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