The first entry...

Well I opened up this space a little while ago, but couldn’t think of what to write! I have never kept a diary, so doing this seems foreign to me... The reason I decided to do this is that Siobhan and Tina sent me links to their blogs, and I checked them out – they are fun to read! So, it just seemed like a fun thing to do.
So what made me decide to finally write?
I found an awesome Sushi place in North Van! Finally! My Japanese friend Lena explained to me that the best Japanese restaurants are actually run by Japanese people. So places that I thought had good food, well, their food just doesn’t compare to the food at Japanese run places.
So this place is called Haru Sushi, which just opened about 2 months ago, and is located at 2041 Lonsdale Avenue (central Lonsdale). Todd and I saw an ad in the North Shore News for it, and the ad mentioned that the chef was Japanese, so we went and checked it out.
The food was fantastic, and the prices are average. So it is our new favorite place!
Talking about food…
Lately we have been trying casserole dishes – that way we have leftovers for a couple of dinners, which is nice since then we don’t have to cook every night. I love lasagna, and I decided to try a new recipe, so I did, and well, it was super yummy, and pretty easy to make. Todd ate it faster than I did, and I ALWAYS eat faster than he does – so that tells you something!
It isn’t your conventional lasagna recipe.. for example there is no ricotta layer.
Anyways here it is in case anyone wants to try it:

Artichoke and Spinach Lasagna

2-3 tablespoons of Olive Oil
9 whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 2/3 cups vegetable broth
¼ - ½ tsp crushed, dried rosemary
1 (14 ounce) can NON-marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 (28 ounce) jar tomato pasta sauce
3 cups grated mozzarella cheese, divided
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook lasagna noodles until al dente, drain.
In a saucepan, saute onion and garlic in the olive oil, until golden brown.
Stir in the vegetable broth and rosemary; bring to a boil.
Stir in artichoke hearts and spinach; reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes.
Stir in pasta sauce.
Spread ¼ of the artichoke mix in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with 3 lasagna noodles. Sprinkle ¾ cup mozzarella over noodles.
Repeat these layers 2 more times, ending with artichoke mixture and mozzarella.
Sprinkle grated parmesan on top.
Bake, covered for 40 minutes. Uncover, and bake 15 minutes more, or until hot and bubbly.
Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

OK well I am drawing a blank here. I think this is definitely going to take some getting used to…
Yep, I’m out for now.