Eggplant Bacon and Roasted Red Pepper Mayo

I saw a recipe for eggplant bacon that required liquid smoke. This seems to be an ingredient that crops up a lot in vegan cooking, to mimic the smoked flavor of various meats (read: bacon). I have yet to buy a bottle, because I'm too suspicious of it. It is the liquid run-off from smoke. Hm. If I really wanted to ingest that, I'd still be hacking up whatever it was I produced in the morning after an evening smoking mentholated cigarettes. "Genotoxic under an acceptable level?" Mmm, pass.

So, without consulting a recipe, I marinated eggplant strips (cut thinly into planks) in soy sauce, and a little molasses and smoked paprika, which appealed to me a bit more as a stand-in for the smoke flavor.

I broiled the strips on each side on foil in the oven, watching them closely, until they were crispy.

While standing around the kitchen, I put a peeled, roasted red pepper in my food processor with some Vegennaise. This also works well with sun-dried tomatoes: you just cover the tomatoes for a few minutes with boiling water, then drain, then add to the food processor. I seasoned it, too, to taste.

Wish I'd had some fresh tomatoes on hand, but this makes a great ELT sandwich with the sun-dried tomato mayo as the "T," and of course some avocado. The salty, smoky and crunchy eggplant was great in the balance with the other elements of the sandwich, and I had plenty left over.

Baba Ghanoush

Baba ghanoush is an Arabic dip made from eggplant that I'm thinking most of us have had by now. Don't worry if you can't pronounce it. Just make it, and eat it.



I've purchased baba ghanoush in a can that was, believe it or not, fairly decent. But it is so inexpensive to make, like, a metric ton of it. Like dude: a TON. Anyway, I froze several containers of it for later. I'll let you know how that goes.

Ingredients:

4 eggplants
olive oil
lemon juice
3 or 4 garlic cloves
beans or tofu
salt and pepper

Here's how you do it: I use a simple 4/40/400 rule: put four eggplants on a cookie sheet with foil for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. Turn them over once halfway through cooking. Let them cool. Then peel the skin off and put the "meat" into a food processor with three or four cloves of garlic (yes, this plan of mine will yield a strong garlic flavor. If you want less, use less, but honestly just thinking about that makes me a little sad). Use salt (plenty, keep tasting) and pepper and a little something to thicken the mix: I use either a rinsed can of white beans, chickpeas, or about 3/4 cup of tofu (whatever you have). Then I add lemon juice, and I use the concentrated stuff if I don't have fresh ones on hand.

Blend it all up, and while it is whirring, drizzle in about a quarter cup of olive oil. Serve it with chips or pita, and drizzle it with more olive oil and some paprika. So, so good, and good for you (unless you have a date or a job interview). My friend Lynn recently made me aware of "sale produce" at our local Italian grocery, where they sell produce in big bundles that has only a day or two left. So I made this quadruple batch for about $1.29. What a thrill!

Grilled Vegetable Lasagna

I'm not doing a low-carb throwback to 2001 here, but a good veggie lasagna can be made without the noodles. It's kind of fun, and you can have big pieces of vegetables without grinding them into the sauce or the filling... I just use them instead of the noodles.

I cut the vegetables lengthwise and grill and season them first (I use a grill pan). Then, importantly, you have to pat them very, very dry with paper towels. Otherwise they will cook down further in the pan, and you'll have a soggy lasagna (which is still pretty good, actually, you just have to drain it somewhat.) Then you put a bit of sauce in your pan, and lay the veggies down as you would the noodles.



You can use any veggie you like: eggplant (which you don't have to salt and drain if you grill them), zucchini, yellow squash, even potatoes, which have starch and actually help thicken things up a bit. (I know, I should have cut these eggplant lengthwise, but I forgot. Still pretty good. Doesn't matter, really, as long as they are sliced thinly.)



You alternate the layers with the filling: a mixture of one medium tub of ricotta (again, drained very well), one egg, one cup of mozzarella cheese, a half cup to one cup of parmesan, a couple tablespoons of diced flat parsley,  a little salt and pepper, and a dash of nutmeg. Don't use too much filling, or you'll have the water problem again.

I top mine with smoked gouda or mozzarella, some more parmesan, and bake it at about 375 degrees for 45 minutes.



You can also add ground turkey meat or ground sausage to the sauce, or simply add tomato paste to the drained ground meat, and use that as a layer (which again helps it to stay undiluted). Or, go on your merry veggie way and skip the meat.



The smoky flavor adds a little interest to it. Just steer clear of Trader Joe's Light Smoked Gouda. Terrible. I'll never go the way of light cheese again. Remember the Friends episode where one of the guys compares how much he hates something to Monica's feelings on light mayonnaise? (She says, "IT'S NOT MAYONNAISE!!") Well, that's how I feel about light cheese. Plastic doesn't melt, folks. If you wanna go light, I say eat real food and try portion control instead.



