eggplant zucchini caprese(ish) stacks

kris created a fantastic dinner for us using almost entirely farmer's market goodies and our home grown basil (which, i must mention, is HUGE. i'm so proud of it).

we'd been eating a lot of heavy, starch-tastic dinners lately so it was really nice to have these light and fresh vegetable towers in our tummies instead. slightly roasted slices of eggplant and zucchini with fat slices of heirloom tomato and basil all topped off with another drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette (kris's plating was excellent). and because we just can't have a meal without carbs we had mini garlic english muffins too. this makes a lot of little stacks, eat a bunch of them as an entree or have them as a side.

eggplant and zucchini stacks

ingredients:

1 medium eggplant, sliced

2 medium zucchini, sliced

1-2 ripe heirloom tomatos, sliced (and maybe halved, depending on the size of your eggplant)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12 fresh basil leaves

preheat oven to 425°F

slice the eggplant and zucchini into 1/2 inch pieces and place in a single layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet.

in a small bowl combine the olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. brush on one side of the eggplant and zucchini.

bake the eggplant and zucchini slices for about 10 minutes. turn them over, brush with more of the olive-oil mixture, then bake for another 10 minutes.

to serve, make stacks of eggplant, zucchini and tomato slices in any order you want. top with a basil leaf, and finish with a final drizzle of the olive oil mixture.

-d

moroccan fresh tomato salad

this past saturday we made a trip to the farmer's market at the ferry building. i hate dealing with the crowds there but the produce is worth it. everything is amazing. i find myself slowly meandering from stall to stall...only to realize that i am being one of those slow aimless walkers that drive me crazy. ooops. when i realize this i immediately snap out of it though and move along. really. i promise.

anyway, we bought the most gorgeous, perfectly ripe heirloom tomatoes. these were way too delicious to cook so we made a fresh, herby, spicy salad with them.

moroccan fresh tomato salad
(from the mediterranean vegan kitchen)
ingredients:
3 medium ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into small pieces
salt, to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 small jalapeno chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
black pepper, to taste

place chopped tomatoes in a colander. sprinkle lightly with salt and toss gently; let drain for 30 minutes.

in a medium bowl, combine the parsley, cilantro, jalapeno, oil, vinegar, cumin, salt and pepper. add the drained tomatoes, mixing gently yet thoroughly to combine. let stand for 15 minutes at room temperature to allow the flavors to blend. toss gently again.

serve at room temperature, or cover and chill for 1 hour and serve chilled.

we had some of this leftover but when you spend $8 on tomatoes you don't really wanna throw 'em away and call it a day. we ate the leftovers tossed with arugula and an avocado with a little drizzle of olive oil and a fresh sprinkle of salt and pepper.

-d

mmm . . . mushroom bolognese

Today was one of those dreary, unseasonably cold late spring days in Boston. After enjoy truly gorgeous and summer-like weather over Memorial Day weekend, today was back to the cold! I must take a moment to say that I had a truly fantastic weekend, spending time with family and friends in the Philadelphia-area, including a visit to the Jersey Shore, the Art Museum, a local farmers market, and lots of cooking and baking with my mom (including delicious cinnamon rolls, to be posted soon!) But back to the task at hand . . .

I always find sun-less, misty grey days inspire the need for heart-warming comfort food. My first thought was a hearty pasta dish, but where to go from there? I love love love this Mushroom Bourguignon over at Smitten Kitchen, but wanted something different. So I started thinking about Bolognese, the classic Italian meat sauce. And here, I must make a small confession. I have never had REAL Bolognese. No, I'm not talking about flying to Bologna for dinner. But having never been a fan of meat (and it's been around five and a half years since I last ate beef) I never tried Bolognese the traditional way - with ground beef and pork.



For this recipe, I checked out several traditional Bolognese recipes, including one from Lidia Bastianich, and made my own adjustments. And, at the insistance of my new friend Raymond at the Salumeria Italiana, I used a dry white wine instead of the traditional red. Also, I substituted fresh roma tomatoes for the typical canned San Marzanos. I served the sauce over some lovely imported Italian papardelle noodles. Overall, what resulted was a delicious, and hearty, dish. Definitely lighter than I imagine the meaty version might be, but all around, worth making again, though I might tweak a few things - like adding more acid, possibly in the form of balsamic vinegar (another Raymond suggestion). I am also tempted to use the sauce for a hearty. vegetarian lasagne. I'll keep you posted!

Mushroom Bolognese

2 tbsp dried porcini mushrooms
1 small onion, finely diced
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 stalks celery, leaves removed, finely diced
2 lbs portobella mushrooms, cleaned, stems removes, and coarsely diced
1/4 to 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used a Verdicchio)
1 to 2 tbsp tomato paste (I prefer the kind in the tube)
1 lb roma tomatoes (I used fresh, but you could use canned)
4 to 5 sprigs of fresh thyme

Chopped flat leaf parsley
Grated parmesan

Soak the porcini mushrooms in 1 cup hot water for 10 to 15 minutes. Strain, reserving soaking liquid. Mince porcinis.



Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large saute pan, and add the onion, carrot and celery. Saute until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add white wine, bring to a boil, and cook for about 5 minutes, until most of the liquid is reduced. Add mushrooms, season liberally with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are softened and browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste, stirring to incorporate, followed by fresh tomatoes and reserved porcini soaking liquid (if there is not enough liquid to cover the mushroom mixture, top of with water or more white wine). Throw in the time sprigs, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cover. Let the mixture cook 20 to 25 minutes.

In the meantime, cook your pasta (I used papardelle) according to package instructions. After straining the pasta, toss with olive oil and parsley.

To serve, twirl pasta into bowls, top with sauce, and garnish with extra parsley and parmesan. Enjoy!

