Italian Stewed Eggplant

"UPS Food Service Feeds Thousands, Grosses Millions"  Newspaper Headline

Here is a recipe that will gross out no one!  It turned out so tasty that I actually fed it to my husband. It began when I found an eggplant in my refrigerator.  As I'm the only one who does food shopping in this house I had to assume that I bought it.  As I'm not too familiar with the ins and outs of preparing eggplant I sought out a recipe in one of my many vegan/vegetarian cookbooks.  I eventually found a recipe that was easy but did not reflect the list of ingredients I had on hand.  I improvised and it turned out pretty darn tasty.

Ingredients:
  1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch slices
  1 T coconut oil
  1 medium onion, diced 
  1 can (15 ounce) diced tomatoes
  1 T Italian seasoning
  salt and pepper to taste

Distructions:
  On medium to high heat saute the eggplant slices in the oil, lightly browning each side.  Add the onions, top with diced tomatoes, and sprinkle on the Italian seasoning.  If you do not have a container of Italian seasoning just sprinkle on some oregano and basil and maybe a bit of garlic powder.  You could also throw in some minced garlic.

  Cover and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.  Serve over pasta or rice.  I cooked up some rice pasta which covered both options and worked beautifully.  I also work beautifully, but try not to work too hard!

Honesty is the best policy - Not all of the slices of eggplant fit into the bottom of my largest frying pan so I took the extra slices and diced them, adding them just before I poured on the diced tomatoes.  Whew!  Good to get that off my chest.

Loveya
The Mom

Cinnamon Quinoa

"Wanted: Man to take care of cow that does not drink or smoke."  Classified ad

Maybe that's what's wrong with dairy.  Or maybe it's our educational system!

Today's entry is short and sweet.  It's something I had at my brother's annual Easter brunch.  Always a great get-together with incredible food.  We all bring dishes to pass, preferably with food on them, and my brother provides the ham and Polish sausage along with a plethora of other tasty treats.  I just love the word, plethora!

The picture above shows cinnamon sticks artfully arranged on a plate with a floral napkin ring.  Cinnamon sticks are not the most interesting thing in the world to photograph and I'm doing the best that I can.  That could be seen as a pretty depressing statement but in my world things are pretty good.  And the recipe with the cinnamon sticks is really good!

At any rate, one of the dishes served was a Cinnamon Quinoa.  My brother, Dan, said he simply prepared the quinoa the usual way, by simmering it in water, and merely added 2 cinnamon sticks into the pot.  Then he set out some maple syrup and pecans for optional toppings.  Yummy!  Next to some of the other dishes that were crunchy and salty the cinnamon quinoa was a wonderful compliment.  I can see this dish as a tasty side dish for almost any meal.

I also got the idea of using up cinnamon sticks by putting them into cooking cereal or even rice.  And that's how new recipes are born.  If you can think of other uses for cinnamon sticks that do not involve great bodily harm or substantial pain, please share.  And we thank you.

Loveya
The Mom 

Asian Eggplant

"It's bizarre that the produce manager is more important to my children's health than the pediatrician."  Meryl Streep

Here' a recipe I found interesting because I've never been formally introduced to eggplant in my childhood.  It just wasn't part of our Polish family's repertoire of recipes.  I heard this recipe on a radio cooking show and because it was so close to the type of foods that I eat I simply changed it to eliminate the sugar and cook it in coconut oil rather than olive oil.  I also doubled the amount of ginger because I keep my ginger in the freezer and after a while frozen ginger loses its potency.  If your ginger is fresh, you might want to use a little less. 

Ingredients:
  1 eggplant, medium sized, peeled and cut into chunks
   2 T rice vinegar
  1 t cornstarch
  2 T soy sauce
  Stevia, one smidgen
  1/2 t sesame oil
  1T coconut oil
  2 T fresh ginger, grated
  1/2 cup veggie broth


Distructions:
  In a large bowl stir together the rice vinegar, cornstarch, soy sauce, stevia, and sesame oil.  Set aside.  Heat the coconut oil in a wok or frying pan, toss in the eggplant, and stir-fry for about a minute.  Add the ginger and broth, reduce the heat, and cover.  Simmer for about five minutes.

