ACORNS AND EAT ‘EM by Suellen Ocean

“The great regard paid to the oak probably
originated in the value attached to its timber and fruit;
the largest and most durable of European trees, its
wood was looked upon as the most precious produce
of the forest. With both Greek and Roman it was the
favourite timber for house, bridge, and ship building;
and the furrowed columns with spreading base that
upheld their stone-built temples of historic age seem
to indicate the oak-trunk as their archaic prototype.
The tree was not in less esteem among the Teutonic
nations; the long ships of the Northmen were hewn
from the same “heart of oak” of which the war-ships
of England were until lately constructed. The Anglo-
Saxons employed oak timber not only for their
dwellings and their fleets but occasionally for more
sacred architecture, the church till recently standing at
Greenstead in Essex, and supposed to have been
erected in the 10th century was wholly formed of oak
trunks roughly squared.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol. XVII, 1884
ACORN LASAGNA
Chop and sauté in 2 tablespoons olive oil:
1/2 onion
2 stalks celery
handful of mushrooms
1/4 tsp. dried basil
pinch oregano
pinch black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
When onions are soft remove from heat and add,
mixing well:
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 can (5 3/4 oz) drained pitted black olives
3/4 cup cottage cheese
1-10 oz. pkg. chopped spinach
1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 cup leached & drained acorns*
1 tsp. honey
In a large casserole dish (13x9x2), layer this whole
mixture with uncooked lasagna noodles, alternating
noodles then above mixture. Top with mozzarella
cheese. Cover with an inverted cookie sheet (saves
valuable natural resources like “tin foil”) making sure
that the lasagna pasta is covered with enough liquid so
it cooks as it bubbles and bakes. Bake for 45 minutes
at 350°.