Eggplant Lasagna

This recipe is gluten and dairy free, so it is not the eggplant lasagna that you might first conjure in your mind. I actually think this recipe might be more like moussakka than lasagna. Which only means that by whatever name, it is delicious! I actually have felt questionable about eggplant in the past...the strange texture and flavor. In this dish though, the roasted eggplant tastes smoky and creamy and really good with the meaty sauce and spinach.

The original recipe has lots of step by step photos, whereas I seem to have snapped just a few. I ended up using some spicy sausage in place of the burger, which was super delicious, I used a bit less tomato, and I sliced my eggplant really thin. Next time I will use the thicker slice option on my mandoline, just to give the slices a little more heft.

Rainbow Curry Chicken Stew

I've been making some curry soups lately - sometimes I just throw ingredients in a pot, and other times I actually follow a recipe. With a nice chili paste and broth, it seems I can't go too wrong! One thing I am learning, is that less coconut milk is sometimes nice. I used to want it really really creamy - but lately I think a more broth-y soup carries more flavor.

This stew recipe comes from "Affairs of Living" - a blog with lots of gluten-free and "allergy-friendly" recipes. You can link to the original recipe here. The veggies in the recipe include red pepper, frozen peas, chicken, and broccoli - but certainly you can swap in all kinds of things (zucchini, green beans, etc). It makes a nice big pot full, so you can freeze left overs for later.

One thing I have been reading about lately is BPA in canned foods. This is something I just learned about this year and previously just heard about BPAs in plastic. But alas, it turns out they are also in the linings of most canned foods. And, some research suggests that it leeches most highly to acidic, salty, and high fat products. BPA is not used by Native Harvest Coconut milk though (it is in Thai Kitchen products). This blog post has info about other organic canned food items and if they are or are not BPA free (Muir Glen just switched over so all new products have no BPA).

Anyway, there are lots of health effects linked to the consumption of BPA. So there we are. And I guess while I am on the topic of gloom and doom, did you see this 6th grade science project about microwaved water?! Ah! It isn't totally surprising, but it is pretty persuasive about the effects of microwaving our food.

Delicata squash with tahini dressing

Well, it seems that I like those single ingredient veggie sides lately...in the form of veggie tossed in oil and then roasted in the oven and sprinkled with salt. Yep - simple and tasty. And good as leftovers for lunch the next day.

In browsing Heidi Swanson's blog, I came across a really delicious looking delicata squash recipe - but it was complicated and required miso and harissa, neither of which I had, so instead I just stole her idea and simplified it. Did you know you can eat the skin of delicata squash? I didn't. But you can! And I think it looks so pretty to have these half moons of squash getting all roasted and brown in the oven. And geez, why peel a squash if you don't have to? Prep time for these is, like, 3 minutes.

Squash Prep
2 Delicata squash (totally not in season - these are from Mexico, alas)
2 T. coconut oil
smoky salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and slice em up. Toss the slices in the melted coconut oil and spread them in one layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes*, flipping halfway through. Sprinkle with (smoky) salt.
*Note that I made some of these on one of those insulated baking sheets and they got not nearly so brown as the ones in my baking pan that was not insulated. So, go for the thin baking sheet/cake pan sort of idea here.

Tahini Dressing
Mix equal parts tahini, water, and lemon juice. Toss in some salt. You can also add in garlic if you can do the whole raw garlic thing. If it is too thick, add a bit more water. That is it! So good. (This dressing is really tasty on just about anything.)

Than just pour the dressing over the top and eat em up. I also had some as leftovers the next day, and ate them as a snack at work (plain and dipped in the tahini). YUM.

Bohemian Brussels Sprouts

I have been eying the brussels sprouts recently (entirely due to some AMAZING ones that I had at Brasa a couple of weeks ago), but was feeling a little too cheap to actually buy them (the organic ones were $6 or $7/pound). And then I was at Mississippi Market, and they had conventional ones for $3/pound - so I went for it.

I was really wanting something sort of crispy - and found this recipe from The Clothes Make the Girl blog. I also came across a great idea to use the extra leafy bits that inevitably come off each sprout to make a "Brussels Sprout Chip". You just toss those leaves in some ghee or coconut oil, salt and pepper, and spread as a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 8 minutes. mmm.

Bohemian Brussels Sprouts

1 pound brussels sprouts
1 1/2 T coconut oil
1 clove garlic, minced (I omitted this)
1/2 T caraway
1/2 t paprika
1/2+ t smoky salt
salt and pepper to taste
drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Chop off ends of brussels sprouts and quarter.
Melt coconut oil in small pan, and stir in garlic, caraway and paprika before pouring over sprouts. Stir well with a wooden spoon.
Layer brussels in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment and sprinkle with smoked salt*.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, stirring once or twice. Serve!

