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End of the Season Garden Lasagna Recipe

So, you're sayin', "What in the heck do i do with all these left over tomatoes and eggplants!?" And i'll tell you: you're gonna make the most delicious vegetarian lasagna ever!!This recipe is inspired by my favorite restaurant, Sweet Basilico (a family owned authentic italian restaurant in Estes Park, Colorado) and all those heirloom tomatoes and eggplants from the gardens of mine and my friends. The directions may seem a little ambitious, but fear not!!-it really is simple- i will try to break it down to make it simpler, and i'm tellin' ya it's worth it!First, you are going to make the sauce by cooking the tomatoes down. This is going to take a while, so you might want to start it in the morning to have it ready for dinner, or start it the evening before, keep it in the fridge overnight, then finish cooking it the next afternoon. After the sauce is ready, you can begin making the lasagna.1. For the Sauce you will need:
*5 -7 large tomatoes or about 10 small roma sized tomatoes- (or you might as well use all the tomatoes you have) we used cherokee purple, but romas are the authentic sauce tomato.
*2 bell peppers or a few of any sweet peppers you have left in your garden (just keep the heat in mind if you're using hot peppers)
*1/2 Cup fresh chopped basil or about 2 TBsp dried basil
*3 or more cloves garlic (the more the merrier!)
*a few pinches fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried oregano
*1 bay leaf

Chop all the tomatoes and place in a large soup pan. Add enough water to cover halfway and bring to a boil, then turn heat on low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Basically, you're just going to let it cook down for a couple hours. Just make sure you stir it every once in a while, check it often, and if it boils down to the point where it looks like it's going to burn and there's almost no moisture left, add a little water 1/2 cup at a time- but don't add more water unless that happens. You really have to use your own judgment for this- once it starts looking like tomato sauce, then you know you're cookin'!After the sauce has cooked down for an hour or so, you can cover it and put it in the fridge if you need to go. If you don't have something else to do, keep it simmering. Now is the time to prepare the peppers (you are going to char them- this brings out a great, smoky flavor!).To char a pepper, if you have a gas stove, turn the flame on medium, and place the whole pepper on its side over the flame. Let it char on one side, then turn it a little, until the whole thing is charred as evenly as possible (look out for the stem- it'll burn!). Set the charred pepper aside to cool, then do the other one. If you don't have a gas stove, you can broil them on one side, then turn and broil on the other side using the top rack in the oven. Just remember to check them often! Once they have cooled, remove and discard all the charred skin- it should come off easily. Cut off the tops and seeds, then slice and dice the remaining pepper and add to the sauce. (Don't forget to taste a slice of that pepper.) Let it all simmer for 1/2 hour- 45 min, then take off heat and get out the blender. Pour the sauce in the blender and blend as thoroughly as possible. You might have to blend it in stages if it all doesn't fit at once, so have another pan ready. Most people usually put the sauce thru a sieve to get rid of seeds and skins, but i chose not to 'cause i thought it gave it a heartier texture. Now pour all the sauce back into the pot and bring it back to a- simmerin'. Now is the time to add your bay leaf, basil, and oregano. Then chop the garlic and add to the sauce. Give it a stir, and let it simmer, uncovered til it looks, smells, and tastes like delicious tomato sauce (approx. 1/2 hr.). Once it's done, cover and take off heat (you don't want to overcook and kill the volatile garlic and basil oils).
2. For the Lasagna you will need:
*about 10 small eggplants or a couple med- large sized eggplants
*15 oz ricotta cheese
*fresh mozzarella
*olive oil
*basil/oregano/fresh chopped garlic to taste- optional
*optional: if you've got some zucchini or yellow squash growing in your garden, you might as well add a couple of those- or some handfulls of spinach - or any veggies that sound good to you!First, slice all the eggplants into thin slices lengthwise and set aside (these are going to be the "noodles"). Preheat the oven to 350°.Heat some olive oil in a large skillet over med. heat. Put in the eggplant slices (as many as will fit w/o overlapping), season lightly with basil & oregano if desired, then cover and reduce heat to med- low. Once they've cooked on one side, flip and let 'em cook on the other and then set the cooked eggplant aside. (You will have to cook all the eggplant in stages, 'cause it won't all fit in the skillet at once.) By pre-cooking, you don't have to worry about the eggplant being done all the way when it's ready to come out of the oven.Now, line the bottom of a 9"x12" pan with half of the eggplant slices. With a spatula or wooden spoon, spread some of the tomato sauce over them. Over that, half of the ricotta cheese. If you are using zucchini or yellow squash, dice these, and sprinkle evenly over the ricotta cheese, and on top of that, the chopped garlic and more basil or oregano if desired. Cover that with the rest of the eggplant slices, then more sauce, and the rest of the ricotta cheese. Now, slice the mozzarella and place evenly over the ricotta.Place the pan on the middle rack in the oven, and bake until the lasagna is heated thoroughly and cheese is melted and beginning to brown slightly. If you added zucchini or yellow squash, test a small piece to make sure the squash is thoroughly cooked- if not then keep it in the oven til it is. Now take out the lasagna and place it in the broiler for about a minute- til the cheese on top is nicely browned. (Check often!) If you have an electric stove, carefully, with hot pads, move the lasagna to the top rack to broil.The lasagna is now ready to eat! Serve generous slices topped with extra tomato sauce and enjoy!***This lasagna goes really well with red wine, a garden salad, ice water and garlic bread (and friends). As if you haven't had enough already, below i'm going to include a short (really) recipe for delicious garlic bread, for fresh garlic is the key to authentic italian cooking.You will need:*your choiceof bread, sliced*butter*olive oil*a whole bulb of garlic, peeled- or just the rest of the bulb left over from the sauceChop the garlic and place in a small bowl. Over the garlic, drizzle small bits of olive oil and stir until all of the garlic is lightly coated in olive oil. The oven should already be preheated for the lasagna at 350°. Butter the slices of bread, and spread the garlic mixture over them, to your taste. (We really like to load it on!) Place on broiler pan or baking sheet on the middle or bottom rack of the oven for a minute or so- til the bread is warm. (It's best if you don't let it toast- just melt the butter and all- and it'll kick on your immune system!) Enjoy!