eggplant, tomato, and turkey

last year, i had attempted a casserole that was moderately successful.  and when i raided my dad's garden this past weekend (i'm a regular peter rabbit, i am!), i absconded with a couple (small) eggplants.  he apparently wanted to see what they looked like while growing, so he planted a few this year.

i decided to tweak my previous recipe and try something a little different.  this time, i took some ground turkey, some eggplant, and some fresh tomato to make a casserole.  i was going to add some green peas, but they just didn't seem appropriate for this recipe.

prep + cook time was approximately 45 minutes.  this appears to be about three brian-sized portions.

ingredients:
- one large tomato
- two smallish eggplants
- one pound ground turkey
- olive oil
- various spices (salt/pepper, chili powder, oregano, basil, garlic, paprika, sage)
- feta cheese
- some parmesan (because it was there)

preparation:
brown the turkey on medium-high heat, pour off the grease, and layer in the bottom of a casserole dish.  i added salt and pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and some oregano while browning the meat.

peel/slice the tomato and layer it on top of the turkey.  add salt/pepper, basil, oregano, and whatever else smells nice.  i added a little sage. just because.  sprinkle a good amount of feta cheese on top of the tomato.

peel (most of) the skin from the eggplant and slice thinly.  brown the eggplant on medium-high heat with some olive oil, salt, and pepper.  once browned, layer the eggplant slices on top of the casserole.  sprinkle a little parmesan on top.

bake at 350°F for approximately 25 minutes.

verdict:
taste-wise, this is amazing.  the chili powder and pepper gave it a bite that wasn't too overpowering, and the overall spice mix gave a nice, savory flavor.  texture-wise, the eggplant proved problematic again.  the general consistency of the casserole worked nicely, too.  i was afraid that there wouldn't be enough juice, but the tomato cooked down just enough to allow a little something in the bottom of the pan -- but without everything being too soupy.

i had hoped that browning it in the olive oil would provide a sufficient barrier against over-cooking and toughness.  sadly, this is not the case...the eggplant was kind of chewy.  i'm at a loss on how to adjust things for the future.  possibly, i could put the tomato slices on top of the eggplant.  theoretically, this could allow the tomato to caramelize (which is an interesting notion).  this bears consideration.

in the meantime, go me!

ratatouille

so i was looking at my supply of vegetables, and i wanted to do something different with my zucchini.  since i have this nifty copy of joy of cooking (courtesy of my sister), i went to the index to see what it would have for summer squash.  lo and behold, it sent me to a ratatouille recipe.  i decided to modify the recipe (slightly).

prep time is about 15 minutes, and total cooking time is about 45 minutes.  no rodent assistance with the cooking is required, even...i can do the preparation without a rat pulling my hair and jerking my arms around!

there appear to be about three brian-sized portions.

ingredients:
- 1 small eggplants (probably about a half-pound)
- 2 zucchini (again, about a half-pound)
- a few small sweet onions (hey, i had them so i figured i'd use them...)
- 3 garlic cloves
- a pint of diced tomatoes (canned from dad's garden)
- olive oil
- basil, thyme, salt/pepper

preparation:
although the recipe implies that the vegetables can be prepared as the food is cooking, i'd prefer to prepare everything before i start the cooking process.  as such, peel the eggplant (apparently the skin is tough) and cut into one-inch chunks.  also, cut the zucchini into chunks (skin can remain).  on a separate plate, slice the onions and finely chop the garlic.

add olive oil to a large skillet and to a medium heat.  add the zucchini and eggplant and cook, stirring until golden and barely tender (about 10 minutes).  remove the vegetables.

add the onions with a little olive oil until slightly softened and then add the garlic.  stir occasionally until tender but not brown (it took me about 6 minutes).

add the tomatoes, thyme, and salt/pepper.  reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.  add the eggplant and squash, and cook until everything is tender (about 20 minutes more).  stir in basil.

verdict:
i think it was the combination of the basil and tomato, but the dish was sweeter than i expected.  it also needs something to sop up all the juice; if i hadn't already planned on the starch of the corn, i'd've cooked some rice.  i like the flavor combinations, but it does seem to lack something.  maybe it has something to do with the fact that the diced tomatoes didn't really have any structure (they all fell apart in the pan).  if/when i cook this again, i'll have to play with it and see what else could work.  possibly carrots and green beans?

beyond all this, i had planned on sprinkling feta cheese on top.  but i forgot.  sadness.  i'll just have to remember to do it for the leftovers!

parmesan green beans

it's summer!  and as everyone knows, summer means vegetables...preferably raided from a garden.  in this case, i raided my dad's garden this weekend and brought home lots of produce (thank you, dad!).  today, i decided i wanted to do something with green beans.  as previously noted, roasting green beans is a worthwhile endeavor, but i wanted to play with it a little bit this time.

