分类: - Making It Up as I Sew Along

Baked Almond-Crusted Eggplant Recipe

1/29/2017

For the life of me, I can't remember my almond-crusted eggplant recipe came about. It might have been inspired by something I saw or someone who mentioned something, or it might have been a light bulb moment from me or my husband. Either way, today I'm going to share with you my absolute favorite way to make and eat eggplant. Even if you think you don't like eggplant, you should give this recipe a try. I'm telling you, there's a chance you'll be converted and it will become your favorite thing ever. It's pretty simple, so I'll just get right to it.

You will need:

- 1 medium eggplant
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of almond meal/flour (I like the kind from Trader Joe's)
- coarse-ground sea salt
- bowl of salted water
- baking sheet

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cut off the top and bottom ends of your eggplant, then slice the eggplant into 1/2" rounds. Place the rounds into the bowl of salted water and let them soak for about 30 minutes, flipping them over about halfway through to make sure the sides that float above the water get soaked as well. In the meantime, beat your egg in a container large enough for your eggplant rounds to lay flat in. After 30 minutes, drain and rinse the rounds, then pat them dry and stack them on a plate. Pour about half the almond meal into a dish or plate. To expedite the next process, place everything you need in the following order: plate of eggplant rounds, bowl of egg, plate of almond meal, baking sheet.

Begin by taking an eggplant round and dredging it in the egg so that all sides are coated. Let the egg drip for a moment over the bowl. Lay the eggplant round in the almond meal to coat the first side, then flip to coat the other side. I like to sprinkle a bit of extra almond meal on each side and pat it with my hand to make sure there is a nice even coat. Finish by laying the round on the baking sheet. Continue this process for all the eggplant rounds, adding almond meal to the plate as necessary. Once your baking sheet is full, sprinkle the eggplant with a bit of sea salt. Slide the baking sheet into the oven and let the eggplant cook until the bottoms are lightly browned, then flip them over and cook for another 10 minutes or so until the other side is lightly browned as well.

Although the almond-coated eggplant will smell absolutely irresistible when it comes out of the oven, I highly encourage you to let them cool for 5-10 minutes or you will most assuredly burn your mouth (ahem). My favorite part about biting into one is that the outside is slightly crispy, while the inside is moist (so long as you don't overcook it, of course) and the salt really brings out the almond flavor. And, if somehow you can't manage to eat them all right then, they still taste good if you heat them up in a toaster oven on the toast setting the next day. Once you eat one, I hope you'll let me know what you think. Perhaps you'll want to make another batch right away. I know I do!

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"World's Best!" Dessert from Sweet Paul Magazine

5/20/2015

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A couple weeks ago I got the latest issue of Sweet Paul Magazine. It's such a beautifully photographed magazine, and I just love the interview with the embroidery artist and the how-to articles. As I looked through it while Goen played at the park, I knew I was going to make one of the recipes from it soon. On Monday, the cooking bug hit me and I decided to make a loaf of bread and a dessert in the morning while Goen was awake. I sat him on the counter to watch and then tried to involve him often enough to bake the Black Pepper Bread "World's Best!" dessert, both from this issue. I must say, I'm starting to really enjoy the increased attention span of two years old and my little one's willingness to sit and watch while I cook. The bread came together pretty fast. Once it came out of the oven we ate a few slices while I worked on the dessert.

As I always do, I made a couple changes to the dessert recipe. I used coconut milk instead of dairy cream. It works just as well, you just have to chill it slightly to let all the solids float to the top and solidify. Then you just scoop out everything except the watery stuff at the bottom. I think it will actually keep better than dairy cream without getting the cake layers soggy. This is important for me since it will probably take a couple days for us to eat it all. The second change was to use frozen blueberries for the fruit topping. I love strawberries, but blueberries are all I had on hand.

This dessert is so delicious. It will definitely become one of my go-to desserts. It's indulgent without being too sweet. The layers are perfect for adding texture. And, with the cream in the middle and on top, it won't dry out quickly at all. I think it would be a great dessert to make for a party because you can (must, really) make it ahead of time, put it in the fridge, and pull it out as you head out the door. Delicious and versatile? Yes! This one's a keeper.

And, before I knew it, it was all eaten. Luckily it was only the first piece and I have the rest of the dish to enjoy. Perhaps even as I write this I am snacking on a slice, but I won't tell. But I will say that it makes a nice between-breakfast-and-lunch treat. I hope you have a chance to enjoy a piece as well.

