Piquant Parmesan Potato Pie

Ok, so pie might not be the best name for this, since it doesn’t have a crust, but it doesn’t really qualify as a tart, torte, or lasagna either.  Pie worked with my alliteration, so we’ll go with that.  Basically it’s layers of thinly sliced potato and zucchini layered with lots of parmesan cheese and other yummy stuff. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

Potatoes
Zucchini
Green onions (⅓ cup, diced)
Parmigiano Reggiano (¾ cup and ¼ cup finely grated)
3 Tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Preheat your oven to 350°.  Grate 1 cup of good cheese.  You want imported parmigiano reggiano, not ‘parmesan’, and certainly not the stuff in the green can.  Put ¾ cup of it into a bowl and set the remainder aside.  Into the bowl with the cheese, add the green onion, salt, and pepper. 

Stir those together and set them aside.  Thinly slice your zucchini and potatoes.  Melt your butter.  I like to do it in a small, glass measuring cup so it’s easy to drizzle.  Gather all your components along with a glass pie plate.  (or I’m sure a square pan would be fine)

Drizzle ⅓ of the butter on the bottom of the pan. 

Lay the slices of potato, overlapping slightly, circling in toward the center.

Sprinkle half of the cheese/green onion mixture over the top. 

Put down a layer of zucchini slices just as you did the potato. 

Then basically just repeat.  Drizzle on another tablespoon of butter.

Then comes a layer of potato, sprinkle the other half of the cheese mixture, layer of zucchini, drizzle the last of the butter, and one final layer of potatoes.  On the top, sprinkle the ¼ cup of cheese you set aside. 

Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 45 minutes.  After that time, remove the foil.  You’ll be slightly disappointed. 

But don’t despair, bake it for another 20 minutes, uncovered, and you will have beautiful, golden perfection. 

Now, it’s going to smell amazing, and you’re going to want to just dig in, but if you can control yourself for 10 minutes, it will be worth the wait.  Cut it into wedges and serve on the side of whatever your favorite main course is.  Or, you could just eat a wedge and yogurt and call it lunch.  Either way, it’s amazing. 

It’s a special week for me.  My eldest niece (we’ll just call her Kiddo) graduated from high school.  (omg, when did I get so old??)  Congratulations, Kiddo!!       

DIY, the not so extreme version

Indoor gardening is still gardening.

At the grocery store last week, I mentioned to the cashier that I wanted to plant the "live" basil I was buying. I mean, it came with roots, and in a cute little bag full of nutrient water, and looked perfectly plantable. At first she looked at me like I was nuts, and then like I was some kind of freaky genius. Because if I plant it, it will keep growing and I can keep harvesting it.

Freaking genius!

You could do the same with those "live" lettuce heads you see sometimes.

I've heard of people sprouting avocado pits and planting them too.

And if you get herbs that were cut right, you can sprout them too.

Yes, I know, I could just go to the garden store and buy seedlings, but it's more fun this way. There's a certain amount of challenge, a bit of suspense, that point of frustration where you're sure it won't work and so you stop checking it and stop adding fresh water...

And then you realize there are roots on your lemongrass stumps.

And in a couple days there are lots of them.

Lemongrass is extremely easy to root, and fairly fast growing. If you're going to put it in planters outside, make sure you are able to move them. This is a tropical grass and it doesn't like any kind of cold at all. You'll have to bring it inside in the winter.

Or just harvest it all and start again in the spring.

It's not like this is difficult.

If you're going to keep it indoors year round, choose a bright and sunny spot, as full sun as you can get.

I used a regular organic houseplant medium. i.e. Potting soil.

And potted it like a typical houseplant.

In a nice pot, it would make a lovely hostess gift or housewarming present. Include a recipe for Beef Chow Fun, or Thai Green Curry.

And you can always start another batch for yourself.

Have you ever sprouted something weird? (Your kids don't count)