Eggplant! Curry! LOVE!

So I have been getting in the habit of buying more vegetables, no matter if I have a plan for them when I buy them or not. When I saw this gorgeous eggplant at the market I drooled over it like a medium rare prime rib.

But then I thought, hmm how would I like to eat this eggplant? I wanted to try something different than eggplant parm. So I turned to my veggie friendly cookbooks and voila:

I found a great recipe in my Moosewood cookbook. For those that may have it, its from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant.

Eggplant, Red Pepper, and Spinach Curry

Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
salt

1 lg. Spanish onion, chopped
2 tbsp. vegetable oil or ghee
1 Tbsp grated peeled fresh ginger root
1 Tbsp ground cumin seeds
2 teasp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup coconut milk
1 c. water
10 0z. spinach, washed and stemmed
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch sq.
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
salt to taste

cooked rice (i used quinoa)
toasted cashews (optional)

Directions:
Sprinkle the eggplant cubes w/ salt, place them in a colander, and set aside for 20-30 mins.
In a medium pot, saute the onion in the oil until translucent. Add the spices and saute for another minute or two, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
Rinse the salt off the eggplant cubes and allow to drain. Add them to the pot along with the coconut milk and water (I forgot to add the water and was pleased with the consistency at the end, plus I used the whole can of coconut milk). Cover and simmer on low heat for 10-15 mins. or until the eggplant is just tender.
Meanwhile, in another pot cook the spinach in a small amount of water until limp but still bright green. Drain in a colander and save this liquid to add to the curry if it seems dry...mine didn't. When the spinach is cool enough to handle, chop it.
Add the bell pepper swuares to the eggplant mixure, cook for 5 mins. more, then stir in chopped spinach, lemon juice, and additional salt if desired. Simmer another 2 or 3 mins, with the peppers still tender but not mushy and the spinach still quite green.
Serve on rice (i used Quinoa) and top with toasted cashews.

Dan thought that the liquid from the curry may be better soaked by the rice, but we loved the nutty flavor and crunchy texture that the quinoa added. Delish and colorful dish. I dont have any idea about the calories but its almost all veggies! Curry makes everything taste amazing in my opinion.

Enjoy zis hot dish. you will LOVE LOVE it.

a week of good food

sometimes fj and I just get pizza and microwaveable meals all week...sometimes we are classy and really try to outdo ourselves. the latter is this week -- we are classy mf'ers around here right now. last night fj made mussels with white wine, garlic, and olive oil, with a side of italian risotto and petit peas in butter sauce. it was perfect.

Mussels in White Wine Sauce

2 lb Mussels
1/4 c Shallots or onion; finely chopped
2 cl Garlic; finely chopped
2 tb Olive or vegetable oil
1 c Dry white wine
pinch of Saffron or paprika
Snipped parsley

To clean mussels, discard mussels that have cracked or open shells. Scrub fresh mussels with stiff brush under cold running water, cleaning shells thoroughly and pulling off the "beard."* Place mussels in large pan of cold, fresh water and swish them around with hands. Drain mussels and repeat with fresh water until water stays clear. Discard any that are not tightly closed. Cook and stir shallots and garlic in oil in Dutch oven** over medium heat until shallots are tender. Stir in wine and saffron. Heat wine mixture to boiling. Add mussels. Cover and boil until mussels open, 3 to 5 minutes. Discard those that do not open. Remove mussels to bowl with slotted spoon and keep warm. Cook remaining liquid in pan over high heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Pour sauce over mussels. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve with French bread if desired***

*debearding a mussel is easy, if you get them bearded. most places sell them debearded. rip off the little tentacles that come out of the shell by scrubbing them off.

**a dutch oven is great or a huge pot works too. you do need a pot with a lid though, and not a sauce pan or a shallow pan. the clinking noise that mussels and clams make when you stir them in a large pot makes me literally tingle with happiness.

***you will desire this. you know how people eat bread with things like spaghetti so that they can sop up all the tomato sauce? I was literally drinking the white wine sauce out of the bottom of the bowl that the mussels were in. it was SO GOOD! french bread soaked in white wine sauce...I was dreaming about it later on. I am again, now that I'm rewriting this.

tomorrow: boeuf bourguignon.

It's good to be me

It's good to be me, because on a Sunday night after an entire afternoon of walking around Old City with Dan, I can come home tired and hungry and find a lb. of frozen fresh bass in my freezer. Caught by my Uncle Jerry, given to me by my grandpa, this fish has come a long way to serve the purpose of satisfying me with a tasty and healthy meal when i most needed it!

I got this recipe online from Cooking Light. I actually followed it very closely and added a superb side salad. I happened to have all of the ingredients and found it very tasty and was happy to know that it had a mere 247 calories per serving.