Or not... It IS veggies, after all.

Sliced Veggie Pizza

One of my experimental pizzas recently turned out very well, and if I'm not mistaken, it has the added benefit of being quite good for you.



I sliced up yellow squash, potatoes, zucchini, and eggplant. I used the grill pan for all of the veggies, but you could use a regular grill. If I ever do it again, I will sauté the thin potato slices in a separate pan. It took a long time to get them cooked through on the grill pan, much longer than it ever has in a regular sauté pan (I do potato slices like this for frittatas or egg pies). I wanted all of the veggies pretty much done, and then just leave the cheese to be melted. I started in the middle of the crust, and alternated veggie slices in an outward spiral until the obsessive child inside of me was warm and swaddled. I mean, until I reached the edge of the crust.

I didn't use any sauce, because I thought the finished product would be kinda juicy by itself. I was right. It was very good with just some garlic and olive oil on the crust (I used Trader Joe's pre-made whole wheat Tabula Rasa crust) and the oil and seasoning I used to grill the veggies.

Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches

Chris and I were watching "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (which we rent via Netflix) last night, and there was an episode in which Larry David gets a sandwich named after him. This prompted a discussion about what our sandwich would be. On a kosher menu, I'd have to go with chopped liver, maybe on rye, for mine, and not just so I could say, "What am I, chopped liver?!" Chris is undecided, though I think a nice lean roast beef suits him nicely.

Still, outside of a deli menu, I think my favorite sandwich is probably grilled eggplant, with buffalo mozzarella, olive oil, salt and pepper, fresh basil (which has been growing like crazy on a pot on our windowsill this summer) and roma or garden tomatoes, on good ol' french bread. I make the eggplant on my grill pan (though next time I will try the new gas grill outside), and just season it. I also brush on a little olive oil first. When you prepare it this way, you don't have to go through the whole salt and drain procedure, which makes the eggplant much more friendly.



Chris doesn't care too much for eggplant, and I love it. I continue to sort of ignore his preference to not eat it, hoping that one day he'll come around to it like he did with avocado and one or two other things. He's always been willing to eat anything (which I'm basically taking advantage of), but eggplant hasn't risen to one of his favorites yet. Still, he can make his sandwiches without it. More for me.



With the leftovers, I like to reheat the grilled eggplant slices until they are just warm to the touch (just above room temperature). It makes a great summery dinner or lunch, and a sandwich that could represent me any day: all the colors of Italy, rustic and straightforward but a little smart, and with a little bite that's maybe not for everyone.

Mmmm... Umami!

I found this article from the Wall Street Journal to be intensely illuminating, and I just had to share it. (Please do not get the impression that I am a regular WSJ reader; I am nowhere near that deep.) At first I clicked on the title and read it just out of curiosity: a new taste discovered? Neat.

But now I realize that this article is all about me. Some of you out there are sweetness junkies and carb-lovers. My husband is a good example: we have joked for years about the loving way that he hovers over any pastry, bread, rice, potato, sugary snack or, *gasp*, any combination of the aforementioned (like a cinnamon roll, or a sugared pastry.) I have always said that I like salt as much as he likes sugar, but that isn't exactly right. I do often find dishes to be too salty. But now I know what it is that I really crave: umami!

The article describes "umami" as the deep, meaty, satisfying and complex flavor that is present in a variety of foods: Worcestershire sauce, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, anchovies, and on and on. Just as table sugar is "just sweet," MSG is "just umami." Some parts of the article are a bit scary, like the goings-on of a certain food lab that is using "an artificial taste bud" (bringing sci-fi images of a large, disembodied organ to mind -- if I touched it, would it taste me?) to test artificial means of manufacturing umami, and a PR push to get the public to accept MSG as a "more natural product." But there are natural ways of bringing out the umami flavor that is already present in foods: by roasting, grilling, drying, and sautéing. To me, this gives a name to something that I have figured out in experimenting with vegetarian foods. Using certain ingredients, combined with certain techniques (mushrooms, parmesan, roasted veggies, grilled tofu and eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.) make a dish much more satisfying than those without. I'm not a vegetarian, but I think the knowledge makes my vegetarian dishes better. Personally, I think it is umami that separates the vegetarian entrées from the side dishes.

It also explains why I've always needed parmesan in my chicken soup! What I need now is a t-shirt that tells the world what I really am: "Umami Freak."

P.S. I first read this article on a tiny screen in small text -- I apologize, but I misspelled umami the first time around. My thanks to those who commented and shouted this at me in ALL CAPS. Oops.

