Eggplant, the other white-fleshy meat

Rob finally admitted to me the other night that he really doesn't like eggplant. I was holding two beautiful shiny purple globes in my hand, ready to be sliced, when he announced it. "In fact," he said, "I kind of hate it. Sorry." It was heartbreaking to hear from the person that I cook for the most.

Eggplant is one of those vegetables that people tend to love or hate -- that firm consistency and it's an unusual looking veg, that's for sure. But I think that's why I adore it -- it's like the underdog of vegs. I feel like I cook with it just to introduce it's 'other yummy side' to people who are initially turned off by it.

The good news is that I think I've figured out how to include it in meals so that Rob (and others, and you know who you are) might eat them. I hide them with other deliciousness. Pasta Salad with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Basil from Cooks Illustrated Guide to Grilling and BBQ is one way to do this. The eggplant was grilled, fresh tomatoes and basil added to a large warm pot of pasta and sauce. Rob loved it (really). He even scarfed down the leftovers for lunch the next day. My heart has healed. I realize that Cooks online recipes are subscription-only, so I also found a free pirated version (tsk tsk).

And now, for something completely different...

Earlier in the week I downloaded a new App for my iPod Touch (it's not an iTouch people... that just sounds creepy!!) from Martha Stewarts Everyday Food. Everyday (ha!) it sends a new recipe to your iPod or iPhone and if you have push notifications on, it puts it on the screen - like a text message. Typically, I am bad about using my Apps on a  regular basis so I find this VERY helpful. Every single day, it will send me a recipe idea. Love it! today it came up with Salmon Pasta. Now, I am originally from Florida and unlike my co blogger, Hx, I am not a huge fan of seafood (unless it's shrimp, then I am ready to roll, especially if it's scampi). However, I am making an effort to eat a little more fish - specifically salmon - because I know it has all those good Omega3s and such in it. So, this sounded like a great idea. Even better because I could make the pasta and separate out a little for the children who - even if one wasn't a vegetarian - wouldn't touch it with a 10 ft pole. (the kids got the same pasta, but with my mix of basil & garlic cubes from Trader Joe's -- my quick & cheap version of pesto). Should I tell you the story about how my daughter initally refused to come out for dinner because of the fishy smell in the house? No... ok, well, then yes, no fish for them.

So, I made this dish and I did forget a few things. I have a TON of spinach in the fridge. What did I forget??? The freakin' spinach! I also forgot the parsley, which personally, isn't a huge loss. I am still disappointed that I forgot the spinach. It's been a long few days and today involved taking my daughter to a party at Chuck E Cheese's which well, is among my least favorite places in the world - so that's my excuse.

Anyway, the thumbs were way up on this one - even without the spinach. I have no pictures either! Sorry about that. It was that good. So good you should make it. The only thing I would do different is to spice it up. The rub was REALLY good, but it needed a kick. Some cayenne or some sort of spicy pepper. David used some Tabasco, which, if you have read this blog at all, will know is a commonly used condiment in this house. We put out salt, pepper & Tabasco.

The Absolute Best Lasagna

Once, a few years ago, I made a meaty lasagna for some friends. One of them, Uncle Ben, as I call him, asked whether everyone else was finished. We all said Yes. He then proceeded to hoist the remaining 1/3 of the pan of lasagna onto his plate. I am sure that my mouth dropped. I always have leftovers... until that moment. I guess he liked it. A lot.

So last night we had another guest over for dinner and I made the same recipe. And let me tell you this, dear readers, it really is *that good*. Oh Yeah. Cooks Illustated Simple Lasagna is to die for. The 'meat mixture' calls for veal, which I don't buy, so they suggest substituting ground beef and sweet Italian sausage. It's freakin' delicious. With guests, I say 'forget healthy - we're going all out on fatty goodness'. So it's the whole milk ricotta cheese. Uh Huh.

The really momentous part of this entire meal is my attitude. So. There are people reading this that might be shocked to discover that I went home, after a full 8 hours of work, and made this lasagna, from scratch, Without FREAKING OUT. Yeah, I see you nodding your heads in disbelief. There are some that knew me before I was a semi-experienced cook, that needed to plan WAY in advance for such a complex meal. No way was Heather going to make something as complicated as lasagna (or anything else) after work for someone she didn't know. No way, no how. I'm looking at the ex-boyfriends (and I'm sure that maybe one of them actually reads this blog), and they're the ones who know the best. Anyway, it was fun. =)

AND DELICIOUS! Oh how I love it when a plan works out.

Noodle Night!!!

So, since Hx is finding so many yummy ideas from Rachael Ray, I thought I would give it a try. I decided to search for some vegetarian options and came up with a few ideas. Now, if you read any of her recipes on a regular basis, you'll notice they are not normally vegetarian. Her preferences seem to be a lot like my husbands - and I attribute this to the fact that they are both from Upstate NY -- although she's from about 100 miles east of him -- her recipes are always full of stuff I know he'll like. (ie bacon, sausage, burgers, cheese etc...).

While perusing her site I found this option - Vegetable Noodle Stir Fry. This seemed to have it all. The only "offensive" ingredient was the egg. Have I mentioned lately how darn picky my kids are?? No, neither of them like eggs.  But at least this was something that didn't have to be combined in the whole meal. Everyone seemed to enjoy this option. Phew! The only issue I ran into was I couldn't find any baby bok choy. I don't know if it's because it's the middle of February (which, actually... yes, I am pretty sure that's the reason) or something. I did just use regular old bok choy.

