Dinner Jan 31, 2008 -Mediterranean Eggplant & Beans

Tonight was fairly good. It is good to note that there are probably more carbs than some might need if they are not at goal weight. The eggplant and beans was good. Even a little bit of the rice provides a nice texture to complement the flavors. A bit of Mrs Dash's seasoning really adds to the flavor. We finished off the meal with another one of the fruit compote's that I fixed on January 29th (see below).

The recipe for the beans and eggplant is as follows:

- 1 eggplant peeled and diced

- 1 onion sliced thinly

- 1 green pepper, chopped

- 1 tbsp lemon juice

- 3 tbsp tomato ketchup

- 2 cups of garbanzo beans

Steam the eggplant for 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile braise the onions and peppers in a little water until soft. Add the eggplant, lemon juice and ketchup and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the garbanzo beans and heat to serve. Note that if the dish has too much liquid, you can simmer with top off to reduce the liquid.

Dinner January 29, 2008 - Bean Enchiladas

We had a great meal tonight. We started with bean enchiladas with wilted kale (Eat to Live page 216). We finished off with a bean-berry shake (Eat to Live page 223). The bean enchiladas are composed of:

- 1 green pepper diced

- 1/2 cup diced onions

- 1 cup non-fat taco sauce

- 2 cups pinto beans

- 1 cup frozen corn kernels

- 1 tsp cumin

- 1/4 chopped cilantro

- 6-8 non-fat corn tortillas

Saute the green pepper and onions in a skillet with 2 tbsp of taco sauce. Stir in the beans, corn, and seasoning. I simmered the mixture without the top until the liquid was dissolved. I also used a cast iron skillet to cook the corn tortillas (gives them a nutty flavor). I then filled the tortillas with bean mixture and heated them in the oven.

At the same time, I braised the rest of the onion in a little water. I then added enough water to steam the kale. I served the kale with some balsamic vinegar. One thing to keep in mind about the kale is that you need to cut out the woody stalks, wash each leaf to remove grit and chopped them slightly.

Finally the dessert is easy to make. Basically I took frozen berries, mangos and half a banana. I added 1/2 tbsp (or more) of whole flax seed, enough soy milk to blend and blended it in my vitamix until it was smooth.

The meal was excellent and we lacked for nothing...

Dinner January 28, 2008 - Tofu Spinach Pot

Okay so some squash is so hard and BIG that it requires extra tools to cut it. The turban squash we bought was quite large. I brought out a seratted knife from Cutco (you know cuts anything) and tried to slice it.. not happening. Then I tried a big chef's knife... not even close. So, no kidding, I brought out my saw from the woodshed. That finally worked. Here is a picture to the left that gives you an idea.....

Anyhow we had a fairly good dinner. Tonight we tried Furhmans Tofu Spinach Pot (Eat to Live page 222) with the squash. We added some raisons and drizzled maple syrup.

The recipe for the Tofu Spinach Pot is very easy to do. It includes:

- 1 lb firm or extra firm tofu, cubed

- 1 (10-oz.) box frozen spinach, thawed

- 3 tomatoes, chopped

- 2 tbsp lemon juice

- 1/8 tsp cayenne

- 1/8 tsp onion powder (ooop I put a lot more.. but it was good)

- 1/2 cup veggie broth

Saute all the ingredients in the veggie broth .. actually I used the veggie broth powder... We really liked the Tofu Spinach Pot!

Dinner Jan 25, 2008 - Turkish Lentil Soup

Tonight was our Bible study night including a potluck dinner so people brought different items. Fortunately we had a great array of foods that were quite healthy. We made a Turkish spinach& lentil soup (Sundays at Moosewood). Our friends Jeff and Ruth brought the roasted vegetables including eggplant, onions, corn on cob, balsamic vinegar and a roasting spice. We also had steamed broccoli, homemade lowfat whole grain muffins and a nice salad. All in all it was a great potluck. The soup recipe is as follows:

- 1 cup dried lentils

- 5 cups vegetable stock or water

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 cups chopped onions

- 3 garlic cloves, pressed

- 1/4 tsp cayenne

- 2 bay leaves

- 1/2 cup raw bulgar

- 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley

- 2 cups chopped tomatoes (Muir Glenn canned chopped tomatoes are really a great choice)

- 1/ 4 cup tomato paste

- pinch dried rosemary (to taste)

- groupnd black pepper

- 2 cups stemmed, cleaned and coarsley chopped spinach

Rinse lentils. Cook in the water or stock (bring to boil and then simmer until tender 20-30 minutes .. recipe had 40 but the green lentils don't seem to need it). At the same time in a separate pot, begin by braising the onions in a little water. After a few minutes add garlic, cayenne pepper, bay leaves and raw bulgur and cook for 2-3 minutes longer. Mix in parsley, tomatoes and tomato paste. For fresh tomatoes it may be necessary to add them first and then after the tomatoes release their juices, add the tomatoe paste. Add the lentils and simmer for 15 minutes. Add rosemary and black pepper to taste. Add more stock if needed, and remove the bay leaves.

