Eggplant Parmesan

Although I was not much of an eggplant fan growing up, I have found several ways to enjoy this vegetable, and one way is in eggplant parmesan!  I found a recipe that bakes the eggplant rather than frying it, which makes it a much healthier alternative to the restaurant versions I've had.  We paired it with some whole wheat spaghetti and some store-bought marinara sauce and topped it with shredded mozzarella cheese!  Yum!

Recipe for Eggplant Parmesan

INGREDIENTS
1 large Chinese eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch sections
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Spread out eggplant slices and sprinkle some salt on each slice.  Let sit for 30 minutes.  Then rinse them and pat dry with paper towel.

2. In a gallon sized ziplock bag, mix together bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and dried basil.  Shake the bag until mixed well.

3. Dip an eggplant slice in the egg and then place it in the ziplock bag with the breadcrumb mixture in it.  Shake the bag until the eggplant is coated with the breadcrumb mixture.

4. Remove the eggplant from the bag and place it on a baking tray that is coated with olive oil.  Repeat above steps with all the eggplant slices.

5. Bake the slices in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes on each side.

6. Serve warm with marinara sauce, spaghetti, and shredded mozzarella cheese!

Thai Basil Eggplant

In keeping with the Asian theme this week, I made a Thai Basil Eggplant dish that we have had at restaurants before, and it was very tasty!  I got eggplant and basil in our CSA box last week, so it was a perfect way to use those ingredients.  I served it over white rice, but next time I may try making some coconut rice to give it some extra flavor!

Recipe for Thai Basil Eggplant

INGREDIENTS
1 large Chinese eggplant, cubed
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 block extra firm tofu, cubed
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch basil leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp chili garlic sauce
2 tsp corn starch

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a wok, heat the oil and add the eggplant pieces.  Toss to coat the eggplant in oil.  Add a tablespoon of water and cover and let cook on low-medium heat for 10 minutes.  Stir frequently to avoid the eggplant from sticking to the pan.

2. Add in the onions, garlic, bell pepper, and tofu. Stir and let cook for 5 minutes.

3. To make the sauce, whisk together the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, sugar, and corn starch.

4. Add the sauce to the wok, stir well, and let cook for another 5 minutes until the sauce slightly thickens and coats all the vegetables and tofu.

5. Turn off the heat and stir in the chopped basil.  Serve over rice!

Asian lettuce wraps

This week, I have been cooking a lot of East Asian dishes, and one that I have made several times before are Asian lettuce wraps.  These are inspired by the vegetarian lettuce wraps at PF Changs, which we love!  I use soy crumbles (we like the Lightlife brand because they use non-GMO soy) and tofu bits, which make it very hearty and full of protein!  I used the lettuce head that was in our CSA box as the wrap, and it makes a delicious meal or appetizer!

Recipe for Asian Lettuce Wraps

INGREDIENTS
Lettuce leaves
1 package soy crumbles
1/2 cup tofu, cut into small cubes
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup water chestnuts, chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 tbsp minced pickled ginger
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 tbsp dark sesame oil

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a wok, heat the cooking oil and add onions, water chestnuts, tofu and garlic.  Cook for 5 minutes.

2. Add soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar and chili garlic sauce and stir.

3. Add in the sesame oil and soy crumbles.  Cook for 5 minutes.

4. Spoon mixture into washed lettuce leaves and serve with dipping sauce.  To make the dipping sauce, in a small bowl, mix together 1 tsp sesame oil, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp rice vinegar, and 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce.

Macaroni Rosa

When we were living in California, one of our favorite chain Italian restaurants to visit was Buca di Beppo.  They had a lot of yummy vegetarian options on their menu, but our favorite by far was the Macaroni Rosa (without the chicken).  It is basically a pasta dish with vegetables (specifically peas, broccoli, and mushrooms) and a tomato cream sauce.  I wanted to try and replicate that dish since we had fresh peas and tomatoes in our CSA box last week, and the result was delicious!  It was just something I made up myself, and it actually tastes almost exactly like the dish at the restaurant!  And I bet it is a lot healthier since I didn't use any heavy cream to make the sauce (I used light cream cheese instead)!  Too bad Vivek is traveling for work right now, and I don't think the leftovers are going to last until he comes home tomorrow night!

Recipe for Macaroni Rosa

INGREDIENTS
1/2 box macaroni (I used Cavatappi pasta, which is the spiraled macaroni they use at the restaurant)
1 package whole white mushrooms, cut into large chunks
1/2 cup peas, boiled
1 cup broccoli, steamed
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cans tomato sauce
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tbsp light cream cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente.  Set to the side.