*I've gotten mildly obsessed with smoked sea salt lately, and another fancy salt called "fleur de sel avec epices grille" - which is the french way to say sea salt with grilled spices. And um, these things are damn tasty. Though not cheap (why I will buy fancy sea salt but not organic brussels sprouts is a question I also ask myself...) Anyway, I just tried a new smoked salt that Heidi Swanson recommends (she makes citrus salt with it, which I am going to try and will then post about). It is flaky and oh so good! No matter what kind you use, I do recommend the smoky salt over a regular sea salt.

Fried zucchini chips

Well...I gotta say - these babies LOOK really good, but I don't know that they were super successful. I saw them on a blog I have been excited about - The Coconut Mama, and was intrigued by the idea of a fried something or other that was made with coconut flour. Alas, these were good immediately out of the oil, but even 5 minutes later they tasted sort of oil soaked and not so delicious. Also they are a tad high maintenance for me, and rather than being really light and flavorful, it seems like they just soaked up the coconut oil and were kind of heavy. I don't know - maybe if my slices were thinner? The ones on her blog look better than mine and were better covered, but I had a hard time managing the dipping and the even spread of flour...? If you try them, maybe you will have better success.

The one highlight of my dinner was that I used portobello mushrooms for "buns" on my sandwich (a very paleo thing to do). I just cut off the stem and the "gills", and sauted each side in a little olive oil for 5 minutes each (do underbelly sides first). And yum! I had a chicken thigh in there with some mayo and lettuce and it was super great, although a little messier because the mushrooms don't really absorb the liquid.

Fried Zucchini Slices
coconut oil, for frying
2 organic eggs, beaten
2 cups zucchini, sliced thin
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon sea salt

Heat coconut oil at low-medium heat in heavy bottom frying pan. Desired temperature is 375 degrees for frying.

Add two eggs to a medium size bowl and lightly beat them.

In a second bowl mix coconut flour, Parmesan cheese and salt together.

Dip zucchini slices into egg mixture and then place them in flour mix. Make sure to coat them well.

Fry the zucchini until golden brown, 3-5 minutes on each side. Place fried zucchini on a paper towel lined plate. Serve immediately. Right away.

Mole Bean Stew

I found this recipe on Heidi Swanson's website when I was searching for a way to use some dried adzuki beans that I had in the cupboard. Amazingly enough, I also had most of the other ingredients, with a few modifications. I don't have a picture but you should really just follow the link above to go look at the pictures on Heidi's website because they're much more gorgeous than any picture I would have taken. And there are pictures of the beautiful Irish countryside.

I made the following substitutions:

adzuki beans instead of borlotti beans

walnuts instead of almonds

roasted garden tomatoes from the freezer

I also doubled the recipe and did the simmering on the stovetop instead of in the oven because I didn't have an oven-proof pot that was big enough.

The end result was spicy, rich, and very satisfying. I served it with rice, it also would be good with polenta cake or quinoa or ....

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Spinach and Avocado

I started making some sweet potato fries for dinner, and then realized I had some spinach and avocado and thought they would all be tasty together. And sure enough, I found a recipe online. I modified the recipe a bit, used the same dressing, and it turned out great. I really liked having the warm sweet potatoes and nuts on the fresh spinach. To make this EVEN easier, you could use any bottled dressing, or one without tahini and it would still be good.

2 sweet potatoes, diced
small onion, diced
coconut oil
4+ c spinach leaves
1 avocado, diced
1/2 c almonds, toasted
feta cheese (optional)

Dressing:
2-3 T tahini
1 T water (i used hot to soften the tahini)
1 T olive oil
juice of a small lemon
salt to taste
garlic, minced (optional)

Roast sweet potatoes and onion in coconut oil at 500 degrees for 15-20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Mix dressing and toss with roasted sweet potatoes/onions. Layer sweet potatoes, almonds, and avocado over spinach and serve!
*Note that in photo i just put dressing over the top...I think it is better mixed in with the potatoes, but I didn't get a photo!

Roasted Curried Cauliflower

These foggy, warm, but cold days are ones where I just want to watch movies and eat tasty things. Maybe it is the fog, maybe because it is the end of the week, I don't know. But this cauliflower totally hit the spot. I have never really had roasted cauliflower before, and though it is slightly more high maintenance than steaming, it is so worth it. This stuff turned out amazing. I actually ate almost the whole cauliflower it was so good!

1 head of cauliflower, cut into uniform florets
2 T. melted coconut oil, olive oil, etc
2-4 T curry powder
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Half a lemon

Preheat oven to 450. Mix up the florets in a bowl with oil/fat, curry, salt and pepper. Empty bowl onto a cookie sheet or in a cake pan. The original recipe says to have the pan be foil lines, but I didn't do that and the dishes were not a problem. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil, and bake for another 20 minutes, flipping cauliflower half way through. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the top, and serve. (I was so eager to eat that I forgot the lemon until partway through - it is good either way, but the lemon is a total flavor boost.)