Seasoned Eggplant Puree Sherry Golden

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This puree is an excellent way to process and preserve eggplants when they are abundant and beautifully firm.  Freeze the puree in 1 cup portions.  Use in sauces for pasta, as a filling for crepes, and in the superb Eggplant Mushroom Quiche.

2 medium eggplants
salt
1 medium onion
2-3 garlic cloves
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
2-3 tbsp water, use as little as possible

Peel the eggplant and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices.  Salt both side sand lay them on paper towels for 30 min to drain. Pat them dry and cut into cubes

In a large saute pan saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until the onion is softened.  Add the eggplant cube and saute until the eggplant begins to color.  Add the basil and water.  Stir, cover and steam until the eggplant is tender.  Puree in a food processor or blender

-OR-

Peel eggplant and cook on grill under done.

In a large saute pan saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until the onion is softened.  Add Add the basil and water.  Stir and cook for a few minutes.  Puree in a food processor or blender

Cranberry Butter

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1 (16 oz.) can whole berry cranberry sauce
2 cups butter or margarine softened
1 Tbsp. grated orange peel

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl beat on high speed for
2 minutes or until creamy. Spoon into a crock or dish and refrigerate.
Makes 3 1/2 cups.

Butternut Squash with Pecans and Blue Cheese

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  • butternut squash
  •  olive oil
  • 6 stalks fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 cup pecans
  • 1/2 – 1 cup crumbled or other blue cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Halve the squash, remove the skin, and scoop out the seeds, then cut into 1-inch cubes; you don’t need to be precise just keep the pieces uniformly small.

Put into a roasting tin with the oil and strip about 4 stalks thyme of their leaves, sprinkling over the butternut squash If you can’t get any fresh thyme, sprinkle over dried.

Roast in the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until tender.

Once out of the oven, remove the squash to a bowl and scatter over the pecans and crumble over the cheese tossing everything together gently. Check the seasoning and add the last couple of stalks of thyme torn into small sprigs to decorate.

Seitan Scaloppine with Lemon Sauce

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1 cup vital wheat gluten
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon basil
3/4 cup Imagine No-Chicken Broth (or other vegetable broth)
2 tablespoons tahini or cashew butter

1 tablespoon unbleached flour
1 lemon, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed slightly
10 green olives, pitted and sliced (optional)
1 1/4 cups No-Chicken Broth or veggie broth
2-3 tablespoons white wine or vermouth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
salt and pepper
additional vegetable broth, as necessary

Tear off 4 – 6 pieces of aluminum foil about 10 inches long. (See tips below for a foil-free way of making the scaloppine). Begin heating water in a steamer. In a large bowl, mix the vital wheat gluten with the nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, and basil. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the broth and tahini (or cashew butter). Stir the wet mixture into the dry until well blended. Knead gently 10 times. Quickly divide dough into 4 equal pieces.

Take a piece of dough and shape and flatten it into a thin oval cutlet. Place it on a sheet of foil, a little higher than center. Fold the bottom of the foil over to meet the top, and then fold the two edges over about 1/2 inch to form a seam. Continue folding the foil by half inches until it reaches just above the cutlet. Flatten the cutlet down a little more, and then fold the left and right edges in the same way until the packet is snug around the cutlet. Repeat with all pieces of dough.

Place the packets flat into the steamer and cover. Steam for 25 minutes. Keep packets sealed until you’re ready to use them.
 

 

Spray a non-stick skillet (or some other non-iron skillet) with olive oil. Begin heating it as you prepare a plate containing the fl

our sprinkled with a little salt and pepper. Once the skillet is hot, unwrap each cutlet and lightly dredge each side in the flour and then place in the skillet. Cook until brown and then turn over and brown other side. Remove to a plate.

(If you’d rather not use any oil at all, skip the flouring of the cutlets and just brown them alone. Your sauce may not thicken unless you add a little flour to it later.)
Add the garlic and lemon slices to the pan. Cook until the lemon slices have softened, 2-3 minutes, and then remove them from the pan, leaving the garlic. Add the olives, broth, wine, and lemon juice and cook on medium heat until the liquid starts to reduce. Remove the garlic, add salt and pepper to taste, and return the cutlets to the pan. Turn them over to

coat with the sauce. Simmer briefly to warm them through, and if the sauce becomes too thick, add a little broth to thin. Stir in the parsley, and remove the cutlets to plates. Spoon some sauce over each cutlet and garnish with lemon slices.

 

Tips for Moister Cutlets:

I found two different tricks that resulted in a cutlet that was a little moister.  Unfortunately, one of them requires an extra step, simmering the seitan in broth for a few minutes after it comes out of the steamer.  If you’d like to do this, just put the cutlets in a skillet, add broth to about halfway over them, and simmer, turning, for 3-5 minutes.  The cutlets will absorb a lot of the broth, so be ready to add more as necessary.  Once they’re done, remove them from the broth and proceed with the recipe.

No extra step is required for the other technique; in fact, it’s simpler than the original recipe, though you will need a large steamer and plates that will fit inside it.  Instead of wrapping the cutlets in foil, place them on the largest plate that will fit in your steamer.  (If you have a double-level steamer, you can place two cutlets on smaller plates on each level.) Cover with an inverted plate of the same size, to keep water from dripping directly onto your cutlets.  Steam for 25 minutes.  Your cutlets will be a little lighter in color but will have a moister texture.   This is my preferred way of making these cutlets!

