Sweet Love and Ginger

vegetarian

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

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Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Spring is finally showing its face around here and while I’m excited to see the flowers poking their heads out and to hear the birds singing, I’m also pretty damn exhausted. Just being honest.

Getting garden beds prepped, spring time household chores, work and a hectic social life have been taking their toll on me. Don’t get me wrong there’s a lot of good happening here it’s just a lot and all at once.

While I love being busy and social at the core I am an introvert. I need some quiet time alone once in a while to recharge my batteries so to speak and this is one of those seasons where it does not happen often.

There was one night last week that I did, by some random miracle, get an entire evening on my own. What did I do with this evening you ask? I made Eggplant Parmesan with homemade sauce.

There is something so relaxing to me about making a meal that takes a little more time and effort than the usual week night dish that just seems so healing to me. It’s like I am saying to myself and to my body that yes you are worth it. You are worth the time to prepare this meal, this nourishing homemade meal from scratch. You are worth it.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

In today’s society we are all about convenience and food that is quick and easy, while not necessarily being nourishing. With this behavior I have to ask what is it that we are telling our bodies? What are we telling ourselves with this kind of mentality? In my mind we are telling ourselves that we are not worth much if we can take 10 minutes to eat something more than what we can get from a drive through window. We get one shot on this earth with one body and I don’t want to cram it full of sub-par fuel.

Despite this hectic time of life I’m going to take a moment a little more often to cook more food that nourishes not only my body but my soul. I want to cook the types of food that remind me that I am worth the time and effort to make something not only delicious but healthy. I’m going to cook more recipes like Eggplant Parmesan.

 

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 large eggplant, sliced into ½ inch thick rounds
  • 2 cups tomato sauce of choice
  • 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
  • ¼ cup fine grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a shallow bowl toss the bread crumbs with the basil, garlic and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg and water until well blended.
  3. Place an eggplant round into the egg mixture, ensuring that both sides are evenly coated. Next place the egg coated round into the panko mixture and again coat it evenly. Place the round onto the lined baking sheet. Repeat this process until all the rounds are coated.
  4. Place the sheets in the oven for 10 minutes. Flip the rounds and place them back in the oven for another 10 minutes. When done the rounds should be golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and set aside.
  5. Using an 8×11 baking dish spread about 1 cup of tomato sauce evenly on the bottom of the pan. Place the baked rounds in an even layer on top of this. Spread another ½ cup of tomato sauce on top and sprinkle with roughly half of the mozzarella cheese. Place the remaining eggplant in another layer and repeat the process of adding sauce and cheese.
  6. When complete sprinkle the Parmesan on top and place in the oven for 18 to 20 minutes. The cheese should be melted and beginning to crisp. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

French Lentil and Arugula Salad

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This is a review of Food 52 Vegan. 

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for this review through the Blogging for Books Program.

French Lentil and Arugula Salad

As we try to eat more vegetable based meals I find that I’m running out of steam. I’ve kind of been stuck in the same rotation of meals, which quite clearly has not helped our waste lines. That’s why both Chuck and I are trying a diet challenge for the month of January. These little challenges give me a chance to flex my creative muscles in the kitchen and cook a different style of food. I have found that in my attempt to make sure I’m still getting enough protein on a restricted diet, while also maintaining my part time vegetarian diet and not getting completely bored, vegan cooking seems to be the way to go.

Food 52 Vegan

I recently picked up Food52 Vegan Cookbook and immediately fell in love. Not only are the pictures amazing, and the recipes superb, but there is a lot of really amazing step by step instruction, and additional info to help the average person understand the foundations of vegan cooking and diets.

This salad has been one of my favorites of the book, and a great go to for week night meals and lunches. I have made it exactly as prescribed, but also added a few ingredients here and there to spice it up. Thing like roasted red peppers, leftover black beans, hummus, and peanut dressing all work wonderfully with this salad base.

French Lentil and Arugula Salad
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: Serves 4
Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 ½ cups cooked lentils
  • 2 cups firmly packed baby arugula leaves
  • 1 cup thinly sliced radishes
  • 1 cup chopped endive
  • 1 cup sliced cucumber
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh dill
  • 1/3 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
  • Fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, shallot, salt, lemon juice, vinegar and mustard until evenly blended. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together the lentils, arugula radishes, endive, cucumber, and dill. Drizzle evenly with the prepared dressing, then toss until the ingredients are evenly coated. Stir in the walnuts and season with black pepper to taste.
  3. Serve immediately.

French Lentil and Arugula Salad

Maple Chipotle Winter Roast Veggie Salad

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This is a great recipe for bringing a little summer to winter time vegetables.

Maple Chipotle Winter Roast Veggie Salad

Sometimes in winter things can get a little dull. Everyone is making soups, stews, and sauces with mainly creamy and savory components. Don’t get me wrong I love that stuff but sometimes I just want some freshness in my life even if it’s frozen tundra outside. Some freshness and some heat. Who says we can’t eat summery style food with our winter veggies? Not I.

What I’m getting at is that this recipe is the perfect way to squash the summery food craving. The sweet heat of Chipotle and Maple combine to bring a summer barbecue-esk flavor that lends itself well to the warm roasted veggies and fresh kale. Spiced squash seeds add just a touch of the necessary crunch to bring this whole dish together.