Portobello-Eggplant Burgers

While I was in Portland, I visited Powell's City of Books, an amazing multiple-story used and new bookseller downtown (and apparently, the largest of its kind in the world). One of the books I scooped up was "Great Burgers: 50 Mouthwatering Recipes" by Bob Sloan. The first recipe I tried was the vegetarian burger. Aren't I silly?



This burger is called the "Portobello-Eggplant Burger with Smoked Mozzarella and Tapenade." In the book, there are instructions to grind your own olive tapenade with anchovy dressing, but I lazily got the jarred tapenade from Trader Joe's. I also like their smoky Jack cheese, and I used that instead of the smoked mozzarella the recipe called for. The recipe recommended a "sturdy roll," and that was good advice. However, I had some whole wheat pitas I wanted to use up, and they worked just fine, though the ingredients were practically busting out of them.

I grilled the portobello caps, and melted the cheese on them. Then I added a slice of grilled eggplant. I also changed the recipe by adding basil leaves, and a shmear of roasted red pepper and eggplant dip (also from Joe's.) We added sliced tomatoes, and having no room for the recommended grilled onions, we were done! It was delicious. The flavors went together perfectly, and it was one filling, monster burger. Next time I will use the sturdier roll that was recommended, so I can pile them high like Dagwood!

Coconut Chili and Bean Medley

Here's something I experimented with the other night that came out quite good. It has a sweet and spicy, vaguely eastern flavor due to the light coconut milk and seasonings. I've been playing with coconut milk a lot since tasting Thai curry a few years ago, and this is another of my variations.

• Sauté half of a yellow onion (diced) and four minced cloves of garlic with a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a deep pan.


• Add 1/2 bag golden raisins, and four cooked and diced Yukon gold potatoes.


• Add 1 can rinsed and drained kidney beans, one can rinsed and drained chick peas, and 1/2 bag steamed or prepared lentils (about one cup).


• Add 1 can light coconut milk, three-quarters of a jar of Trader Joe's roasted red pepper and eggplant dip***, 1/3 bag of cashews, and 1/3 bag frozen peas.


• Season with salt, pepper, a little cumin and coriander, and a more generous amount of chili powder to taste. Heat through and combine until peas are thawed, and the dish is warm.


• Serve over brown rice, and garnish with red bell pepper or scallions.

I think this dish is easy to prepare, even if you don't really cook. It looks like a lot, but it is all "pantry" ingredients, and it is my favorite style of cooking (just combining things in a pan.) Don't be scared if it looks a little strange... The raisins give it a burst of sweetness, and the nuts give it a nice crunch. The leftovers (and there will be a lot), reheated very well, and it may have even tasted better after a couple of days in the fridge.

*** You could make your own by processing oil-packed red peppers (with the oil), garlic, and grilled eggplant until smooth.

Grilled Veggies... and What to Do With Them

I love the veggie griller's package at Trader Joe's. It comes with bell peppers, a slice of eggplant, sweet potato, zucchini, red onion and yellow squash, plus a couple mushrooms, and some asparagus. I added the green onion myself, plus some additional bell pepper I had. If you don't have access to Joe's, you could easily make the mix yourself. I just like that it is "single-use, no waste."

Now, of course, they are good simply paired with a grilled chicken breast, but one could get tired of that. Also, there are a couple of these (like the eggplant) that need some "sneaking in" for my husband's sake. I grill the veggies on my grill pan, and I've come up with several uses for them after that.

One night I rough-chopped them, and added them to pasta with some olive oil, a can of clams, a little red pepper flakes and a bit of white wine. Plus, of course, a ton of parmesan cheese.



On another occasion, I put them through the slicer blade (after grilling) of my food processor, plus some leftover asparagus and steamed broccoli I had.



Then I added them to a sautée pan and added red sauce. I got a nutrient-packed veggie sauce out of that, and there was lots left over for the week.



Lastly, I also diced them after grilling and added them to a "crustless quiche." I based it on this recipe from cooks.com, but I basically put in the following:

10 cubed slices wheat bread
9 eggs
3 cups skim milk
two large handfuls (about 8 oz. or two cups) shredded cheese
the cubed veggies
four slices grilled Joe's turkey bacon, diced
salt and pepper

I cut the bread into cubes, and added the beaten eggs and milk, then all the other ingredients. I baked it in a sprayed pan at 350 until it all puffed up into a nice blossom, which took something like an hour. (Hard to say, because mine takes twice as long as everyone else's on earth.)



This was really delicious. We had lots of leftovers that we just reheated in the microwave throughout the week... Would be good without the bacon as a vegetarian option, too!

Vegetable Risotto

One day not long ago I found myself with a great deal of mozzarella and fresh produce on hand, which not the worst position in which to find oneself. This risotto is a great way to get rid of a whole bunch of produce at once, if you're concerned about using it all before it goes bad... I diced up everything I had in the fridge: some garlic, onion, zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, and red and yellow bell peppers. I sauteed the diced veggies in some olive oil with salt and pepper, in smaller chunks than I usually might have done, because I already had plans for the leftovers. (Wouldn't you like to know).