2. Heat olive oil in a saucepan and add onions and garlic.  Cook until onions are soft.  Then add tomatoes, tomato sauce, basic, oregano, and pepper flakes.  Stir, cover, and let simmer for about 30 minutes.

3. Add the peas, broccoli, and mushrooms to the saucepan, cover and let simmer another 15 minutes.

4. Add the cream cheese and parmesan cheese and mix well until sauce is a creamy pink color.  Then toss the pasta into the sauce and serve!

Stuffed Paratha

Nani is in town for a few days while Vivek is traveling, and in addition to all the help she gives me with the kids, I have a great cook in the house that can teach me some new recipes!  In this week's CSA box, we have fresh peas, and I wanted to figure out a way to get Keshav to eat some because they are so healthy for you!  One dish that Nani has made for him using peas before that he really enjoyed was stuffed paratha.  It tastes great dipped in yogurt, and Keshav also likes to dip it in ketchup.  Keshav even helped Nani to shell the peas!  It was delicious and so easy to make!

Recipe for Stuffed Paratha

INGREDIENTS
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 potatoes, boiled and peeled
1/2 cup peas, boiled
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Combine flour, water, and oil until dough is formed.  Make into golf-ball sized portions.

2. Mash together potatoes and peas.  Add salt and garam masala to the potato/peas mixture and form into golf-ball sized portions.

3. Roll out one ball of dough into a circle.  Place one ball of the potato/peas mixture in the middle of the dough circle and flatten slightly.  Then pull the sides of the dough up and around the top of the potatoes/peas and pinch together at the top.  Remove excess dough.

4. Roll out the dough and vegetable patty until circular.  Then cook in a pan with oil on medium heat on both sides until slightly browned.

Hide and seek squash!

These past couple of weeks, we have gotten some summer squash in our CSA boxes.  I have never quite figured out what to do with squash when cooking before as it doesn't really have much taste by itself.  So, we decided to try and hide it in some of our favorite foods to add the vitamins and antioxidants that the squash provides.  We steamed, mashed, and mixed it with pasta sauce, which was a hit with Keshav.  We also mixed some steamed and pureed squash into some pancake batter and made pancakes!  I steamed and pureed squash with carrots and kale to make baby food for Vidya.  And finally, I made some summer squash bread!  This is basically a sweet bread that tastes delicious with butter smeared on it and paired with some fruit (we had fresh picked strawberries from a local farm) and coffee for breakfast!

Recipe for Summer Squash Bread

INGREDIENTS
3 eggs, beaten
1.5 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups shredded summer squash

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the beaten eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla.  Gradually mix in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Fold in the squash.  Transfer to the prepared baking dish.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Beets!

There were 4 beets in our CSA box last week, and I wasn't sure what to do with them!  I don't ever remember actually having beets before, so I didn't know what to expect.  I came across two side dishes that I made on two separate days this week, and both were pretty good!  I made a beet, arugula, and quinoa salad last week, and today, I made a Russian borscht beet soup with a recipe from my new cook book.  I think beets have a very strong and unique flavor, and while both dishes were tasty, they could only be eaten in small portions as side dishes because Vivek and I both would have gotten tired of the strong taste if we had eaten them as main dishes.

Beets are very nutritious as they are an excellent source of folate and have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.  It was definitely fun to experiment with these different recipes using beets, but I'm not sure they are going to become a regular part of our diet.  

Recipe for Beet, Arugula, and Quinoa Salad

INGREDIENTS
2 beetroots, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup quinoa
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp white sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 green onions, sliced
1 bunch arugula, chopped
3 oz goat cheese, crumbled

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Steam the beetroots. 

2. Bring quinoa and 3/4 cup water to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is tender.

3. While the quinoa is cooking, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, garlic, salt, and black pepper in a bowl.

4. Remove quinoa from heat, then immediately add half of the vinegar dressing.  Reserve remaining dressing.  Cover and refrigerate quinoa until cool, at least 1 hour.

5. Stir green onions, arugula, goat cheese, beets, and remaining dressing into cooled quinoa mixture. Toss lightly before serving.

Recipe for Russian Borscht Soup

INGREDIENTS
2 beetroots, peeled and diced
4 cups vegetable stock
2 tomatoes, chopped coarsely
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 cup carrot, chopped finely
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp low fat sour cream
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp red chili pepper
salt and black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and onion and cook until soft.  Add the carrots, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and red bell pepper and cook for 10 minutes.

2. Cover 1/4 of the beetroot with the vinegar and put aside.  Add the remaining beetroot to the saucepan.  Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Add salt, pepper, and red chili pepper.  Add the reserved chopped beetroot and the liquid it was soaking in.  Simmer for an additional 40 minutes.

4. Garnish with low fat sour cream.