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Holiday Cooking - Part II

12/31/2014

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To combat my lack of Christmas cheer and melancholy about being far away from my family during the holidays, I made some traditional gingerbread on Christmas Eve. My hope was that the delicious smells would permeate my house and lighten my mood. I chose this recipe because it used fresh ginger and freshly-grated nutmeg. I didn't have quite enough ginger (it calls for 2/3 cup!). The amount I put in was closer to 1/2 cup, and I could tell that the typical ginger kick was lacking. Even so, it tasted good, especially with the addition of a little more butter on the side (because the 2 1/4 sticks in the recipe just wasn't enough, hehehe). Vanilla ice cream would have been the perfect accompaniment, though. The gingerbread smelled so good when it came out of the oven that we just couldn't wait for dessert to eat it. We cut a piece right then and there. And then we cut another...and another. I just couldn't get enough. In fact, I made another, gluten-free version of gingerbread the next day (scroll down to see the recipe).

On Christmas Day we were scheduled to have dinner with relatives in the area. Since one of them can't have gluten, I decided to try my hand at making a bread everyone could eat. I don't care for the starchy flours used in most gluten-free breads, and the texture of baked almond flour reminds me of coconut (which I love), so I tried adapting an almond flour-based bread recipe into a gingerbread. One of the cookbooks on my shelf is Cooking with Trader Joe's, which includes just such a recipe. My version is a mashup of the cookbook recipe with the flavorings of the gingerbread recipe I found online. This time I made sure to have plenty of ginger on hand to make the kick really stand out. I actually like it better than the wheat flour bread. Even if your diet doesn't require going gluten free, I totally recommend giving this recipe a try. It's super moist and flavorful.

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Recipe:

Adapted from the Almond Bread recipe in the Cooking with Trader Joe's cookbook.

Ingredients:
DRY
- 16 ounces almond flour (about 4 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup minced fresh ginger (or more to taste)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I replaced this with more nutmeg)
WET
- 5 large eggs
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup whole milk

Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix thoroughly.
- Grease an 8x8 baking pan (I prefer glass) and pour the batter into it.
- Immediately place the pan into the oven on the center rack.
- Bake until a toothpick or fork inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30-40 minutes.

Have you ever experimented with combining recipes to get something new or different? I know I have, with varying success. But part of the fun is testing out how ingredients go together and what happens when you change something. And who knows, maybe you'll come up with something your family loves.

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Holiday Cooking - Part I

12/27/2014

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I decided almost at the last minute that I wanted to make a special meal for Christmas Eve dinner. I sent David to the store to "pick up some delicious meat." He came home with three pounds of pork loin and I got to work finding a recipe I liked. I found this Fig-Balsamic Roasted Pork Loin recipe that I had most of the ingredients for. For the things I didn't have, I just improvised. The pear became an apple (I left the peel on). The stuffing mix became croutons and seasoning. The chicken broth became plain old water. The fig preserve became rehydrated figs simmered in a balsamic reduction. Plus I added some cooked quinoa for a little texture. The meal was complete with a side of sliced oranges. It was delicious. Come back tomorrow to see what was for dessert!

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Fall Into Spring (Mix)

11/20/2014

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There is something about a cold house that makes me not want to cook. It feels too soon to kick on the heater full time (and who really wants to see the energy bill from that?), so I've been making do with adding layers. If only Fall went into Spring and skipped Winter altogether, I would be so happy. Until global warming makes that a reality, wool socks will be my best friend. But back to cooking. Not as much of that going on right now. When I do get out from under my warm blankets and into the kitchen, I either cook a ton of extra so we can live off leftovers for the week, or I make salad. I can't really complain, though, cause I love salad. Maybe because my mom would make some variety of green salad pretty often for dinner (with six kids at home, she probably didn't want to cook so much either). Whatever the reason, I have made enough salads by now to make salad prep a science. From the shape of the bowl to the size of the toppings, I know how to make great salads.

For my salads, I almost always buy the sixteen ounce box of organic salad mix from Safeway. At $5, I think it's a pretty good value since it means I don't have to buy several different types of lettuce and then wash, trim, and chop it. I used to get the organic spring mix, but somewhere along the line they started putting in lots of arugula. I hate arugula. Really, really hate it. I hate it so much that I would painstakingly pick it out of my salad mix piece by piece as I put it into my bowl. One day, by chance, I discovered that the half spring mix half spinach salad mix has very little arugula in it, so I have been getting that ever since. As for toppings, I buy most of them from Trader Joe's. Some of my favorites are their organic tomatillo and roasted yellow chili salsa, roasted beets, crumbled goat cheese, and slivered almonds.

Here are some salad combinations I'm loving right now.

Taco Salad:
- 50/50 salad mix
- cooked black beans, cooled slightly
- queso fresco
- crumbled tortilla chips
- grilled steak or chicken, thinly sliced
- sour cream and salsa to dress

Note: This is a great way to use up leftover meat. You can heat it up or just leave it cold as long as you slice it extra thin.