Just before serving, stir in the spinach and let wilt. Note that it might be possible to add frozen spinach instead and cook until thawed and tender. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Dinner Jan 24, 2008 - Veggie meatballs and sphaghetti

Well it was leftovers tonight. It shows the value of making a dish and putting it into the freezer. In this case, I had made vegetarian meatballs and spaghetti sauce a while back. Fix your choice of noodles from whole wheat to quinoa. I reheated the sauce/ meatballs and added a salad (small bowl so I needed two helpings). All in all a very satisfying meal. The veggie meatball recipe is quite tasty and is as follows:

- 1 1/2 diced eggplant (peel if skin is too thick and tough)

- 1 square tofu (1/2 pound)

- 1/2 cup minced onion (1 onion)

- 1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used my own whole wheat/ oat bread)

- 1 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

- 1/4 tsp salt

- dash black pepper

- 1/2 cup finely grate parmesan cheese (cheated on ETL a bit but need to find substitutes)

- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley (yeah still some in garden!)

- 1 tsp tamari

- 1 egg beaten (I believe I used egg white)

- 1/2 tsp each oregano, marjoram, and dried leaf thyme

I simple chopped the eggplant well and actually give it a quick whirl in the vitamix. I also used the vitamix to grind the walnuts. I then mixed the ingredients in a bowl. You then form balls. I should add that the original recipe had the balls rolled in the bread crumbs and fried. I mixed everything together, placed on a non-stick backing sheet sprayed lightly with a vegetable spray such as Pam and bake at 400 degrees F for 5 to 7 minutes. Note that an alternative to the spray is simply to pour olive oil on the sheet and wipe off with paper towel, leaving a thin film.. about the same.

So I do need to work on some substitute for the parmesan cheese. Also for the gluten free approach, quinoa flour may work instead of the flour, leave out the bread crumbs, and add extra quinoa flour until the mixture is solid enough to form balls.

Dinner Jan 23, 2008 - Thai Soy Chicken Pizza

Okay so it looks a lot like the picture I just posted. It is the same Thai soy chicken recipe. I guess we were inspired. The flavor is so great with base of peanut butter (you know the type that starts with peanuts in the top and comes out the bottom.. no added junk) with the great Thai spices including tamarind .. more on that below.

I added some baked sweet potatoes rounds. Also I cooked some wonderful collards. They are bit of work to clean and cut. You must wash each leaf, then cut the thick stalk out and cut into strips. Then put into a pot with some veggie broth and cook until tender and are darker. It takes about 15 minutes.

Back to the pizza, one of the interesting ingredients in the sauce is the tamarind. It is also called the Indian date. Unlike the middle eastern date, the tamarind is a bit like fruit flavor ala mango or papaya and slightly piquant rather than so sweet as the standard date. It is in the major ingredient in the Pad Thai sauce and other Thai dishes. I plan to experiment more with this flavor after finally tasting it for itself. It has real possibilities.

Thai Chicken (soy) Pizza

Here is a great recipe we tried a few months back. Other than being short on the bok chok, it was quite flavorful. Here is the recipe:

- 1/4 cup natural salt-free peanut butter (got it fresh ground from Whole Foods)

- 1 tbsp reduced salt tamari sauce

- 1 tbsp chili paste (e.g. Thai red curry paste is what we used..)

- 1 tbsp sugar

- 2 1/4 tsp tamarind

- 1 clove garlic minced

- 1/2 tp curry powder

- 1/4 tsp sesame oil

- 1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger

- 1 1-lb pkg refrigerated pizza dough (we got a premade whole wheat crust from Harris Teeter)

- 4 white button mushrooms, thinly sliced

- 3/4 cup soy chicken cut into strips

- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

- 1 small shallot, quartered and thinly sliced (1/4 cup)

- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

- hot sauce such as the Vietnamese Chili Garlic Sauce Tuong Ot TOI VIET

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.. Coat baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk together peanut butter, tamari, chili paste, sugar, tamarind concentrate, garlic, curry powder, oil and ginger in small bowl

2. Roll dough out, transfer to baking sheet (or use premade crush). Spread peanut butter mixture over dough. Sprinkle with mushrooms, then soy chicken, then bell pepper and shallots.

3. Bake 25 minutes for fresh crust or until the chicken is cooked for premade crusts.