Finally, stir in the soy sauce mixture and increase to high heat.  Stir and sing until the mixture is slightly thickened.  Enjoy immediately hot or cover and refrigerate and serve slightly chilled.  I did the slightly chilled version over some greens for a salad.  Too wonderful for words! 

I think this preparation would also work with other veggies.  I like the flavor so much that I'm going to explore some options.  I just love options!

Loveya
The Mom 

Chopped Salad

 "Collegians are turning to vegetables."  Newspaper headline

This is not only a simple dish to whip up but also a tribute to one of my newest kitchen gadgets.  I was looking for a basic food processor to chop nuts for some of my vegan dishes.  Well, was I surprised to find out the prices of basic food processors.  Enter the Ninja!  Love this little chopper and am using it almost every day to incorporate broccoli stems, dandelion greens, peppers, red cabbage, and a myriad of other vegetable matter into foods that we eat.  And in their chopped state most veggies are unrecognizable and consumed by the unwary.  Let's hear it for disguising vegetables!

Best yet, the Ninja, pictured at the left in a rather poor quality picture, is fast and easy to clean.   Best yet, in order to work the thing you get to bash it on the top. You actually stand there and beat the thing as if it deserves a good whack or two.  Generally, it only takes about a half dozen whacks to pulverize almost any food.  And did I mention that the Ninja costs less than half of any other food processor that I looked at while shopping.

Pictured to the right are a bunch of veggies, namely yellow pepper, red cabbage, and carrots.  I simply chopped them into chunks and put them into the Ninja and gave it a few hits.  The color combination makes a happy looking salad that's filled with good nutrition.

Finally, I put the chopped veggies on top of some greens and serve.  Oftentimes I first mix them with some Asian dressing (Aug 18, 2011 blog), or perhaps I'll whip up a simple dressing of apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and just a dusting of stevia powder.  Simple and delicious.

And the final product looks like the picture on the left.  Topped with diced avocado it makes my little heart happy.  As you can see, I didn't get the salad in the picture topped with avocado.   It's been a busy week.

Loveya
The Mom

Vegan Sprinkle On Cheeze & Lemony Creme

"My whole family is lactose intolerant and when we take pictures we can't say cheese."  Jay London

There's enough information out there to get any thinking person to give up dairy.  Also, because most accidents happen in the home, it might be a good idea to give up cleaning.  The logic isn't perfect on that one but I'm going to play it for all it's worth!

And for those of you who are thinking of giving up, or have given up cheese, here are two substitutes that will put a smile on your face and do away with the lactose intolerance blues.  First there's the Lemony Creme, which is a great substitute for sour cream.

Ingredients:
  2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 5 hours
  3/4 cup water
  1/3 cup olive oil
  4 T lemon juice
  1 t salt

Distructions:
  To soak cashews you simply put them into a goodly amount of water and let them sit there.  After the appropriate amount of time, drain and rinse well.  Next, put everything into a blender, or better yet a Vita-Mix if you have one, and whip it good.  Store in the fridge in a jar.

Lemony Creme is delicious when used wherever you'd use sour cream or when mixed with chopped veggies and placed on top of organic mixed greens.  Yum!

Next is a great substitute for dairy-based Sprinkle On Cheese.

Ingredients:
  2 cups macadamia nuts, soaked for 2 hours
  2 T lemon juice
  1 T nutritional yeast
  3/4 t sea salt

Distructions:
  Place all the ingredients into a food processor and process until combined.  Crumble onto a dehydrator screen and dehydrate for 5 to 7 hours.  Store in the fridge in a jar.  More yum!

I served both of these to a group of guests.  We ate them on Bean and Barley Tostadas  (January 10 blog post).  In the picture with this post both the Sprinkle On Cheeze and the Lemony Creme are shown on a vegan, raw chili.  Beyond that I've been recklessly using the Sprinkle On Cheeze on everything except the cat.  Lucky for him I'm a vegetarian!

