cilantro, parsley, basil. Add these herbs with the spinach so they wilt when steamed.)

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until the center seems firm.

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!

Creamy Rutabaga Soup

Until I used rutabaga in this soup, I had never cooked one before. The rutabaga soup turned out so good, that my husband and I became hooked on it and were making it every week for a while. This recipe is simple and tastes very rich and creamy even with nonfat or low-fat milk. Use lactose-free milk if you like, but don’t skip the butter. The most fun of all about this soup is saying the word “rutabaga.”

Ingredients

2 rutabagas slightly larger in size than tennis balls (will make 4 bowls of soup)
½ cup water (or vegetable soup stock if you have some handy)
1 cup milk (more may be needed, read directions below)
2 tbsp. butter (or olive oil if you insist on skipping the butter)
1 tbsp. dried thyme or 2 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
¼ tsp black pepper
salt to taste

Directions

Peel and thinly slice the rutabagas. Put them into 4 cups of boiling water and simmer on medium to low heat for 20 minutes or until the rutabagas are soft enough to mash with a fork. Drain the water off. Put the rutabagas in the blender with the 2 tbsp. of butter. The butter should be a bit soft, but does not need to be melted. It will melt in the hot rutabagas. Add the water/stock and then the milk. The liquid should cover the rutabaga but not extend above it in the blender. Add the thyme, pepper, and salt and whirl in the blender until smooth. Place the soup back into a pot and reheat slowly over low heat. The milk in the soup will cause it to burn to the sides of the pot if you reheat it too quickly. I think that the “secret ingredient” to this soup is the thyme, which lends it a remarkable uncomplicated, delicious flavor.

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!