Sailing In The Snow

We have a wood block print by Kawase Hasui showing a fisherman at lake Hinuma in snow.   It is kind of interesting that Kawase, who traveled a good deal,  witnessed such a snow since in only occurs once or twice each year. 

In the wee hours of Monday we were awakened by heavy rain.  A little later, things grew very quiet and the air (our house is not heated at night) became very cold.  When daylight came the reason became clear - it was snowing.

  .
We've been sailing in the rain several times. I've been up to the lake to work on Bluesette the day after it snowed (see The Snows of Lake Hinuma Feb. 2010). But we had never been sailing while snow was falling. It might be lovely - as peaceful as sailing in the rain, or more so, and the beauty of the flakes drifting down...

What!? You think we're nuts? (Don't answer that.)

 No, on this day, K waited until several cars had gone by, helping to make a path, then went off to work as usual, and I turned to warmer pursuits. Such as cooking. How about a nice "inside out lasagna"?

Since my adventures in hospital land last year, I've eliminated all animals and animal products (read: fish and cheese in my case)  from my diet, along with all oils (no, Virginia, olive oil is NOT a health food).   I have not sacrificed the enjoyment of cooking and eating, however.  No worries there.   (This plant based diet is also the secret to my dramatic weight loss of over 40 pounds.)

Here's the recipe for "inside out lasagna".  Enjoy it knowing that it won't land you in a hospital bed.  I even put in English measures to make it easy for you American and UK based folk:

8 ounces uncooked whole grain (rice, wheat, spelt) pasta (I used organic whole wheat penne)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1⁄2 cups coarsely chopped fresh mushrooms
14 ounces chopped tomatoes
14 ounces cannellini (or other white) beans, cooked
1 1⁄2 cups fat-free pasta sauce
10 ounces chopped spinach

Several dollops tofu ricotta (see recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place a large pot of water on to boil and cook pasta according to package directions, just until barely tender. Drain and set aside. 

Meanwhile, dry sauté (no oil) the onions, garlic and mushrooms in a large skillet until softened and slightly browned, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, beans, pasta sauce and spinach. Mix well and heat through, about 5 minutes. Add the cooked pasta and mix well.    Ladle into a large covered casserole dish, add dollops of tofu ricotta cheese on top and bake covered for 30 minutes.

Tofu ricotta cheese:

1 12.3 ounce package silken tofu 
1 pound fresh water-packed tofu  
1⁄4 cup nutritional yeast (I don't have this available to me, but it is easily had in the USA)
1⁄4 cup lemon juice
1⁄4 cup soy milk 
1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano
1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
Several twists freshly ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients and mash with a bean masher for a nice texture.

And while this is cooking, enjoy a video.  No, not another Bluesette video.  Surprise!

This one features a steam locomotive in the snow and the song "Crow's wife" from a favorite old detective show of mine, Hagure Keiji Junoha (Rogue Detective), sung by Takao Horiuchi.  For any rail buffs out there, the locomotive is C11 171 manufactured in 1940 and belonging to JR Hokkaido and in service until 1975.  It was restored in 1999.  The town shown in the video is Kurashiki, Okayama, on the Inland Sea.



So stay warm, bon appetit, and of course,

until next, sweet sailing.