Easy Baked Eggplant!

At the local community college where I work, the horticulture department started a “farmer’s market” to help use their excess supply of garden goodies.  Today I came home with two Italian Heirloom Eggplants, a couple of different varieties of garlic, some banana peppers and a bag of potatoes.

I decided to try a baked eggplant recipe that turned out sooo good, that I just had to share it with you! I started out by finding a good basic recipe from the Mr. Food website.  But the recipe called for mayonnaise, which I don’t keep in my fridge.  I do have some eggs, though, so I did some adjusting and came up with this….I hope you try it sometime!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Slice your eggplant into ½” slices

Sprinkle with salt on both sides to help absorb some of the moisture, and let it sit for 15 minutes.  I’ve read in a few places that the final product won’t be as soggy after it’s been baked. 
While your eggplant slices are resting in the salt, pour some seasoned bread crumbs in a bowl or plate.  I had plain bread crumbs in my pantry, so I added a few teaspoons of Italian seasoning.
Crack an egg and put it in a separate bowl or plate.

After 15 minutes, dip the eggplant slices into the egg, then the bread crumbs, and place the slices in an oiled baking tray.

I decided to add some shredded parmesan and some fresh diced tomatoes on top.Bake for about 30 minutes or until the breading is a lovely golden brown.

 

Serve with some fresh fruit, a cold six grain rice salad with orange peppers, walnuts and chopped fresh mint,  and a glass of herb infused water (or your favorite wine in your favorite wine glass….I’m having some plum wine today!  Yum!)

 

What's that?  You want to know what kind of rice that is?  It's Kagayaki six grain rice, and contains black rice, purple barley, hull-less barley, rye berries, red rice, and short grain brown rice.  I bought it at my (not so) local Mistuwa store.  Well worth the one hour drive to get it though! 

Healthy Food Rating:  Pretty darn healthy
Taste factor:  ditto
Ease to prepare:  Really! And minimum clean up, too.  While the eggplant is cooking, you have plenty of time to wash the dishes and prepare your lunch for the next day!

Thanks today go to Linda for encouraging me to eat healthier, the horticulture department at CLC for their bounty of vegetable goodness and Diana for the very special wine glass!

Bon appetit! 

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.
Virginia Woolf 

Quinoa with Black Beans and Corn

Good Morning!

I just made a delicious dish that I wanted to share with you!  I made it yesterday when my sister and my two daughters came over to visit, and we all loved it.  We loved it so much, that I made another batch this morning to drop off at my girl's house today.  Then I'm off to the pottery studio to make more bowls like the yellow and green ones above.  I didn't make the plastic bowls...lol!

I found the recipe on the back of the Quinoa package that I bought at Target.  I adjusted it slightly based on the ingredients I had around my house.  It would be a perfect quick meal to take to lunch or a wonderful side dish to serve with grilled salmon (which I plan to do tomorrow night!).  So, here it is...enjoy!

Quinoa with Black Beans and Corn

Cook 1 cup Quinoa according to package directions
While that is cooking, prepare the following:

1 diced Red Pepper
1 15 oz. can of Corn (or 1 cup frozen corn, cooked)
1 15 oz. can Black Beans, rinsed

3 T Lemon or Lime Juice
2 T Olive Oil
2 tsp Ground Cumin

1/2 c. Sunflower Seeds
1/2 c. Walnuts (or Pecans), chopped

Optional: 
1/4 c. Cilantro, chopped
1 Chipotle Pepper in Adobo Sauce, finely chopped

Toss all the ingredients together and enjoy!

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.
Virginia Woolf

Creating Pumpkin Soup

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  This was one of my best Thanksgivings ever!  It was my first Thanksgiving in my new home (that's it above - lol!), and I was joined by my younger daughter and a couple of great friends!  One of the other great parts about it was the pumpkin soup we made. 

 

The recipe started out with just pumpkins, onions, garlic and vegetable broth, but we ended up adding a whole list of other ingredients on the spur of the moment, and it was Mmmmmm good!  The original recipe also called for two shiitake mushrooms, but I "just say no" to mushrooms! 