This recipe could definitely be modified to use more veggies, or less or certain ones that are preferred. I think some broccoli, perhaps even green peppers or other less common veggies could definitely be added.

This one is definitely a thumbs up!

"I wish it was summer" salad!

Here's one of my most favorite recipes to make in the summer. I make this as a side dish, to take to picnics or just to snack on. It's very very yummy.  I happened to have all the ingredients so I decided why not. Just because it's February, I can have a summer salad!  For Christmas I got an Aerogarden and I have a TON of fresh basil. I really like the garden it so far and I love having fresh, clean herbs to use whenever I need them.

I got this recipe from some magazine a few years ago. I don't remember which one though!

Corn Basil & Orzo Salad

1/2 med. red onion
1/4 cup white wine vinegar (I usually use rice vinegar - I think it tastes better)
2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
6-8 ears of fresh corn
8 oz of Orzo (small, rice like pasta)
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper diced
1 1/2 cups fresh basil

Combine the onion, vinegar, salt & pepper. Let stand for about 15 mins.

Prepare the corn. Cut the kernels off, but not too deep. You should have about 5 cups

Cook the orzo for about 8 minutes and add the corn. Cook until the water return to a boil for about 1-3 minutes. Drain & rinse with cold water

Whisk oil into vinegar & onion mixture. Add orzo, corn bell pepper and basil. Toss until combined. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce with Pasta

I sat down today to try and find a recipe that perhaps, maybe, possibly by some remote chance EVERYONE would like. I thought this would be the one.

Nope.

But, I tried something new & different and also tried a new skill that I hadn't used before. I did this. On purpose.

I roasted a red pepper. I had never done this before. Basically, I put the peppers under the broiler for about 10-15 mins and turned them every so often until the skin was black. Took them out, let them sit for a min or 2, then placed them in a ziploc bag for about 10 mins and peeled the charred skin right off. Then I threw them in my mini food processor and ended up with this good looking sauce :

 

I was following yet another recipe by Ree Drummond - The Pioneer Woman. She has some of the best recipes - not the healthiest recipes - but the tastiest. And of course her photography rocks. The recipe can be found here. Now, I have to admit that I didn't use cream. Perhaps I should have, but I didn't. It was very light and I think the cream would have made it heavier - you can decide for yourself if this would be a good thing or a bad thing. 

Oh, back to my success/failure rate. My son liked it at first. After eating it for a bit, he said he didn't. I think it's because it got cold. I am frugal and have the house set at low temps during the day (it was set at 65 this afternoon) so it did get a bit cool. I think for him, cream and a warm bowl would have held his interest. He can use the cream though. He's skin and bones. Me, not so much. My daughter.... shot down completely. She got a nice bowl of pasta with olive oil and parm. No extra meals here.

I probably won't make this again until I can get good fresh red peppers. This was good, but not incredible. It lacked that something special I think fresh produce could bring. 

2 Pounds of Cheesy Goodness

Hola - I'm Heather, Barbara's accomplice-in-cooking. She's given me the opportunity to contribute to her blog cuz she's a good friend (and maybe because she wants to relieve some of the pressure from the gads of readers/followers that expect regular, tongue-drooling entries). She and I share a love of many things, including peanut sauce (I recently discovered this similarity), mushrooms, soba noodles, wine, snowshoeing, Wisconsin, knitting, and lots and lots of cheese.

Since it's Saturday, which means I have more time to cook, I decided to make something that requires a lengthy stay in the kitchen. I've made lasagna before and each time was a special occasion - special in that it took lots of time to make. Tonight's Spinach and Black Bean Lasagna was a different story. Open a can, a jar, a tub, and 30 minutes later it's in the oven with 2 bowls to clean. yowsah.

Cheese. Yes, two whopping pounds of it. This is a Southern Living recipe, so I used whole milk ricotta (a 15 oz tub), and 16 oz of Monterey Jack. I realize this may be blasphemy, but I could have escaped using less monterey jack for the topping. I think.

Rob claimed it was the best lasagna he ever tasted. The best part is that it was very affordable - and no hard-to-find ingredients. After the two of us ate it for dinner, we still have 3/4 of a pan as leftovers.

I love Peanut Sauce

But unfortunately, not everyone in my family loves it. Seriously, cover just about anything in peanut sauce and I will eat it. I love it.

I am making an effort to cook vegetarian meals this weekend so we all can eat the same thing. I thought this would be perfect. My son loves peanut butter. He should love peanut sauce right? No. This didn't pass the test with him. Oh well, we'll try something else.

I liked it. It could have been a little better. I improvised a lot. I used a recipe I found using my Dinner Spinner App on my iPod Touch. It's a great App. I haven't used it tons, but I did find this gem. It also works better if you have a phone, so when you are at the grocery store that doesn't have Wi Fi, you can find your ingredients. Not that this has happened to me or anything...

So this is the recipe I based my meal on - Peanut Noodles at Allrecipes.com . I improvised by using Ketjep Manis instead of soy sauce. I also used Sambel Oelek instead of red pepper flakes. Both are Indonesian seasonings that I use when I make Indonesian food - which has a dutch influence (see my previous post about Gouda for why I cook dutch food). I also used a little more peanut butter. This might be why it wasn't as good. It was a thick sauce. I should have used more water or ketjep to help make it thinner. Also... I added more veggies - broccoli, onions, snow peas. For the pasta, I used an organic whole wheat pasta that I bought at Costco. I have 7 packages of this pasta now, so you can expect to see it often.

It wasn't incredible, but it was decent. My son had expressed doubts in my creations, so I reserved some pasta and some veggies without sauce for just such an occasion - which was needed.