 

Kale and Chickpea Stew — Emeril

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  • 1/4 cup ghee (clarified butter)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground coriander seeds
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground cumin seeds
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
  • 1/4 teaspoon whole yellow-mustard seeds
  • 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • One 19-ounce can chickpeas, drained
  • 5 cups vegetable stock or canned low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 pound kale, stems removed, cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
  • Cooked jasmine rice, for serving
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, for garnish
  • 1/4 cup julienned red bell pepper, for garnish

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat ghee over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic and ginger and cook for another 2 minutes. Add coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, and yellow mustard seeds and cook for 1 minute longer. Add sweet potatoes, chickpeas, vegetable broth, kale, and salt and increase heat to medium-high. As soon as stew begins to simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 35 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender. Stir in coconut milk and cook for 15 minutes longer.

Serve with jasmine rice and garnish with chopped cilantro and red bell pepper. Serves 4 to 6

Pumpkin Bread Pudding — Martha

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Unsalted butter, room temperature, for dish
1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin puree
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
10 ounces day-old bread, such as brioche or sourdough, cut into 1/2-inch slices or 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
Dulce de Leche, carmel syrup or heavy cream for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, milk, cream, eggs, brown sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and anise seed. Arrange bread in dish. Pour custard over bread and top with pecans. Bake until custard is set, 45 minutes. Let cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature, drizzled with dulce de leche, carmel or cream.

Note: I forgot the vanilla, realized this as I was posting the recipe oops.

Southwestern Yellow Split-Pea Soup

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I made this on the stove not in a pressure cooker. Add corn after 1.5 hours and cook for 30 min more.

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 pound yellow split peas (or chana dal)
  • 1-2 teaspoons canned chipotle pepper, minced be careful!!
  • 8 cups hot water
  • 1 cup sliced carrots
  • 2-3 teaspoons mild chili powder
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
  • 1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 1 can green chilies
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped (or 1 roasted red pepper)
  • cilantro and parsley 1-2 tbsp.
  • salt to taste
  • ground black pepper, to taste
  • greek yogurt or sour cream, cilantrochopped onions, tomatoes, jalapeño pepper for garnish
  • In a pressure cooker, sauté the onion in a little oil until translucent. Add the garlic and cook one more minute. Add the split peas, chipotle, water, carrots, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Seal the cooker and bring to high pressure. Cook for 9 minutes at high pressure. Remove from heat and allow pressure to come down naturally.
  • You can also do this in a regular pot–just cook covered on very low heat until the split peas are tender, about 1 1/2 hours, stirring regularly. Start with a 8 cups of water and add more as needed.After 1.5 hours add corn, parsley and cilantro.
  • Open the cooker and add all remaining ingredients except garnish. Taste and add additional chipotles, chili powder or other seasonings as needed, and add additional water if it seems too thick. Cook uncovered on low for at least 15 more minutes. Serve in bowls with garnishes on top.

    • Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 30 minute(s)

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    One Pot Curried Cauliflower Rice

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    from Everyday Food and Evil Chef Mom
    4 teaspoons vegetable oil
    1 large head cauliflower, cored and cut into 1 1/2 pieces
    salt and pepper
    1 medium yellow onion, diced small
    2 cups of basmati rice
    4 teaspoons curry powder
    1 can (15.5 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained-I PREFER 1 c peas
    2 3/4 cups vegetable broth
    1/2 cup heavy cream, I used coconut milk
    chopped cilantro

    Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a Dutch oven or other heavy pot, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium high. Add cauliflower and cook, stirring frequently, until browned in spots. This might need to be done in batches.

    Transfer to a plate and season with salt and pepper. Add 2 teaspoons of oil and onions to pot; cook, stirring occasionally , until onion is translucent, 5 minutes. Add rice, curry powder, and chickpeas and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until rice is coated, about 2 minutes. Add broth and cream and bring to a boil. Scatter cauliflower over the top (do not stir to combine) Cover and bake until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with cilantro before serving.

    Lentil Soup with Mushrooms and Swiss Chard

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    This soup gets much of its savory appeal from umami-rich mushrooms and red wine.  A generous amount of butter and olive oil and a nice long cooking time contribute to rounding out the broth.  The end result is a rich, filling dish with a depth of flavor sometimes missing in vegetarian soups.

    2 cups brown lentils
    6 cups cold water
    1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
    ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
    2 tbsp unsalted butter
    3 tbsp olive oil
    1 large can plum tomatoes, drained and crushed with your hands
    1 large onion, diced
    2 tablespoons minced fresh dill OR 1 tablespoon dried dill
    3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
    3 bay leaves
    1 head of Swiss chard, ridges removed and cut into ribbons
    ¼ cup red wine
    8 ounces crimini or button mushrooms, sliced ¼ inch thick

    Place all of the ingredients except the Swiss chard, red wine, and mushrooms into a large, heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a boil.  When it begins to boil, add the red wine.  Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for two hours.

    Thirty minutes into the simmering time, add the Swiss chard and stir well to combine.

    Saute the sliced mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil.  After the soup has been simmering for one hour, add the sautéed mushrooms to the soup pot and stir again.

    After two hours of simmering, taste the soup.  If the lentils aren’t tender yet, allow the soup to simmer for another thirty minutes or until the lentils soften.  Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

    This soup keeps in the fridge for several days and also freezes well.

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