I think I have decided on the vegetarian entree. I love the sound of Linda's butternut squash lasagna but I have all of this pumpkin puree so I went looking for a pumpkin lasagna. This one also includes Swiss chard. I'm thinking I might skip the green beans every pushes around on their plate because stuffing and mashed potatoes are more appealing. I'll add more chard to the dish as one review mentions it could use more. I will also add some rosemary as that sounds like a tasty addition. Pumpkin Lasagna with Ricotta and Swiss Chard 1 pound lasagna noodles 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for tossing 1 onion, finely chopped 2 pounds Swiss chard, stems discarded and leaves chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 3 15-ounce cans pumpkin puree 1/4 cup heavy cream Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg Pinch of cayenne pepper 4 cups fresh ricotta (32ounces) 2 large eggs, beaten 2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (about 6 ounces) 2 cups shredded imported Fontina cheese (about 8 ounces) 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the lasagna noodles until just starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Drain well and transfer the noodles to a baking sheet. Toss the noodles with olive oil to prevent them from sticking together. 2. In a large skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderately low heat until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until wilted and no more liquid remains, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Season the chard with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate and let cool slightly. 3. In a medium bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, heavy cream, nutmeg and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper. In another bowl, mix the ricotta with the eggs, 1 1/2 cups of the Parmigiano, 1 cup of the fontina and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. 4. In a well-buttered, 9x13 inch ceramic baking dish, spoon 1/2 cup of the pumpkin mixture in an even layer. Arrange 3 or 4 lasagna noodles in the dish, overlapping them slightly. Spread half of the remaining pumpkin mixture over the noodles in an even layer. Top with half of the Swiss chard and another layer of noodles. Cover with half of the ricotta mixture. Repeat the layering with lasagna noodles, pumpkin, Swiss chard, another layer of noodles and finish with the ricotta mixture. 5. Cover the lasagna with foil and bake for about 40 minutes, until heated through and slightly firm. Remove from the oven and uncover. Preheat the broiler. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmigiano and 1 cup of fontina on top of the lasagna and broil about 4 inches from the heat until golden brown and crisp on top, about 4 minutes. Let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes, then cut into squares and serve. MAKE AHEAD The unbaked lasagna can be refrigerated overnight. Let return to room temperature before baking. Here is a link that might be useful: www.foodandwine.com

well, i'm kinda thinking as a chef/ prep point of view.. so i don't know what kind of prep work you will be doing. Like my examples, cleaning a fish or washing vegetables, 'high arc' faucet are more convenient. yes, the high arc is to accommodate tall pots, but it's also basically a 'pull out' faucet but instead of the hose hiding under the sink, it's exposed with a springy thing. it's like a 'coiled' electric cord.. so you have all those hose and it let you reach far when you pull the springy thing down. it won't be splashy if you adjust the water volume down when you wash delicate food, instead of more of a full volume for rinsing dishes. So the Brizo is a pretty good prep faucet because it is high and it can pull DOWN very far (better then pull OUT). what i'm just not sure is how smooth and easy it retract.. esp after couple years. If you already have a cleaning sink, and the prep sink is in a central place in the kitchen, i'll still get a 'high arc' but a more elegant one.. .. oh, ya,, when i talk about 'high arc' I mean the ones with the springy thing.. not just a solid fixed high arc faucet. Here is a video to illustrate my point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32t90hU4XvE just my thoughts.. :) Here is a link that might be useful: prep sink This post was edited by noopd on Fri, Apr 26, 13 at 22:32

My experiences were in my mother's kitchen...I appreciate my kitchen even more! My kitchen - double ovens/My mom's kitchen - single oven in a range...We had to juggle the turkey and side dishes - b/c she only has one oven. (We cooked the sweet potatoes the night before and then warmed them up in the MW.) putting the turkey in the oven/taking it out was not as nice as in my kitchen b/c my ovens are higher off the floor. My kitchen - no island or table in the middle/My mom's kitchen - table in the middle of the kitchen...We were jockeying around each other while we prepped/cooked b/c the table was constantly in the way. She has about a 36" aisle b/w the table and counters and even when I moved the chairs out of the way, there wasn't enough room to have 3 of us comfortably working in her kitchen. We also had to "run around the table" to get to the refrigerator - although it did help a bit when I pushed the table away from the sink/range area. My kitchen - pots & pans in drawers/My mom's kitchen - pot & pans in cabinets with stationary shelves...All that stooping and getting on my hands and knees to find a pot or pan! I also had to stoop/get on my knees when accessing the other base cabinets as well (mixing bowls, etc.) My kitchen - trash pullout/My mom's kitchen - standalone trash can outside the cabinets...It was a pain to have to constantly walk to the other side of the kitchen (10' maybe?) to get to the trash can! While I regret that mine is in my Cleanup Zone and not my Prep Zone, at least isn't as far away (6') and I can open it to bring it about 18" or so closer. There wasn't any room to bring my mother's trash can closer b/c of the tight aisles. My kitchen - rangehood/My mom's kitchen - no rangehood...While cooking butter/onions/celery for stuffing, boiling water for the mashed potatoes, cooking the giblets, and cooking/making gravy I watched (and shuddered) as all that grease, steam, etc. dissipated throughout the kitchen and settled on us, cabinets, walls, and ceiling. [I discussed with her the need of a rangehood externally vented outside!] My kitchen - 90-degree cutout at the corner/My mom's kitchen - diagonal corner...My mom's only sink is next to the corner and even though it is a 36" sink, there was really only room for one person working at the sink b/c the diagonal corner right next to it didn't allow anyone to work on the far right of the sink. My kitchen - double-bowl sink with a large bowl (21")/My mom's kitchen - double-bowl sink w/same size bowls..It was a pain washing the roasting pan and other larger items b/c the sink bowls were too small! (I remember that issue from my old kitchen.) I casually suggested to her that she consider either a single-bowl sink (30" instead of 36" b/c of her need for more usable cabinet storage) or a double-bowl with a large/small bowl. She's thinking about it. While I really missed my kitchen, it was nice to be around family and working with them in the kitchen as well as visiting!

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately they're not what I'm hoping may exist somewhere (perhaps it doesn't). Compumom, the Beard recipe I modified was the one for apricot bread in Beard on Bread, substituting persimmons for the apricots and their soaking water, as I described in my original post. I've made the Beard persimmon bread recipe you reference as well, reducing the sugar and using half oil half butter in place of the butter: the results were excellent, but too sweet and too fat for my current taste. Irisgal, your recipe is sweeter than what I want. Perhaps fruit breads require that much sugar, or almost: I know sugar can be cut to 3/4 cup, because I often do that myself, but don't know if can be reduced to 1/4 cup as I attempted, and which didn't work. I like a fruit bread for breakfast or as a snack, but since I had flu almost a year ago, my already moderate taste for sweetness has diminished almost to zero. For the last few years even plain apples have been borderline too sweet. Hence my interest in a bread with little added sugar.