now, if i were an awesome cook, i'd do this as one of several side dishes...and make an entree on top of it all.  but i worked all day, which means i was tired and hungry.  so i just took it easy this evening and ate half of the beans and a tomato (not shown).

using about a pint and a half of green beans, i followed my recipe (though i did add a little sriracha to the mix) and roasted the beans at 425°F for about 20 minutes.  after putting the vegetables in a corningware dish, i mixed in a little parmesan cheese...you know, just because.

i think the sriracha added a nice dash of heat to the dish, but i'm thinking that parmesan didn't quite work.  maybe it's the fact that it was the shredded variety (not quite the powdered parmesan-in-a-can, but still probably not "real"), but it didn't seem to melt all that well.

maybe reheating tomorrow will melt the cheese a little more.  and i'll have squash and more tomato and maybe potatoes to go with it!

stir fry

for the past several days, i've been planning on making stir fry.  between work and eating late lunches and just not wanting to cook (or various combinations of the above), i didn't get around to it until today.

this turned out to be a fairly quick and easy dinner.  preparation and cooking took probably less than a half-hour.  it appears that this will be enough for about three brian-sized servings.

ingredients:
- beef (about 1 pound, cut into stir fry strips...and i already put the container in the trash, so i don't know what cut of meat it was)
- garlic (about 1/3 of a head)
- carrots
- broccoli
- water chestnuts (one can)
- one ear of corn
- soy sauce
- orange juice
- sriracha sauce
- dry mustard, ground ginger, black pepper
- corn starch

preparation:
first step is preparing the vegetables.  chop the carrots and broccoli and set aside in a bowl.  cut the kernels off an ear of corn and add to the same bowl.  note that cutting corn off a cob is apparently a very messy proposition; if anyone knows a neater way of doing it, i'd be interested in hearing it.

in a separate bowl, mix some orange juice (about 1/4 cup or so), some soy sauce, and some sriracha.  whisk in some dried mustard, ginger, and corn starch.  i just recently realized that corn starch (a thickener) would be useful in stir fry...which is part of the reason i wanted to cook this.

mince the garlic and add to a large pan with a little oil (i've been using flax oil lately).  brown on high heat, and then add the strips of beef.  dust the beef with some ginger and black pepper.

when the beef is mostly cooked, add in the vegetables.  cook the vegetables for a minute or so and then pour in the liquid mix.  let simmer for a few more minutes (until the vegetables seem tender enough).  remove from heat and serve over rice.

verdict:
first, i forgot the green peas.  sad panda.  second, i was rather heavy-handed with the sriracha.  panda with runny nose and seared tongue.  not that this is a bad thing, mind...

all told, i think this worked pretty well.  i'm pleased with myself.  maybe next time i'll attempt fried rice instead of regular white rice (albeit white rice cooked with rosemary).  hmm...

pear walnut crescents

at some point in the past, i was discussing nutella bombs with my sister (crescent rolls with nutella baked inside), and we started brainstorming other worthwhile additions to crescent rolls.  these things aren't limited to just hot dogs, you know!

at any rate, one potential recipe we both thought sounded interesting was pears and honey.  over time, i refined what i thought should be used...and i finally got around to implementing the recipe.

total prep/cook time for this is about 30 minutes.

ingredients:

- 1 can crescent rolls (8 count)

- 1 pear (i used d'angou)

- walnuts

- honey

- butter

- cinnamon

preparation:

coarsely chop a handful of walnuts and one-quarter of a pear, and mix in a small bowl.  immediately eat the rest of the pear (this step is very important).

in  a separate bowl, melt a couple tablespoons of butter in the microwave.  stir in a little honey and cinnamon and reheat a tad just to loosen it all up.  pour honey-butter mixture over the nuts and fruit and stir to coat.

unfold the crescent rolls, spoon on a little fruit/nut mixture, and wrap up the crescents.  drizzle a little extra honey-butter on top.  place on a cookie sheet and bake at 375°F for approximately 12 minutes (or until golden brown).

verdict:
this was a neat experiment, and i rather enjoyed the results.  however, there were a few points that i recognized as being problem.  first, the pear wasn't quite ripe enough.  i tend to prefer crunchy pears for eating, but in this case, i think a little riper/softer/juicier would have improved the overall flavor of the stuffed crescent roll.

second, i don't think i used enough honey.  i added a good dollop to the butter, but it really didn't go far enough in terms of sweetness.  i don't mind savory by any means, but i had expected this to be more like a sweet dessert.  so next time, i need to have a little more honey in the butter...and brush the top of the crescents with it before baking (instead of just spooning a little on top).

finally, i will provide a caution: a quarter of a pear and a handful of walnuts goes a loooong way.  these crescent rolls are pretty small, and you can't really fit a whole lot in them.  i ended up eating the last few spoons of pear/walnut mixture because they didn't fit in the rolls.

