Category: Food

Sometimes I like to make a simple salad.

Fresh tomatoes from our yard sliced in two, cucumbers quartered and fresh basil diced.

One could add a vinaigrette but why mess with something simple and tasteful?

Eggplant Parmagiana

Eggplant Parmagiana with broccoli

A very good vegetarian dish that even your non-vegetarians will enjoy (as long as you don’t tell them it’s eggplant).

1 large eggplant (I used 2 medium sized ones) peeled
3 eggs
3 tablespoons water
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
Oil for deep frying
2 cups marinara sauce, divided
2 cups shredded Mozarella cheese (about 8 ounces)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1.  Preheat oven to 375F
2.  Peel and slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch slices
3.  In a large shallow bowl, beat the eggs with the water.  Using a whisk, stir in the flour and salt until smooth.
4.  In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until it bubbles when a drop of batter is tossed in.
5.  Dip 3 or 4 of the eggplant slices into the batter, then fry in a single layer until browned on the bottom.  Turn and cook until browned on other side.    Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.  Repeat with remaining eggplant slices until all are fried.
6.  Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13x2 inch baking pan.  Layer 1/2 of the slices over the sauce.  Top with 1 cup of the sauce, spreading to cover the eggplant slices.  Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella over the sauce and top with 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan.
7.  Place the remaining eggplant slices over the cheese and spread the remaining 1/2 cup of the sauce over the eggplant.  Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozarella over the sauce.  Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.
8.  Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake 20-25 minutes or until heated through and the cheese has melted.

Enjoy!

1,000 Vegetarian Recipes

Broccoli-Cheddar Quiche

This is a really good quiche recipe.  A picture/name of the cookbook is below the recipe.

Makes one 9-inch quiche

Ingredients:

Pastry for one 9-inch pie or one 9-inch frozen deep-dish crust
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups of milk (I use half and half)
1 teaspoon anchovy-free Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
2 cups chopped fresh broccoli (you could use frozen, thawed but the consistency may be different)
1/2 cup of sliced scallions (both white & green parts)

1.  Preheat oven to 425F
2.  Roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle.  Line a 9-inch pie dish with the rolled dough.  Weigh down the pastry using pie weights or dry beans to prevent the crust from rising.  Bake 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and remove weights.
3.  Decrease oven temperature to 350F
4.  In a large bowl, beat the eggs lightly.  Add the milk, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.  Beat until combined.
5.  After 10 minutes, remove the crust from the oven.
6.  Sprinkle the cheese into the bottom of the crust.  Add the broccoli and scallions and toss gently to combine.  Pour the egg mixture over all.
7.  Baker 50 to 60 minutes or until puffy and slightly browned on top.  Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

They say you can also use Gouda or another hard cheese in place of the Cheddar.

Note:  I baked this in a convection oven and it only took 35 minutes.  So, make sure you check it every now and then.  You can check if done by placing a butter knife in the middle of the quiche.  If it comes out clean, it’s done.

Enjoy!  (see recipe book below)

So I decided to try arroz con gandules today.

Gandules are pigeon peas.

It actually came out pretty good so I’m passing the recipe along.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 3 tablespoons sofrito*
• 1 packet Sazon
• 4 ounces tomato sauce
• 2 cups rice (rinsed 2-3 times in cold water)
• 1 can (15 oz) gandules (pigeon peas)
• 2-3 cups warm water
• Salt

Directions

1. In a large caldero (pot), on medium heat, add the oil.  When oil is hot, add the Sazon, sofrito and tomato sauce.
2. Cook through for 5-6 minutes.
3. Add the rice and the can of gandules (including liquid).
4. Add water to cover the rice.
5. Stir then add salt to taste.
6. Cook on medium heat until water is evaporated.
7. Once water evaporates, stir from the bottom up slowly and make a hill out of the rice.
8. Put cover on the caldero (pot) and leave it alone for 20 minutes.
9. Stir then put cover back on and let cook through.
10. Remove cover and stir from the bottom up.

Enjoy!

Arroz con Gandules

•  2-3 garlic cloves, skin removed
• 1 small onion, skin removed and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 green pepper, pitted and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 bunch cilantro, cut the whole bottom of the bunch off (most of the stems), wash in water
• Put all ingredients in a blender and blend.

More recipes:

1 pound of gandules (pigeon peas)
1 tablespoon of alcaparrado without liquid
1 ounce Jamon de cocinar (Cooking ham or smoked ham)
1 one packet of Sazon with achiote
4 ounces of tomato sauce
2 Tablespoons of oil
Salt to taste

1 pound of gandules (pigeon peas)
1 tablespoon of alcaparrado without liquid
1 ounce Jamon de cocinar (Cooking ham or smoked ham)
1 one packet of Sazon with achiote
4 ounces of tomato sauce
2 Tablespoons of oil
Salt to taste