 

So, step one was cutting two small sugar pumpkins into 2 inch squares along with a chopped onion and a tablespoon of chopped garlic.  Put those ingredients in a bowl with 1/2 cup olive oil and toss well.  The bake at 450 for about 30 minutes or until tender.   As an alternative to baking, you can cook the pumpkins in water and use that water in your recipe in place of vegetable broth.

 

 

When they came out of the oven, we left the peels on and tossed all the ingredients into a food processor along with a couple of cups of vegetable broth.   Puree it all until it's nice and smooth, then transfer it to a pot and start cooking up the yumminess!

 

This is the point where we started getting creative...we added (without measuring, so have fun with this part) cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, crystallized ginger (chopped finely), brown sugar, cream, coconut cream, a touch of milk, and some salt and pepper.  Lucky for me I made yellow curry chicken last week, so I already had a few of the impromptu ingredients on hand!  Keep stirring over low heat until you're ready to eat!  (oh...add a little butter too...yum!)

 

To make your soup look as good as it tastes, serve it up in some pumpkin halves and sprinkle with a few toasted pumpkin seeds!

 

Check out All About Pumpkins for some interesting facts about pumpkins and a collection of which pumpkins are the best to use in your different pumpkin recipes.  For example, they suggest using Red uri, Kabocha or Butternut to make your pumpkin soups.  Better act fast though...pumpkin season at the stores may be ending soon!  And take a look below at how good those pumpkins are for your health...

Health benefits of Pumpkin

• It is one of the very low calorie vegetables. 100 g fruit provides just 26 calories and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol; however, it is rich in dietary fiber, anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins. The vegetable is one of the food items recommended by dieticians in cholesterol controlling and weight reduction programs.
• Pumpkin is a storehouse of many anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin-A, vitamin-C and vitamin-E.
• With 7384 mg per 100 g, it is one of the vegetables in the Cucurbitaceae family featuring highest levels of vitamin-A, providing about 246% of RDA. Vitamin A is a powerful natural anti-oxidant and is required by the body for maintaining the integrity of skin and mucus membranes. It is also an essential vitamin for good visual sight. Research studies suggest that natural foods rich in vitamin A help a body protects against lung and oral cavity cancers.
• It is also an excellent source of many natural poly-phenolic flavonoid compounds such as α, ß carotenes, cryptoxanthin, lutein and zea-xanthin. Carotenes convert into vitamin A inside the body.
• Zea-xanthinis a natural anti-oxidant which has UV (ultra-violet) rays filtering actions in the macula lutea in retina of the eyes. Thus, it helps protect from "age-related macular disease" (ARMD) in the elderly.
• The fruit is a good source of B-complex group of vitamins like folates, niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin and pantothenic acid.
• It is also rich source of minerals like copper, calcium, potassium and phosphorus.
• Pumpkin seedsindeed are an excellent source of dietary fiber and mono-unsaturated fatty acids, which are good for heart health. In addition, the seeds are concentrated sources of protein, minerals and health-benefiting vitamins. For instance, 100 g of pumpkin seeds provide 559 calories, 30 g of protein, 110% RDA of iron, 4987 mg of niacin (31% RDA), selenium (17% of RDA), zinc (71%)etc., but no cholesterol. Further, the seeds are an excellent source of health promoting amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan is converted to GABA in the brain.

Happy Cooking Everyone!

Jean :)

 

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion."

Henry David Thoreau 

The Joy of Leftovers

"Leftovers make you feel good twice. First, when you put it away, you feel thrifty and intelligent: ‘I’m saving food!’ Then a month later when blue hair is growing out of the ham, and you throw it away, you feel really intelligent: ‘I’m saving my life!’" George Carlin

I absolutely love being able to bring delicious leftovers (without the blue hair!) for my lunch at work. Not only does it taste way better than a "frozen dinner" or a sandwich, but it saves loads of money over going out to eat during your lunch break. My daughter and I just started going to a "Financial Peace University" class at our church, and I know that I can really save a few dollars by staying in during lunch time!

Here's one of my favorite leftover meals. Share yours with me, too, please!