I then added all of the risotto that I had in the house, and stirred it all around until just toasty -- when the arborio rice starts to look a little translucent. Then you begin adding the liquid that is recommended on the box a bit at a time (if you are a box-reading sissy, that is), letting it cook down a bit before adding some more. Add, stir, add, stir. I used chicken stock, but you could use water or vegetable stock, too. Personally, I didn't measure anything. The best part about arborio rice is that it "tells" you when you are done adding liquid. You can taste it, and it should have a cooked rice texture instead of a crunch. Here it is before it is quite cooked:



When it is all said and done (maybe 20 minutes or so), I put the veggie risotto into individual crocks and broiled some good mozzarella cheese on top of each. Oh man. What's better than that? And it was so easy.



Chris and I each got our own little private casserole, which was cute. I think this would be a great way to get some veggies into veggie-proof kids, too, because it was all chopped fine and hidden beneath that blanket of mozzarella. If you think they'd pull the cheese off the top, then you could mix it up a little before giving it to them. That way, when they grow up, you can laugh and tell them how much smarter than them you used to be. It might make you feel better about the fact that they never call or write.



Stay tuned for the fate of the leftover risotto and mozzarella cheese...

Eggplant Risotto

Risotto (arborio rice) is another Italian dish that I have no qualms in saying that I did not grow up eating. For one thing, the differences in Italian cooking vary widely not just region-to-region, but also from kitchen-to-kitchen that you can easily spend a lifetime exploring all of the possibilities. No single Italian grows up with every Italian dish. It is also important to note that my greatest influence in cooking was my father -- who was not just an Italian, but a long-term bachelor before (and after) his marriage. He was a great, and passionate cook, but he was also Mr. Mom. While he aspired to the delicate and complex cooking of Julia Child, his own cooking was often centered mostly around cuts of various meats, frying things, coldcuts, and (with the exception of his tomato-gravy, and corned beef on St. Patrick's Day) those things which could be made quickly and easily: utilizing only a 24-year-old spatula, and a skillet that looked as though it had shielded him throughout a war and several hostage crises. His cooking was born of his ethnicity, his necessity, and his resources. And consistently, it was damn good. I see these things with a clearer eye now.

(As a side note, when David and I moved out of the old house, we could not wait to chuck the crummy old cooking supplies and buy new ones. Now, when I think of the history the old man's skillet had, I wouldn't focus on its long lack of a non-stick surface: I would mount it on my kitchen wall as an historical artifact.)

Still, my tastes (and my husband's) run just a bit more to the veggie side now and again. My inexperience with the medium of risotto, however, made me rather timid about trying it out. But over the years, She Whom I Love to Taunt (but actually rely on, and worship somewhat) has emphasized the ease of making risotto so many times that I actually started to believe it. And Rachael? "Easy-peasy" it is.

I started the rice with onion and mushroom. Then I began to add the chicken stock according to the package directions. While I slow-cooked the risotto, I grilled eggplant on the side. It was very simple to continue adding chicken broth as the risotto cooked, thickened, cooked, thickened... Lather, rinse, repeat. I added fresh basil at the end, and served it with some ovoline (buffalo mozzarella the size of eggs) that I got at my new favorite grocery store. Just because it was there.

Chris has not yet completely developed an appreciation for eggplant, but I will continue to make it because I love it so much. I will temper it, for his sake, with the occasional serving of coldcuts and corned beef. I know what boys like.

L'Appetito

Chris and I recently went to a place he's been wanting to try: L'Appetito in Glenview, IL. They sell all kinds of Italian food and sandwiches. I've also read that they are starting other locations, but they are still family-owned. When we got there, I stood inside for a good 10 minutes trying to decide what to have... We decided, first and foremost, to try the arrancini. Those are balls of risotto, stuffed with meat sauce or mozzarella, and breaded and fried. We had them passed as an appetizer at our wedding reception at Monastero's in Chicago, but I was so busy with the chatting and whatnot I never got to try one:



Chris said he preferred the ones at Monastero's, because he thought they were a little spicier. Well, I couldn't compare, but I thought these were crispy, mild and delicious. They had meat sauce, mozzarella and even peas and carrots in the center.

Chris got a sandwich with prosciutto and mozzarella:



Mine was called the "melanzana," and had eggplant in it. It was delicious!



For dessert, I had straciatelli (chocolate chip) gelato, and Chris had a mixed-berry sorbet (he so loves those fruity flavors. (And yes, he is "all man"):



I definitely want to go back and try everything! Next time, I will have a cannoli, and try their cappucino...