Apple Walnut Salad:
- 50/50 salad mix
- diced apple
- chopped walnuts
- small handful raisins
- crumbled goat cheese

Note: For a sweeter variation, use pecans and cranberries in place of the walnuts and raisins.

Roasted beet salad:
- 50/50 salad mix
- roasted beets, skinned and diced
- crumbled goat cheese
- slivered almonds
- raisins
- tahini-based dressing (such as Trader Joe's goddess dressing)

What are your favorite salad combinations? Do you have toppings or condiments you just can't do without?

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Chaos and Kitchen Tools

10/18/2014

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With a toddler wandering through my kitchen opening cupboards and sliding out drawers, I have suddenly started to feel we have too much stuff. Granted, things spread out on the floor always have a bigger impact than things that are put away, but still I think there is a lot. Add to the mix the fact that we will have to move in six months (not by choice, of course. Our landlords are going to sell the place we are in) and getting rid of stuff is definitely starting to seem like a good idea. My husband would disagree, of course. He has an old-school food processor that he is holding onto as if for dear life. And I still hear about the time I got rid of his corkscrew, only to find myself in need of one a couple months later. So simplifying our stash of kitchen tools is like pulling teeth. To make the process easier, I ask myself three questions about each item:

There are three things I am taking into account during this purge:

Do I use it? or Do I use it regularly?
Is there something else I have that will work just as well?
Do I need this particular one or do I need to replace it with something else?

The first thing to go as a result of this little quiz was our metal vegetable strainer that fits over the sink. It was spending more time as a baby toy than being put to practical use. So off it goes to the thrift store. Here is another tool I never use. I bought this clip-on spoon holder with the best of intentions. I probably wouldn't have gotten it if it weren't for the fact that I was spending wedding present money. But I did buy it, and it has been decorating my utensil container ever since. I used it a couple times when I first got it, but mostly out of the novelty of it. The problem is that it is just too much work to get the spoon hooked into the device. I'm the type that wants to give the pot a quick stir, set the spoon down, and move on to other things. Plus, it's in the way if I want to put the lid on the pot. I'll admit, I staged the shot below. As you can see, I already had a spoon I was using to stir and a measuring cup for scooping. This is a tool that only does one thing, and its services are not required in this house. So off it goes.

Part of keeping a simplified kitchen is not bringing new stuff in. There are times when I wish I had one tool or another to make a job easier. Removing the seeds and string from squash, for example. I always have such a hard time with this that I have thought many times that I should get one of those special tools made just for that purpose. I have used soup spoons (Who would have thought that such a sturdy device could be so useless against squash?), forks (No, the tines do not cover nearly enough surface area), and knives (A bit too dangerous, though). Then recently I discovered that I already have a tool that works perfectly. Quite a while ago I bought some metal measuring spoons at the store. On a whim, I decided to use the teaspoon to scrape the seeds out. And, oh my, was it ever easy! The edge of the bowl is thin and sharp (though not sharp enough to slice a finger. I checked). It was almost effortless getting the seeds and strings off the squash. It was the work of moments and I didn't grunt or groan or sigh; not even once.

We have needed a new spatula for a loooong time. The one we have been using was purchased at a thrift store when we were living in Fort Bragg (the California one, not the North Carolina one). And we bought it because we were too cheap to buy one of the nice, but expensive, spatulas from the local market (pretty much the only option). So we paid 50 cents for a used spatula. The hollow handle retains water and the edge has little plastic stringy pieces that I peel off once in a while. It does a fine job most of the time, except on daintier foods such as eggs and fish. For those jobs it is absolutely the worst. So we have been on the lookout for a spatula to replace the old one. We finally found one we thought fit the bill while shopping at Target. It has a sharp edge and flexes at the round edges of a frying pan. The problem, though, is that it is too flexible. It is great for eggs. It gets under them perfectly. I have not broken a yoke since we got it. But it can't handle heavier foods or any food that requires scraping to keep it from sticking. So, as much as I wanted it to replace our old spatula, I find I must have both. One for scooping up eggs and cookies and one for scraping and flipping burgers. I guess I'll have to find something else to get rid of instead.

What kitchen tools do you have that you use regularly? That you couldn't do without? Do you have a simple tool that replaced a more complex, single-job tool? I'd love to hear what you use most or least in your kitchen.

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Eggplant: Baked and Grilled

10/14/2014

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I like eggplant. I like the name, the shape, and the color. But, most of all, I like to eat it. I put eggplant in lots of recipes (such as these Thai-inspired dishes). But eggplant is also delicious all by itself. It's a great go-to vegetable that cooks up with a minimum of hassle. Today I am going to share my two favorite ways of preparing eggplant. Need a simple snack? A quick appetizer? A healthy side dish? Keep reading.