"Mom's Lasagna"

1 1/2 pounds lean ground sirloin
12 pieces Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Grain Lasagna Noodles
4 cups Chunky Ragu (Tomato, Garlic, Onion)
2 14.5 oz. cans Hunts Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes
2 eggs
16 oz. 1% milk fat cottage cheese
2 c. shredded mozarella
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
1/4 cup shredded asiago

Brown your ground sirloin and cook those noodles according to the directions on the package. Drain the fat from the ground beef (obviously) and rinse your lasagna noodles in cold water.

In a big saucepan, heat up the tomato sauce and the diced tomatoes. I really liked the taste of the Fire Roasted Tomatoes! While that's heating up, mix up the eggs and cottage cheese.

Now for the layering into a 9 x 13 pan....
Start with a layer of the sauce (use 1/3)
Add a layer of 4 lasagna strips
Add a third of the cheese/egg mixture and a third of the mozarella

Repeat with sauce, lasagna and cheese/egg mixture and mozarella
One more time!

Finish off the top with the asiago and parmesan! (You can skip this extra cheese if you must, but the different cheese flavors add a nice touch). You can also make this dish a little healthier by using low fat mozarella (I usually go with what's on sale at the store!) Cover the whole thing with aluminum foil for the first 30 minutes. I take the foil off near the end of baking time to give the cheeses a nice golden brown finish.

Toss it all in a 350 degree oven for about 45-50 minutes. If you have the willpower, let it sit for about 10 minutes to "set" but eat immediately if you can't wait!

Voila! You now have 12 servings of warm and tasty lasagna! Enjoy! I usually leave it in the fridge overnight and then the next day, cut it into individual servings for the freezer. When you want to bring one for your lunch, just pop one into the fridge before you go to bed, and you're ready for a delicious, home made, low cost lunch!

If you've gotten this far, send me your favorite leftover meal that you like to bring to work! Think of the money we can save working together on this!!

Now go find something joyful to do today!
Jean :)

Yum!

I'm going through some pretty big transitions in my life right now, one of which includes living with some wonderful friends while I'm waiting for a more permanent place to call home. My friends have opened up their home to me, letting me stay in their beautifully finished basement where I always have my "art table" filled to capacity with my current art projects.

At times, it can be a bit unsettling not having a place to call my own, but my temporary home offers such warm hospitality and kindness, and I know that it is a place where I am joyfully welcomed. It makes the waiting a whole lot easier!

One of the gifts of staying here are the amazing meals that are prepared. I know that when I make that move to my new home that I'll not only be missing my friends, but I'll also be missing the delcicious meals that I've been served. What better way to remember them, than to document them here! And even wiser, keep a record of HOW these meals are made! Then in a few months time, I'll be able to invite my friends over to dine with me for a change!!



So in the spirit of creativity, here's how you, too, can make this delicious Beef Stir Fry.....

Ingredients:
Beef Tenderloin (about 1/4 pound per serving)
Any or ALL of these sauces...
From House of Tsang: Hunan Smokehut Grill Sauce, Tokyo Teriyaki Grill Sauce, and/or Kobe Steak Grill Sauce
Koon Chun brand Hoisin Sauce
(use about 2 or 3 T per sauce)
Any or ALL of these veggies:
Baby carrots
Baby corn
Orange, yellow or green peppers
Sugar snap peas
Green Onions
Sweet potatoes!

Cut the beef tenderloin in cubes and marinate in the sauces. Ideally, overnight, but at least 30 minutes. Add some crushed red pepper, garlic and ginger to the meat/marinade mixture. Dice the sweet potatoes in cubes and pop them in the microwave for a few minutes. Chop your carrots, peppers and green onions any which way you please. I always volunteer to help with the veggie chopping - it helps the time go faster while I'm anticipating the meal!)

Start up a pot of rice if you haven't already. We had jasmine rice this time, but brown rice goes great with it as well!

Toss a couple of Tablespoons (known as "tibbles" in this household!) oil in a frying pan. Toss in the sweet potatoes, carrots and baby corn and saute for about 5 minutes. Then add the remaining veggies for another 5 minutes or so cooking at medium low heat.

Add your beef tenderloin and continue cooking all the ingredients together till the beef is cooked to your liking. This gives you an excuse to take some from the pan to sample!

This particular meal was served with Algodon Premiere Cru (a Bordeaux blend). I'm told that any other good hearty red wine would be a good match (e.g. Cabarnet, Bordeaux, Merlot, Zinfandel or Shiraz.