Sauteed Bass with Shiitake mushroom sauce

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet and 1/4 cup sauce)

Ingredients
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 (6-ounce) skinned bass fillets
2 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
2 teaspoons bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preparation
1. Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper over fish. Add fish to pan; cook 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Remove fish from pan; cover and keep warm.

2. Add mushrooms and sesame oil to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Add ginger and garlic to pan; sauté 1 minute. Add the green onions and remaining ingredients to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Serve with fish.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 247 (28% from fat)
Fat: 7.6g (sat 1.2g,mono 3.2g,poly 2.4g)
Protein: 33.2g
Carbohydrate: 6.9g
Fiber: 1.7g
Cholesterol: 140mg
Iron: 2.9mg
Sodium: 629mg
Calcium: 49mg

I served it with a spinach and mandarin orange salad with red onions. I put a little orange olive oil and lemon juice on my salad, but the combination with the sauce for the fish was heavenly. Dan and I could not believe how well it went together. It was the perfect complimentary salad. I had leftovers for lunch tomorrow and one serving in the freezer and feel perfectly satiated tonight. I highly recommend this dish!

Warming Up a Winter Night with Some Hot Italian

Most of the time I spend at the gym is spent thinking/salivating over the delicious things I will be able to when I get home! Last night, (with a little help from my new RachyRay Cookbook and the Hothotdish) I cooked up the most perfect little meal.

Chicken Stuffed Florentine with Spinach-Mushroom Risotto

Take 3/4 cup of ricotta cheese, 1 cup of previously frozen spinach, 2 chopped cloves of garlic sprinkly of salt n' peppa and mix er up. Rach added some roasted pine nuts but alas I had none (it still turned out great).
Slice 4 chicken breasts in half and stuff with a scoop of delicious filling... then wrap those breasts in prosciutto/God's gift to man (unfortunately I had none of this either so I used thin sliced ham-still pig, still delicious). Rub with a bit of olive oil and bake in your oven on a cookie sheet at 400degrees for 18-20 minutes or until cooked through.

In the meantime, prepare yourself some risotto!! I used Megan's previously mentioned recipe but I added some mushrooms to the onions in the beginning, left out the shrimp and used spinach instead of arugula.. Voila side dish perfection!!! You may be thinking... spinach overkill but no sir you are wrong. Spinach is delicious and if Popeye is any proof it's good for you too! I beat a cold in 1 day by combining the power foods of clementines, spinach and Scotch ale.. but that's a tale for another day.

When your chicken and risotto is complete, serve it up with a tasty little field green salad, a glass of vino (dry and red just how I like it) and a healthy helping of Alex Trebek.
Happy Hump Day!

Engorged in Holiday Excess and trying to diet

I had some leftovers from the bangin partay this New Years. I decided to incorporate them into a cooking light recipe that I could modify using my leftover and classy ingredients...lobster and champagne

Pan-seared shrimp and Arugula risotto

I substituted Lobster for the shrimp and basil and green onions for the arugula. Just happened to have those ingredients lying around.

Ingredients:
4 C. chicken stock
2 Tb. EVOO
1 lb. Shrimp (i used the same amount of lobster meat.
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground Black pepper
1/2 c. shallots (unfortunately i used onions)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 C. uncooked Arborio rice
1/2 c dry white wine (i used champagne, c'est la vie)
1/2 c. grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
2 Tbs. butter (about 8 times less than i normally use :D)
3 C. baby arugula (I used a handful of green onions but plated the risotto on a bed of romaine lettuce leaves)
1/2 c. thinly sliced fresh basil (i used about 1 c. in total)

Directions:
1. bring homemade chicken stock to a simmer in a small saucepan (do not boil), keep warm over low heat.

2. Heat 1 tbs. oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle shrimp (or lobster?) with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Add shrimp to pan, cook 1 min, remove from heat and set aside.

3. Heat remaining oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots (or onions) and garlic to pan, cook 5 mins or until tender, stirring frequently. Add rice, cook 1 min, stirring constantly. Stir in wine (or bubbly); cook 1 min. or utnil liquid is absorbed, stirring constantly. Add 1 c. stock, cook 4 min or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add 1 c. stock, cook 4 mins or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining stock, 1/2 c. at a time, stirring frequently until each portion of stock is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 mins total). Stir in shrimp (or lobster), cook 1 min or until done. Stir in remaining ingredients; cheese, butter, remaining 1/4 tsp salt, and remaining 1/8 pepper. remove from heat, stir in Arugula and basil. Serves 6.

i need your hellllp

me and mr. fj are hosting a grand christmas feast (no roast beast though).

anyone have any awesome xmas recipes (please don't suggest croque en bouche! yikers). all I can think about is ham...if you've got any ideas for me, please post and comment.

here's a recipe for you; I'm not sure if I posted it already? I make it all the time, I know I shared it with colleen once. it's so so so so so soooooooooooooooo YUUUUUUMMY and nice and fattening and warm, perfect for monday when it's supposed to be balls-ass-cold and snowy. cut the recipe in half unless you're feeding like 8 people... this makes a ton (and don't save any for leftovers...it's not good leftover).

• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, divided, at room temperature
• 2 cups parboiled long-grain rice, such as Uncle Ben's
• 3 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 pounds small shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 1 cup whipping cream
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a medium nonstick saucepan, heat 1/2 of the butter over medium-low heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the chicken stock and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmercovered for 20 to 25 minutes until the rice is tender and all the liquid is absorbed. Remove the pan from the heat and rest covered for 5 minutes.

In a large skillet, melt the remaining butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 to 2 minutes untilaromatic. Add the shrimp, lemon juice, and hot sauce. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the shrimp is pink and cooked through. Stir in the cream and heat through. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Using a fork, fluff the rice and arrange on a platter. Spoon the shrimp cream sauce over the rice and serve.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/nonna-lunas-rice-recipe/index.html

And I don't need no hook for this shiiiit.

So, it's been quite some time since anyone has posted. And since i spent all weekend reading bon appetit magazines and running away from a small pug, i decided to do a little cooking today. I made lentil soup & proscuitto-gorgonzola twists.

I'll start with the soup. So usually when I make lentil soup, I use the recipe from the moosewood cookbook. It's a vegetarian tomato based soup and it's entirely delicious. Another option that I have utilized is to do a ham-based soup if i have a spare ham bone lying around. Buuut I came across yet another vegetarian version of lentil soup for all of your friends that haven't hopped on the sausage train yet.

So this starts as your typical lentil soup. SAUTE 1Tbsp olive oil, 1 med onion (I used 3 small. Gentlemen's Rule #144: Always double onions & garlic in recipes.) and 1 med carrot. Cook til the onions are translucent. Add 2 cloves of garlic (the recipe called for one), some salt & pepa. Cook for a few. Add 2Tbsp curry powder. This can be taken up or down depending on your tastes. Stir for another hot sec. Add 4c. water & 1c. lentils. (The recipe calls for french lentils. I couldn't find them at wegmans and honestly if danny doesn't have it, who does. But seriously, i guess you can find them at specialty grocery stores. I just used regular and it worked fine. Also, I used 2c. veggie broth & 2ish c. water...you might need more than 4 cups all together. It depends on how vigorously you simmer or something like that). Simmer for 55ish minutes or for the length of a csi episode.

Ok, so after David Caruso solves the crime and puts his sunglasses back on, you can grab yourself a 15oz can of garbanzo beans, peel 2 cloves of garlic, and squeeze a TBSP of lemon juice. Put this all + 1/4c. water + 2TBSP olive oil in a food processor and blend til smoooooth like justin bieber.

Add this mixture + 2TBSP butter (i think this is optional because i didn't do it.) to the pot.

Mix. mix. mix. Taste. Add more curry if you desire. Enjoy.

There was a suggested garnish of chopped green onions & lemon wedges. I skipped this but it would be a nice touch for a dinner party.

And if you don't want to read through my obnoxious instructions, here is the recipe:

3Tbsp olive oil, divided

1 med onion, chopped

1 med carrot, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped, divided

2 Tbsp curry powder

1 c. green (french) lentils

4 1/4 c. water, divided (or vegetable broth)

15oz can chickpeas, drained, rinsed

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp butter

Add now for the good stuff. I've had a love affair with prosciutto since italy when i ate copious amounts of melon wrapped in it. So obviously anything with prosciutto, puff pastry and cheese has to be amazing. You'll need:

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

4-6 slices prosciutto (definitely lean toward the higher bound in this one)

1/3 c. crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

2Tbsp Parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten.

Preheat oven to 450.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry into a 12x12 square.

Place prosciutto on one half of the square. Sprinkle Gorgonzola and Parmesan on top.

Brush egg glaze on other half and fold over onto the cheese/meat side. Press sides firmly.

Roll out again into 11x8 rectangle. Brush with egg glaze and sprinkle with pepper.

Cut into 1/2 in. strips and twist three times before placing on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Brush with glaze again. Bake until golden brown, 15ish minutes.

Side note: make sure you keep an eye on these puppies. They go from 0to60 in about 2 seconds. But boy are they a mouthtreat.