Maple Chipotle Winter Roast Veggie Salad

Maple Chipotle Winter Roast Veggie Salad
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2 Servings
Ingredients
  • 1 red onion, peeled and quartered twice
  • 2 turnips, peeled and quartered twice
  • 2 beets, peeled and quartered twice
  • 2 cups butternut squash, peeled & cubed
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • ¼ cup squash seeds, cleaned & dried
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3 cups chopped kale
Instructions
  1. Place the onion, turnip, beets, and squash on a large rimmed sheet tray. Sprinkle with chili powder and drizzle with roughly 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Place in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the veggies are soft.
  2. Reduce the heat to 325 and spread the squash seeds in an even layer on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Drizzle with remaining oil and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until they begin to pop in the oven. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
  3. To assemble the salad place half the kale in each bowl, top with cooled veggies, seeds and drizzle with Maple Chipotle vinaigrette (Recipe Follows). Serve immediately.

Maple Chipotle Vinaigrette

1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon chipotle powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well blended. Serve immediately.

Maple Chipotle Winter Roast Veggies

Balsamic Roast Veggie Toasts with Gruyere

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This is a recipe for Balsamic Roasted Vegetable Toasts, a simple appetizer that does double duty as a great vegetarian meal.

Balsamic Roasted Vegetable Toasts

Winter is a time of soups, stews, roasts and sweets. Savory and filling are the stars this time of year, but it’s always this time of year that I want to bring a little freshness into my life. Things like lemon, balsamic vinegar and winter fruits are defiantly requirements in my house. They add a hint of brightness, complexity and freshness that so many meals this time of year are lacking.

This recipe is pretty adaptable in that it can easily be made into a sandwich, and eaten as a main dish or when cut to size it makes a wonderful appetizer to accompany most winter meals.

Balsamic Roasted Vegetables

I love the way that the sweet balsamic melds with the stringy, salty gruyere. Using different vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, red pepper, onion or even roasted garlic only adds to the complexity of flavor and texture. I think this dish is so simple that it takes dinner party guests by surprise with its addictive flavor.

It’s also a good way to get young ones to eat their vegetables.

Balsamic Roasted Vegetable Toasts

Balsamic Roast Veggie Toasts
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 16 Servings
Ingredients
  • 8 oz broccoli florets
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced thick
  • 1 small red onion, quartered
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (plus 1 tablespoon)
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 8 slices sourdough bread, halved (or quartered depending on preference)
  • 12 oz shredded soft gruyere cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425F.
  2. Spread the veggies out on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, balsamic, salt pepper and toss well to coat. Place in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the veggies have softened and begun to caramelize, tossing once halfway through. Remove from heat and set aside.
  3. On a separate baking sheet spread the bread slices out and lightly brush with olive oil and place in the oven until crisp and golden, about 22 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
  4. After the bread has rested carefully divide the veggies up evenly on each toast. Top with cheese and place back in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
  5. Serve immediately.

Similar Recipes:

Pear & Brie Toasts

Pear & Brie Toasts

Engagement Tart

Engagement Tart

4-Cheese-Red-Pepper-Dip

4 Cheese Red Pepper Dip

Roasted Beet Salad with Feta & Balsamic

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This is a recipe for a roasted beet salad that is full of flavor and tons of greens!

Roasted Beet Salad

I’m not going to lie beets are kind of a new thing around our house. Aside from the token serving of Harvard beets at the holidays at Momma Chuck’s house I had never really been exposed to them. That Harvard beet recipe is delicious by the way; I’m just told it’s a lot of work.

 

Honestly I think I was afraid of them. That sounds ridiculous but let me explain. Beets are messy, and  they stain everything. They have a very strong flavor and what the hell do you cook with them? However since I started this whole Part Time Vegetarian thing that I waxed on about earlier this week I have gotten so much more adventurous with my foods.

I don’t know where but somewhere I read that our ancestors ate something like 150 ingredients in a week and the modern western diet includes 20 items. Based on this idea I can’t believe that we are getting all the vitamins and nutrients that we need from these 20 items alone. There are so many more fruits and vegetables available for me locally than I often eat so I’m kind of on a quest to try them all and add them to my regular diet. If I eat more varied stuff I eat regularly the more good stuff I can get in my body from nature and therefore hopefully gain a higher functioning, healthier body. Right? Isn’t that the goal? I think it is.

Roasted Beet Salad

So anyway that’s why I decided to try beets and as it turns out they are actually pretty good. Chuck even approves. So far I have roasted them up with a bunch of other vegetables and with this salad. What I really like about this salad is that it’s unique and can be served as a great starter for just about any fall dinner. The ton of antioxidants and health food power in it is just a bonus.

Roasted Beet Salad with Feta & Balsamic
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 6 small beets, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup baby arugula
  • 2 cups baby spinach
  • 1 cup baby Swiss chard
  • 2 cups kale, chopped
  • 4 ounces feta cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Toss the beets with oil, salt, pepper and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring once or twice. Should be tender when poked with a fork. Sprits with lemon juice and let stand for 3 to 4 minutes.
  3. For the Dressing: In a small bowl combine the balsamic vinegar, Dijon, honey, and olive oil until well combined.
  4. In a large serving bowl toss the lettuces together. Top with beets and crumbled feta.
  5. Serve with dressing on the side.