addendum:
i think the crescents work even better the next day.  i refrigerated them and popped one in the toaster oven this morning, and it was wonderful.  the flavors melded a little overnight, and i took the crescent out of the toaster when the outside was nice and warm -- but when the pear bits were still a little chilled.  that juxtaposition was rather pleasant.

banana pudding

i've recently been trying several of my mom's recipes for the first time.  in this case, i followed up the banana bread with another banana recipe last weekend: banana pudding!

as far as banana puddings go, most seem to be confections full of whipped cream, and i'll admit that i'm not a fan...i'm much more partial to my mom's recipe.  granted, my preference is probably related to the fact that this is what i grew up with...and that growing up with something means other versions aren't generally as good.  but i'm okay with that.

when i was talking to my mom about it, she told me that she learned the pudding recipe during a microwave cooking class she took many moons ago.  and she simply added bananas to it.  simple and easy!

in fact, this only takes about 20 minutes (if that) to make.  and it makes about 8 servings.

ingredients:
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- pinch of salt
- 2 cups milk
- 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- vanilla wafers
- bananas (not overripe, about 4)

preparation:
combine the sugar, corn starch,, and salt in a two quart bowl.  gradually stir in milk.  microwave for 8 minutes (or until thickened) on medium high, interrupting thet cooking time twice to stir with a wire whisk.  once thickened, stir a little of the hot mix into the egg yolks and then blend the warmed yolks into the hot mix.  microwave 1-1.5 minutes on medium high or until the custard coats a metal spoon and stir well.  stir in butter and vanilla until the butter melts.

while the pudding is cooling, layer whole vanilla wafers at the bottom of a large bowl (my mom always used a large, square corningware dish, but alas, i don't have one the correct size).  the wafers should be all along the bottom and extend up the side (at least part of the way).  slice bananas (as much as you prefer; i used about two), and layer the banana medallions on the wafers.  spoon about half the pudding on top.  add a layer of crushed vanilla wafers.  add another layer of sliced bananas, the rest of the pudding, and more crushed wafers.

you can eat it warm or cold!

verdict:
when i was making the pudding itself, the mixture looked sort of lumpy.  however, its ultimate consistency was fine (no lumps were noticed during taste testing), so i don't think i did anything wrong.

all in all, i was fairly pleased with how i made this pudding.  it wasn't quite as perfect as my mom's, but then again, this was my first attempt.  i also think that part of the problem was that i obtained reduced fat nilla wafers (they were on sale...).  these particular wafers weren't as brittle as i remembered regular nilla wafers; instead of breaking easily/cleanly, they were rather too crunchy.  this tends to make the warm pudding a little less enjoyable because you end up with a whole wafer in your mouth since the spoon/fork won't break the cookie in half.

when cold, however, it works just fine.  fresh out of the fridge, the cookies are adequately softened.  yum!

i wonder whether mixing in pulverized banana chips would be a worthwhile experiment...?

Grilled Spicy Sweet Potato w/ Tangy Sauce

*Guest Entrée Entry*

Grilled Spicy Sweet Potato w/ Tangy Sauce

 

Ingredients

~2lbs sweet potatoes

Oil (your cooking preference, I like grapeseed oil because of the high smoke point)
½ tsp ground cumin
2 pinches cayenne pepper
4 oz sour cream
1 Lime
Lime salt (Spice it to a Tea – Brevard, NC)
Ground pepper
 
Boil ~2lbs sweet potatoes ~45 minutes or until the skin becomes “loose” but not too soft
Place in cool water for ~15 minutes and then transfer whole sweet potatoes into refrigerator x 1 hour
 
Sweet Potato Seasoning
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a sauce pan
Add in ½ tsp ground cumin
Add 2 pinches of cayenne pepper
Stir until evenly mixed, set aside to cool
 
Remove skin from sweet potatoes and slice lengthwise into about 6 thick pieces per potato
Evenly lightly coat each slice with the seasoning prepared above (it just makes it with little to spare)
Place these in 1 layer on a cookie sheet
While waiting for the grill to heat up…
 
Tangy Sauce
In a small bowl, mix 4oz sour cream (I used light sour cream) with the zest of 1 lime along with its juice
Season with lime salt and pepper to taste
 
Grill the sweet potatoes about 4 minutes on each side.  Serve with a delicious medium rare Sirloin steak!

 

Verdict:  The mild sweetness of the potato, the heat from the seasoning, and the tanginess from the sauce is phenomenal!  The flavor combination is out of this world.  I was very skeptical when I looked this recipe over, but I am so glad I gave it a chance along with a few alterations!  I will definitely be doing this again!  Since then, I’ve mixed up the tangy sauce and used it on fish tacos.  It’s a really interesting topping.