georgian-style eggplant stuffed with carrot and parsnip

this recipe is from the country of georgia, which borders turkey, armenia, and russia.

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¼ cup olive oil
4 medium to large eggplants, halved
5 medium carrots, grated
1 parsnip, grated
1 large onion, chopped finely
1 green capsicum (pepper), chopped finely
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
½ cup water
¼ cup tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried thyme or a few sprigs fresh thyme
1 tablespoon sugar or agave nectar (i used less and it was good)
salt and black pepper to taste

sauce:
3 cups water
¾ cup tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar or agave nectar
salt and pepper to taste
(i added a splash of apple cider vinegar to mine, and another sprig of fresh thyme from my garden.)

1. Preheat oven to 200˚C (approx. 390˚F).

2. With a spoon, scrape out the flesh of the eggplant halves, chop it roughly and set aside. Place the hollowed out eggplant halves in a greased baking dish, season them and drizzle with olive oil.

3. Place a fry pan over medium heat, pour in the olive oil, and cook the onion until soft and translucent. Add the eggplant flesh, garlic, grated carrots, parsnip and green capsicum and cook for a further 10 minutes (the vegetables will soften). Add the tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme, sugar and seasoning and cook for another 25-30 minutes.

4. Stuff the eggplants with the vegetable mixture evenly. Mix the tomato paste, sugar and seasoning with the water and pour into the baking dish. (At this point I usually drizzle a little more olive oil over the eggplants.)

5. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the dish and bake for a further 30-45 minutes. The dish is ready when the eggplants have softened and the sauce has thickened (it should not be watery).

6. Let rest for 30 minutes before serving as the eggplants will absorb more moisture and the sauce will thicken a little. Or refrigerate when cool and eat cold the next day (the flavours will be even better).

Serve with plain yogurt.

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from here

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really good. eggplant with parsnip and carrot is better than i thought it would be. is it worth the hour and a half? well, it’s a special dish for your vegan or gluten-free friends, and it tastes good. maybe it’s best for special occasions.

delicious, and recommended for any day you want to spend an hour and a half waiting for a really healthy veggie meal.

green pea soup

i realized the other day when a friend brought up pea soup that i’ve never made it myself.

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1 Tbsp oil or bacon grease, or more to coat bottom of pan
1 medium leek, whites and light green parts only, halved and sliced thin
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large potato, peeled, cut into small cubes
16 oz frozen peas
4 cups vegetable stock
a couple sprigs of fresh lemon thyme, tied in a bundle (or chervil, sorrel, and/or savory) (i used fines herbs)
1/3 cup sour cream, plus more for serving (or plain greek yogurt, or coconut milk)
additional lemon thyme for serving (or other herbs)

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Heat large heavy bottomed stockpot. Add oil. Once oil is warm, add garlic and onions. Cook over medium-high heat for 30-45 seconds until garlic is fragrant. Add leeks and cook until leeks and onions have softened, about 3 minutes.
Add potatoes and peas. Cook for about 2 minutes until frozen peas start to defrost. Add vegetable stock and lemon thyme bundle. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer for 15-20 minutes until potatoes can be easily smashed with a fork. Remove from heat and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Remove lemon thyme bundle.
Puree soup using an immersion blender, or transfer soup in batches to a blender. Blend soup until smooth. Stir in sour cream and season with salt and pepper. Serve soup warm or chilled with additional sour cream and fresh lemon thyme leaves.

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adapted from here

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fantastic. highly recommended. i threw a few pieces of ham in with the onions. wonderful.

sweet and savory broccoli salad

substitutions can be made for whatever you have in the house. i know what you’re thinking: “mayonnaise-based salads?” but i recently had a sweetened mayo broccoli salad that was actually delicious (too much time in the midwest, maybe?)

perhaps this is a good transition away from heavy winter food, now that it’s already too hot to slow-bake ribs.

plus, it looks sweet and creamy without any added sugar.

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3 large broccoli heads
5 diced radishes
2 diced tomatoes
1 diced apple
1/2 cup of red grapes, diced, drain (read: drink) the juice
5 green onions minus the white part, diced
1 cup medium carrot, shredded
1/2 cup dried cranberries

dressing:
3 Tbsp oil (she recommends sunflower or olive; i think i’ll use walnut oil, my new favorite salad oil)
1 Tbsp mayo
1 Tbsp sour cream
1/2 tsp garlic salt
3 Tbsp lemon juice

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adapted from natasha’s kitchen

healthy no-sugar-added sweet vegan mash

a fun alternative to mashed potatoes! sweet and savory.

six or so baby yukon gold potatoes
one long piece of yuca (cassava) root, peeled of its waxy skin
one large white sweet potato

a splash of almond or coconut milk (optional; I didn’t and it was just fine)
about 1 T coconut oil
about 1/2 t onion powder
about 1/2 t garlic powder
a few cloves of roasted garlic (optional)
about 1/2 t rosemary, crushed
one dash cayenne
salt and pepper to taste

boil yuca and sweet potato; add baby potatoes as yuca and sweet potato become soft

mash everything together

served mine with ribs and it made an amazing dinner. highly recommended!