- e

vegan brunch-a-thon

i have been anticipating the release of vegan brunch for quite some time. when it finally came out i needed to get my hands on it immediately. no way was i patient enough to order it and wait for amazon to deliver it. i had to find it in a bookstore and quick! i was in luck and brought it home just in time for the long weekend. cause really? what's a long weekend for if not breaking in the newest cookbook from my favorite cookbook author? kris was on call this weekend so that gave us a "real" excuse not to leave the apartment for extended periods of time. plus, we did not have a sunny memorial day weekend. it was chilly and foggy and perfect for cooking up a storm!

one night long long ago my mom, marjorie and i tried to make pierogis. we had a blast....but our pierogis were inedible. i couldn't help thinking back to that night as i made these, but isa knows her stuff and these were amazing! i never thought i liked sauerkraut (kris thought he didn't either...) but ohmygoodness the sauerkraut mushroom filling is fantastic! the potato onion ones were awesome as well. smothered with carmelized onions and applesauce.

english muffins were another project i was excited about. i only have a small cookie cutter so i made mini ones (i suppose i could have just cut them into normal sized squares....). the taste was spot on but sadly my muffins had neither nooks nor crannies. it's ok. i'll try again.

they were the perfect size for little mini sausage egg muffin sammiches! yep that's right...we made sausages!

and a dill shiitake frittata (the "egg" of our sammies).

and last but not least...matzoh brie! this one almost didn't get it's picture taken cause it was not very photogenic but then i threw a bunch of dill on top and, ta dah!

head over to the ppk for some sample recipes and then buy your own copy. and i have to mention that the book is gorgeous! full of bright photos to make your mouth water.

-d

grapefruit gimlets

it's happy hour time at the yumcoast!

this cocktail started with the june issue of bon appetit, but then we shook it up a bit with the addition of fresh grapefruit juice (does that make it not a gimlet?) to make a deliciously sweet and tart summery cocktail.

grapefruit gimlet
ingredients:
(makes two cocktails)
1/2 cup grapefruit vodka
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water boiled until sugar dissolves)
splash of fresh grapefruit juice
lime slices to garnish
ice cubes

place all ingredients except lime slices in cocktail shaker. shake quickly and vigorously for 8 seconds. strain into two glasses and garnish with lime. sip and enjoy!

-d

vermicelli nests with chickpeas, spinach and tomato

there were a couple of factors working against us cooking a big dinner on sunday:

1. it was hot. really hot. the kind of hot that makes you really not want to hang out in a tiny kitchen with the stove and oven cranking along.

2. sunday morning was bay to breakers. as we made our way to the panhandle to watch the craziness, bloody marys and mimosas in tow, there was really no telling how much cooking we would be up for later in the day.

keeping this in mind saturday afternoon as i looked through my cookbooks i thought this simple, fast pasta recipe was a perfect fit....assuming we didn't cave in to take out (we didn't. obviously.).

i really enjoyed this dish. it's light and fresh and easy and tasty. it also uses white wine so pick one that's yummy and you can enjoy a nice chilled glass as you eat this on a hothot day.

vermicelli nests with chickpeas, spinach and tomato
(from the mediterranean vegan kitchen, makes 4-6 main course servings)
ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (15-oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup dry white wine
2 to 3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1 pound fresh plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
8 ounces fresh spinach, stemmed, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips
pinch sugar
salt and black pepper to taste
12 ounces vermicelli, capellini, or spaghettini

in a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. add the garlic and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. add the chickpeas and toss to coat with the garlic and oil. add the wine and thyme. bring to a boil over high heat.

add the tomatoes, spinach, sugar, salt and pepper. toss well to thoroughly combine and remove the skillet from the heat. set aside until the tomatoes are just warm to the touch, about 5 minutes.

meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente; drain well.

arrange equal amounts of the pasta in small circular piles (like nests!) in the bottoms of bowls. divide the chickpea and tomato mixture evenly among the bowls. pour the remaining liquid from the skillet evenly over all and serve.

-d

peachy oat bran muffins

last tuesday as i took my usual lunchtime stroll to the ferry building farmers market i noticed that the delicious citrus i had become accustomed to buying was on the way out. in it's place? peaches and apricots! i only bought three peaches...just to test the waters...as they were the first of the season. they were fantastic. i ate them at work for snacks but ended up with one lil lonely peach at home this weekend. i also found a bag of oat bran in the fridge left over from some bread baking venture. and wouldn't you know, one super ripe banana that needed to be baked into something. only one thing to do...peachy oat bran muffins! i pretty much made this recipe up as i went along. the good? the texture is perfect! they are super moist and a little bit chewy from the oat bran. the bad? they're sadly bland. but! i know exactly what i would do to make them better next time and what you can do to make them awesome right now. more ginger! i would increase the powdered to one teaspoon (at least) and also add some minced fresh and/or crystallized ginger and i think they would be delightful. you could also switch out the peach for another fruit, add nuts, and experiment with spices to compliment the fruit you have on hand. below is the recipe i used for you to build on.

peachy oat bran muffins
ingredients:
2 1/4 cups oat bran
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1 ripe banana, mashed
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 peach, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

preheat oven to 425.

in a large bowl, combine oat bran, baking powder and sugar.
in a separate bowl, mash the banana and whisk in soy milk and oil.
pour the wet ingredients into the dry. add peach pieces and mix until just combined.
spoon into muffin tin and bake 15-17 minutes.

-d.

also, i would like you to notice my pretty new blue bowl. we've had a gorgeous weekend here in san francisco and kris and i took the ferry over to sausalito yesterday and made a trip to heath ceramics. i want it all. if you're willing to deal with slight imperfections you can get a great deal (a teeny little crack discounted my bowl from $55 to $15!).