Loveya
The Mom

Tomato Marinara - Raw

"We are indeed much more than we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than we are."  Adelle Davis

I believe that sometime back I mentioned an easy pasta sauce and said that I would share the recipe.  That day has arrived!

I love this sauce because it can be made in minutes in a blender, there are no veggies to chop if you use grape or cherry tomatoes, and it's delicious.

Ingredients:
  2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, or large tomato cut up
  1T pitted date, Medjool dates work well
  1 t dried oregano
  1/2 t dried rosemary
  1/3 cup olive oil
  1/2 t salt

Distructions:
  Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.  You can then serve this sauce tossed with veggies in a cold salad or warmed over pasta and other tasty ingredients.  Store this sauce in a jar in the fridge and it will keep for 3 or 4 days.

OK.  So the picture can't begin to describe the wonderful flavors in store for you with this sauce.  But it was fun to take the picture and right in the middle of the photo shoot as I was artfully arranging the parsley sprigs on the plate (#*!*#!) my husband walked in.  The was nothing to do but look up at him with a serious expression and say, "I'm starting a new diet today."   I think he really loves the adventure of living with me!

Loveya
The Mom

Portobello Patties - Raw

"Illiterate?  Write today for free help."  Newspaper Ad

When I first happened upon a recipe for Portobello sausage that sounded really yummy my first reaction was, "Wow, I don't have half of those ingredients in my kitchen!"  The results of some major tweaking on my part resulted in a chewy and flavor-filled creation that was pretty darn good, according to a half dozen people that I was able to foist this on. 

Notice, before you begin, that you're going to have to have one cup of almonds that have been soaked in water for 8 to 12 hours.  Therefore, before you go to bed on a day when you'll have a bit of free time the next morning, put the cup of almonds into a container, add water, set onto the counter top, and go to bed.  The almonds will be just fine for the night.  Or, you could put the almonds into some water the first thing in the morning and whip up this recipe later in the afternoon.  Life is full of wonderful choices!

Ingredients:
  3 T olive oil
  2 T soy sauce or tamari
  1 T mango chutney
  1 T apple cider vinegar
  4 cups Portobello mushrooms, chopped (I used 3 cups Portobello and 1 cup button)
  2 cups eggplant, unpeeled and chopped
  1 cup almonds, soaked 8 to 12 hours
  1 cup oat flour - quick oatmeal made into flour using blender
  1 T coriander
  4 scallions, chopped
  2 to 4 cloves roasted garlic
  1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
  S&P to taste

Distructions:
  In a large bowl whisk together the olive oil, soy sauce, mango chutney, and apple cider vinegar.  Toss in the mushrooms and eggplant and allow to marinate for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, process the soaked and drained almonds, along with the coriander, in a food processor until the almonds are small pieces but not too small.  (Don't you just love such specific instructions?) Put into a large bowl. 

Next process the mushrooms with the scallions, garlic, and parsley until chunky.  Add this mixture to the almonds and work in the oat flour with your hands if no one is watching.  Salt and pepper to taste, about one teaspoon and a half-teaspoon respectively, and shape the mixture into patties.  Place on a dehydrator screen and dehydrate at 105 degrees for about 8 to 12 hours.  I made about 12 patties.

OK, this recipe does have mango chutney in it, which is probably not a common product in most kitchens.  But I got a jar of this delicious chutney for Christmas and I used it instead of a plum paste that the original recipe called for.  I would also try apricot jam without too much hesitation.

Yes, this is a time consuming recipe but for most of the time things are simply soaking or dehydrating and you can go about your life casting votes for your favorite contestant on American Idol or wondering if you're ever going to win Power Ball and be able to really speak your mind.

To serve these I actually placed two patties on top of some leftover pasta, which I had lovingly warmed, and covered the whole creation with heated, leftover pasta sauce.  I served this to my husband for dinner and the next morning he was able to get out of bed under his own power.  He didn't ask about the patties.  His motto is, "Please don't tell me what's in it!"

These patties also seem to keep in the fridge for about a week with no noticeable impact on their texture or flavor.   Yummy enough for me to want to make them again!

Loveya
The Mom