corapegia- How are you doing your spinach starts? I have excellent results in the garden, but can get the seed to germinate inside. People have suggested it is too warm where I'm trying to start them and I believe that is correct. Do you have any tips to starting inside? organic_mamag - Have you tried growing spinach in spring? I also can not get spinach to grow well in the fall. They stay small or do poorly. I'm still working on a solution. For the last two years, I've planted seed on 4/22 (late, had to build the garden first) and 3/30 for spring growing. My last frost date is April 15. I plant nine seeds to the square foot (I do square foot gardening). My beds are pretty rich with compost, so I don't add anything or fertilize as they grow. I've had really good luck with the following varieties: Bloomsdale Longstanding (big), Noorman (bolts late) and Merlo (Italian). For fall growing, I want to try transplants, but as I said above, I'm having poor luck. Bloomsdale Longstanding (it grew bigger): Merlo (next to the woodchuck-demolished peas) Hope spring works better for you, Bellatrix

It was buried deep in the thread about who are the reliable t.v. chefs. I'm eager to try it, too, but haven't had a chance. Here's the post with the recipe. Posted by jkom51 (My Page) on Fri, Feb 20, 09 at 23:01 sally2, sorry it has taken me so long to transcribe this recipe for spinach lasagna. It is very garlicky and everybody likes it. Despite the length of the recipe, it's easy to put together, since you can prep the spinach, ricotta, bechamel and grate the cheeses beforehand, then just assemble everything together after soaking the no-boil lasagna sheets. If your prepped ingredients are cold from the frig, bake it the extra 10 minutes; e.g., 40 min instead of just 30 min. Spinach Lasagna from CookÂs Illustrated March/April 2004 Serves 6 (9x13" pan) Spinach: One 10-oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, OR Two 10-oz bags fresh spinach: rinsed and blanched for 10 seconds in boiling water If frozen, cook spinach 5 minutes. Fresh or frozen, drain well. Bechamel (this is a thin sauce!) 2 Tblsp butter 2 Tblsp olive oil 5 large minced shallots 4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed 1/4 cup flour + 1 Tblsp 4 cups whole milk 2 bay leaves 3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg or 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper à Saute the shallots and garlic in the butter/oil over medium heat till translucent, about 4 minutes à Add flour, cook, stirring constantly, for 90 seconds. Do not brown. à Whisk in milk, bring to boil over medium-high heat. à Reduce to simmer. Add seasonings and simmer 10 minutes, whisking occasionally. à Remove from heat. Discard bay leaves. Set aside. à NOTE: recipe can be done ahead to this point Cheese and Pasta 8 oz ricotta 1 large egg 1/4 tsp salt or lemon pepper 12 no-boil lasagna noodles (a box of Barilla has 16, so you will have some left over) 1 cup grated Parmesan 2 cups grated Italian fontina or mozzarella 1. Blend ricotta, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Set aside. Heat oven to 425°. 2. Place noodles in 9x13 broilersafe baking dish. Cover with hot water for 8-10 minutes, agitating sheets occasionally to prevent sticking. Then drain. 3. Wipe baking dish dry. Spray with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup bechamel on bottom. Position 3 pasta sheets in dish. 4. Stir spinach into remaining bechamel. Spread 1 cup spinach evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with Parmesan. 5. Layer another 3 pasta sheets. Spread another 1 cup spinach over noodles, and 1 cup fontina or mozzarella. 6. Again layer 3 pasta sheets. Spread with 1 cup spinach, and top evenly with the ricotta mixture. 7. Make a last layer with 3 more pasta sheets. Spread remaining spinach mixture and remaining fontina or mozzarella. 8. Spray a piece of aluminum foil with cooking spray and cover casserole. Bake until bubbling, 30-40 minutes, in a center rack position. 9. Remove foil. Adjust oven rack to uppermost position, set broiler on high. Broil lasagne 4-6 minutes until cheese is spotty and brown. 10. Let rest 10 minutes, and serve. I hope this is the right recipe. Sally

Butternut Squash Lasagna From epicurious.com For squash filling 1 large onion, chopped 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 3 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon white pepper 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 4 teaspoons chopped fresh sage 1 cup hazelnuts (4 oz), toasted, loose skins rubbed off with a kitchen towel, and coarsely chopped For sauce 1 teaspoon minced garlic 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour 5 cups milk 1 bay leaf (not California) 1 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon white pepper For assembling lasagne 1/2 lb fresh mozzarella, coarsely grated (2 cups) 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3 oz) 12 (7- by 3 1/2-inch) sheets no-boil lasagne (1/2 lb preparation Make filling: Cook onion in butter in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes. Add squash, garlic, salt, and white pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is just tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, sage, and nuts. Cool filling. Make sauce while squash cooks: Cook garlic in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, 1 minute. Whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk in a stream, whisking. Add bay leaf and bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 10 minutes. Whisk in salt and white pepper and remove from heat. Discard bay leaf. (Cover surface of sauce with wax paper if not using immediately.) Assemble lasagne: Preheat oven to 425ðF. Toss cheeses together. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in a buttered 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish (or other shallow 3-quart baking dish) and cover with 3 pasta sheets, leaving spaces between sheets. Spread with 2/3 cup sauce and one third of filling, then sprinkle with a heaping 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layering 2 more times, beginning with pasta sheets and ending with cheese. Top with remaining 3 pasta sheets, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese. Tightly cover baking dish with buttered foil and bake lasagne in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until golden and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let lasagne stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Cooks' note: Filling and sauce can be made 1 day ahead and kept separately, covered and chilled. Bring to room temperature before assembling. Makes 6 servings

Good to know. I agree the curly spinach has more flavor. Baby spinach is very very mild. I used to always remove the stems from baby spinach but we eat it several times a week in salads and one day I did not and no one said a peep. You really don't need to. With the curly, you have rib like structures and you really have to. I also remember it going bad more easily, maybe because the nooks and crannies hold moisture.