ginger orange broccoli quinoa salad

1 and 1/2 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth (or water)
1 cup of uncooked quinoa
2 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger (divided)
1 teaspoon of freshly grated orange peel
juice of one small orange
1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of canola oil
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 tablespoon of honey or agave
pinch of salt
1 cup of trimmed sugar snap peas, halved
2 cups of broccoli slaw (shredded broccoli florets and stems, red cabbage and carrots)
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
1 yellow pepper, cut into thin strips
3 tablespoons of fresh cilantro or parsley
2 tablespoons of thinly sliced scallions
1 cup of dry roasted peanuts (or raw)
1 tablespoon of black or white sesame seeds

1. Place the vegetable stock, 1 tablespoon of grated ginger, grated orange rind, orange juice and quinoa in a medium sauce pot. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook the quinoa for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix the rice wine vinegar, other tablespoon of grated ginger, canola oil, sesame oil, honey and salt in a small glass jar or container. Shake to combine.

3. After the quinoa has cooked for 10 minutes, turn off the heat. Toss in the sugar snap peas, broccoli slaw and red pepper. Return lid to pot and allow the veggies to steam with the quinoa for 5 minutes. Remove lid and allow mixture to cool to room temperature.

4. Toss the quinoa mixture with the salad dressing. Add in the dry roasted peanuts. Garnish the salad with fresh cilantro (or parsley), scallions and sesame seeds.

Serve at room temperature.

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from the fig tree

cajun french onion broccoli jambalaya

this came out of a craving for broccoli cheese soup, french onion soup, and jambalaya. it’s all of them at the same time. easy to make vegetarian, too – just leave out the sausage and chicken, and replace with whatever veggies you have in the house that taste great in soup!

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fry two onions in a soup pot.

add stock, or water and bouillon.

add a head of peeled roasted garlic, two bay leaves, and a hot chili pepper or two. (i added potatoes, too, since i have a surplus.)

boil together a half-hour or so until soup base tastes wonderful.

add cajun seasoning blend (make your own with thyme, oregano, paprika, cayenne, onion and garlic, salt and pepper,) cut-up raw chicken, chunked broccoli stems, and slices of andouille sausage.

cook about another half-hour.

add broccoli florets 3 – 5 minutes before soup is done.

top with a little cheddar.

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highly recommended! hearty, rich, filling, and easy.

crunchy szechuan green beans

1 clove garlic, minced
1-inch knob of fresh ginger, minced (should equal about 2 teaspoons)
2 Tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (this will be spicy – reduce, if you prefer less spice)
1 Tablespoon oil
1 pound green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces and rubbed dry with a towel

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Whisk together the first seven ingredients (through crushed red pepper) in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heat the sunflower oil in a wok or heavy-bottomed saute pan over medium-high heat. Just when the sunflower oil begins to shimmer, add the green beans and sauté, stirring constantly, until they begin to blacken in small spots, about 3 minutes. (Note: Be careful when adding the green beans to the pan, as they should sizzle and pop a bit if the oil is hot enough. This process should go very quickly, with the green beans retaining a bright green color, even though they will start to blacken a bit in spots.)
Add the sauce to the pan, stirring to coat the green beans. Cook just until the sauce reduces slightly, about 2 minutes.

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recipe by inquiring chef

broccoli-pistachio soup

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4 cups broccoli florets, roughly chopped

4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 cup pistachios, shelled

2/3 cup coconut milk (+ more for drizzling)

In a skillet, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes, until onions have softened. Add broccoli florets, sea salt and water. Bring to boil, cover and simmer until broccoli is cooked, about 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the pistachios in a dry pan over low heat for 5-7 minutes. Shake the pan a few times for even toasting and to avoid burning the nuts. Set aside.

Take off the heat. Stir in the spinach and let wilt in the hot mixture. Add the toasted pistachios (keep 2-3 tablespoons aside) and the coconut milk to the broccoli spinach mixture. Then blend with a hand blender or transfer to food processor and blend until smooth.

Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Chop up the remaining pistachios. Transfer the soup to serving bowls and garnish with chopped pistachios and a drizzle of coconut milk.

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from anja

greek rice-spinach

i really liked the greek soup i made a few days ago, which is good because i have leftover dill and lemons for more greek food.

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rice-spinach

1/2 lb spinach, torn
extra virgin olive oil
t or so of dried roasted onion powder
a bunch of spring onions, finely cut
1 leek, finely sliced
1 tomato, minced
3/4 cup of rice
1 bunch dill, finely chopped
juice of 1 lemon
salt
freshly ground pepper

Chop the spinach coarsely. In a shallow, wide casserole-type pan, warm the olive oil. Add the spring onions, and leek and stir fry them gently for 3-4 minutes, until they get translucent. Add the finely chopped tomato, onion powder, and rice. Then pour over 1 1/2c of water, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes or until water is absorbed. Add spinach and toss until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and sprinkle with dill and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Give everything another good toss and serve.

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adapted from this recipe

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FANTASTIC! Loved by everyone who tried it. Simple and delicious. Highly recommended!

falafelatke

here’s a guest recipe from zachary of triskaidekapod.

like falafel? like latkes? ever had them both at the same time?

smash cooked chickpeas.
grate potatoes and onions.
salt and season however you like.
bind with flour and egg, or psyllium husk, or whatever you use to bind. chiaseed or flax “eggs” would also work.
form, as with latkes, into patties.
fry; drain on paper bags or paper towels.