Last but not least, sit down with some good friends, and enjoy!
(don't forget to pack some for your lunch this week, too!)

With thanks for fine friends and fine meals!
May your week before Christmas be filled with joyful moments while you wait!

Another Celebration!

One more reason for the family to celebrate this year! My younger daughter just graduated from French Pastry School! I'd like to suggest that everyone encourages their children to go to pastry school, just so you can enjoy a party that looked like this! Of course, living with her during the program was a pretty sweet experience as well! I was so appreciative of her hard work! I am also extremely thankful that the church staff where I worked enjoyed eating sweets! Otherwise, I'm sure I would have had to purchase an entire new wardrobe (and probably several sizes bigger!).

Below are some more photos from her graduation reception. Here's a photo of an amazing plated dessert that included plum stew.


And here we have some delicious chocolate candies. This was one of my favorite parts of her program!


I think I could have lived on this chocolate cremeux....absolutely heavenly (or sinful, depending on your perspective!)


Needless to say, I didn't eat much for dinner that night after a spread like this!


Congratulations Karin on completing this amazing program! And many thanks for feeding me such delicious treats over the last six months!

Bravo Karin! You did it!

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.
-Oprah Winfrey

Fruits of My Labor

Well...in a way it is the fruit of my labor (but it's my daughter who actually made the cake - I just took the picture before I brought the cake to work with me)! My daughter is in school right now learning to be a pastry chef! The one pictured above is a Coconut Passion Cake, made with coconut (of course), pineapple and passion fruit (I think it was meringue on top).

On Friday, I sent her a text to see if she was bringing cake home. Her response was, "Yes! A nougat mousse cake with pistachio dacquoise, apricot gelee, and nougat mousse with hazelnuts, dried cherries, and dried apricots in it." Click here to see a photo she took of her Nougat Mousse Cake. Make her day and leave her a comment (maybe you'll get on her good list - LOL!) She takes absolutely beautiful pictures!

Today will be the third day that she brings a cake home with her...she says it will be chocolate hazelnut. Ahhhh....the joys of parenting!

Where have YOU been finding joy lately??? Please let me know!

You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and prosperous you will be!
Psalms 128:2

Need a smile?

I'm so glad I stopped by the bakery this morning! I just had to share this with you (well, at least share the picture with you). Inside the head of the penguin was a donut hole, and inside the body was delicious, sweet, white frosting! There was an actual cupcake somewhere in the bottom half! Mmmmm!

And if you're still having a bad day after seeing that, then maybe this is just the cookie for you...


If you're ever in the Evanston area, be sure to stop by and visit this amazing bakery!


Hope your Three King's Day was as sweet as mine!




Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.
-Erma Bombeck

Thank You for Rainbows!

I just had to say thank you to our Creator for providing this wonderful bit of inspiration for me yesterday! I did like the colorful image of pencils that I used in yesterday's post, but this one takes the cake (more about cake below)! I also found a poem by Evelyn Heinz that I think you'll enjoy! If you visit Poetry.com you can find more beautiful and inspirational poetry by Evelyn.

How Does God Make A Rainbow?
to my grandson John Koval, in answer to his question

Oh, he takes a little boy's blue eyes
and a little girl's blond curls,
He adds a baby's tiny pink fingers
and ten tiny toes.
Plus, He adds a father's loving arms
and a mother's tears.
Then He stirs them all together
with His watercolors...
And... He paints the stormy sky.
John, that's how God makes a rainbow!

Evelyn Heinz
Copyright ©2009 EvelynHeinz

Awwww....What a lucky boy John is to have Grandma Evelyn in his life!!

Ah yes...I mentioned cake earlier....if you're in the mood to cook, visit Aleta Meadowlark's blog Omnomicon to learn how to make a RAINBOW CAKE!! So cool!!! I can't wait to try it out!! You can bet that I'll be including this recipe in my preschool newsletter for our April Showers Brings May Flowers unit!!

Well, I'm off to my upstairs studio space to continue my week of creating. I'll be posting some photos of what I've been up to later on today - I just wanted to do a quick check in to share some rainbows with you! If you're having a dreary, rainy day today...I'll wish for some rainbows to come your way!

Till next time...