On the Grill:

One of the mistakes I used to make with eggplant was slathering it with oil before cooking it. The taste was fine, but the texture was awful. It would always turn into a greasy mush. Then one day I forgot the oil altogether and this recipe was born.

Ingredients:
- 1 eggplant
- cooking oil spray
- Salt (optional)

Directions:
Prepare the grill. Slice the eggplant into 1/2" rounds. Give each one a very light coating of cooking oil spray. Lay the rounds on the grill. Cook on medium heat until they are lightly browned on one side. Flip them over and brown them on the other side. Make sure they are not cooking too fast. They should cook long enough for the insides to get fork tender. Remove the eggplant from the grill and enjoy by themselves or with some barbecue.

In the Oven:

Ingredients:
- 1 eggplant
- 1 egg
- almond meal/flour
- Salt (optional)

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Slice an eggplant into 1/2" rounds. Crack the egg into a wide flat-bottomed bowl and whisk it. Pour a layer of almond meal onto a large plate. Arrange the eggplant, egg, almond meal, and a greased cookie sheet on the counter in that order. Take a slice of eggplant, dredge it in the egg (allowing the excess to drip off) and then in the almond meal. You may need to use your fingers to sprinkle almond meal over the eggplant slice and pat it with your hand. Gently tap the eggplant round to remove excess almond meal. Place it on the cookie sheet. Repeat for the remaining eggplant. When the cookie sheet is full, slide it into the oven and bake until the almond meal begins to brown slightly on top (about 15 minutes). Turn the eggplant rounds over and put them back in the oven for another couple minutes to brown the other side.

What's your favorite way to prepare eggplant? Share a link to your favorite recipe in the comments for all to see and tell us why you like it.

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As a Kid in the Kitchen

9/29/2014

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As a kid, I liked to make up different concoctions. Most of them were edible (Chili beans and vanilla ice cream? Yum!), some of them were not (Ramen noodles made with strawberry kiwi juice? Never again!). I kept a notebook that I would write recipes in as I came up with them. They were what you might call "happy kid foods." The majority required very little prep work, usually only one pan, and plenty of carbohydrates or chocolate depending on if I was making lunch or dessert. I particularly enjoyed coming up with names for the dishes I created, finding a way to play with words and include as many of the ingredients in the name as possible.

Although I got rid of my recipe notebook during one of my "just throw it all out" moods, I remember ripping out a few pages that I wanted to keep. One of these pages resurfaced recently when I went through a box of my old things. It's a recipe for Jell-o Nutcolate (Go ahead. See if you can figure out the ingredients from the recipe name.). I invented it in my early teen years after volunteering to make a dessert for a family picnic in the park. Here is the recipe as I wrote it all those years ago.

I can't help laughing over the part about "For added flavor." It's just like me to write that. I'm pretty sure I wrote this recipe down before I actually made it, because, after making it, I decided on a couple changes. First, I needed a different nut. Almonds are not the right nut for Jell-o. Second, I needed more chocolate, hence the afterthought about the brownie. Although I made this recipe twice (once with the brownie and once without), I could not remember if I liked it or not. All I remember from the family picnic is that someone else brought a contingency dessert. So of course I had to make it again to see if it was any good. Here is the recipe as I made it this time.

Jell-o Nutcolate Recipe:

Ingredients:

- 6 ounce box Jell-o (strawberry, raspberry, or cherry are best)
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips (I prefer 72% dark chocolate)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Mix up the Jell-o according to the directions on the package. Put it in a bowl in the fridge. Once it is gel-like (but not completely set), take the bowl out of the fridge. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips. While you are waiting for the chocolate chips to melt, chop the pecans and mix them into the Jell-o. Once the chocolate is fully melted, drizzle several spoonfuls into the bowl of Jell-o and fold it in with a spatula. Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Drizzle the rest of the chocolate over the Jell-o. It is best if there are no clumps of chocolate. Dainty drizzles will make cutting easier. Put the pan into the fridge to let it finish setting. For the more flavorful, chocolatey version, bake a brownie mix in the pan before putting the Jell-o mixture in (note that this will cause the brownie to become more moist from absorbing some of the liquid from the Jell-o).

And, as far as deciding whether it is any good, I will just say that I am currently eating my fourth piece. It's difficult to put my finger on what I like about it. The Jell-o has a subtle sweet flavor and the chocolate has a deep tone that balances it out. The pecans add a nice texture without being too crunchy. It would be so easy to polish off a whole batch if you're not paying attention. And it's so pretty. Five-star-restaurant pretty, I think (although you are not likely to see it on their dessert menu).