Lasagna 1n a tube

>» Impressive bachelor food

David Douglas
Contributor

 

his is just a pasta dish, but it’s fancy.

The perfect make-in-advance plate to
eat in front of the big screen. Perfect for the
bachelor and for when he’s got company. If
aman needs to impress anyone, this is the
dish to do it.

10 uncooked manicotti noodles

2 cans tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp chili powder (optional)
1/2 lb ground beef
2cups chopped frozen spinach (thawed)
(300 grams)
500 ml cottage cheese
2 eggs
1cup shredded mozzarella

2 green onions (minced)
salt & pepper to taste

For the sauce (make first):

On low heat in a large saucepan, warm
the tomato sauce, tomato paste, brown
sugar, smoked paprika, basil, chili powder,

salt, and pepper with a lid on—stirring
occasionally. It is going to spend some time
in the oven, so it should be wetter than you
normally would want lasagna sauce to be.

For the stuffing:

Ina large sauté pan, break apart the
ground beef then brown it. I like to sort

of overcook the beef and have it dark. If
one desires a smokier flavour, add a wallop
of BBQ sauce to the ground beef while it
cooks. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let the
beef cool enough to touch, then ina large
bowl, mix the ground beef, spinach, cottage
cheese, and eggs. Use hands to knead until
it becomes a consistent squishy goo.

Step-by-step assembly:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Take
handfuls of the meat stuffing to fill the
manicotti. Filling is best accomplished

by making a fist with the stuffing and
placing a noodle at the opening between
your index finger and thumb. When you
squeeze the stuffing in your hand, it should
fill the noodle. Fill the noodle from one
end and stop when it just starts to come
out on the other side. This process could
also be accomplished with a piping bag.
Repeat for the other nine noodles, ensuring

 

not to break them. Put any leftover stuffing
aside. By now, the flavours in your sauce
should fuse since it has been on the oven
for awhile. In a large casserole dish, pour
the sauce to fill about one to one and a half
centimetres from the bottom. The sauce
will help hold your manicotti in place while
you arrange your noodles in the casserole
dish. Ensure that there is one to two
centimetres between all noodles, since they
will expand. I usually place them in two
columns of ftve. Pour more sauce over the
noodles. It is best if the noodles are barely
above the sauce level. With the mozzarella,
green onions, and leftover stuffing,

garnish the manicotti. Put a wide strip of
mozzarella across each noodle column,

Illustration by Morgan Hannah

with a more narrow strip of stuffing along
the middle of each strip of cheese. Sprinkle
with green onions. Place in oven for about
an hour. The sauce should reduce and
thicken. It will darken at the edges and on
top of the noodles. The noodles should
expand and become soft.

For the presentation:

Remove the dish from the oven and serve
by carefully scooping under each noodle
with a wide spatula taking as much tomato
sauce as possible. Placing on a dinner plate.
Try to keep your decorative cheese, stuffing,
and garnish on top and visible. Spoon
additional sauce from the casserole dish

on top of the noodle. Serve with a caesar or
garden salad—and garlic toast.

Would you try the spaghetti donut?

» Weirdo Cafe in East Vancouver offers strange delights

Michele Provenzano
Staff Writer

 

he fancy indie cafes that seem to pop

up on every corner can be intimidating.
If you're anything like me, you enter the
latest trendy cafe only to feel like you don’t
belong there. You feel less sophisticated
than the other patrons. You feel like...
a weirdo. Well, what if there was a cafe
dedicated to us weirdos?

I was in the car with my dad when he
pointed it out: “There’s the Weirdo Cafe!”
Lasked him why he would criticize an
innocent establishment and peered out the
window to identify the victim. But I saw
a small sign—Weirdo Cafe turned out to
be the actual name of a restaurant in East
Vancouver. Who knew!

Tucked away in the corner of a small

 
 

strip of shops on Victoria Drive, Weirdo
Cafe can be found—an Asian fusion
restaurant that opened earlier this year.

After dropping in, we were met
with friendly service upon entering and
were quickly brought to a table in the
moderately busy cafe. Thanks to its warm
lighting, dark grey walls, and wooden
decor accents, the area possessed a cozy
and comfortable atmosphere. Dozens of
wooden crates hung from the ceiling over
the bar, creating a unique geometric art
piece.

Glancing through the menu, the
item that intrigued me the most was
the spaghetti donut. Yep, that’s right, a
spaghetti donut. It is essentially noodles
encased in a donut-shaped fried batter.
Some may find the concept gimmicky,
and perhaps it is true that I’m rather
easily amused. This dish showcases the

=

restaurant's dedication to unexpected food
combinations. The menu contains a wide
variety of foods from portions of pastas and
risottos, to sandwiches and seafood. They
also have brunch and dessert options.

The spaghetti donut was a wonderful
combination of savoury and sweet. My
only issue with the dish was not knowing
whether to eat it with my hands, or with
a fork and knife! I also ordered chicken
karaage, a Japanese-style fried chicken.

I paired my meal with their rose-peach
iced tea, which was sweet and refreshing.
Overall, the meal was satisfying, enjoyable,
and at a fair price point.

Weirdo Cafe takes pride in its creative
dishes. Their website outlines their values:
“(the founders] think that delicious cuisine
should not be bounded by a country’s
restrictions, instead, it should combine the
merit of different country’s cuisine to make

a brand new different flavored creative
cuisine.”
The cafe’s website also states that
the restaurant is "founded bya bunch of
people who have very weird and special
ideas.” The owners feel that they may seem
like “weirdos” to people who are used to
restaurants sticking to one type of cuisine.
I’m looking forward to visiting Weirdo
Cafe again and trying more dishes. Their
website also explains a phrase on their sign
in Chinese, #4 # (wo you du), means "I
have poison.” The phrase is a homonym
of weirdo, and is supposed to signify the
idea that their food “can be addictive
and unforgettable as our customers will
continue to keep wanting more and more
servings after a bite.” I certainly feel that
they've succeeded.

Photo via Weirdo Cafe's Facebook page