Eggplant Parmigiana with Okra & Crimini Mushrooms

You'll notice a theme to the vegetarian meals I've posted this week simply by looking at the pics.

So far all 3 meal ideas have been variations on these abundant, and thus priced accordingly, summer vegetables: eggplant, tomato, zucchini, onions and garlic, bell peppers, okra, and today's addition- -crimini mushrooms.

When I was sixteen, my family hosted a South African exchange student of Greek heritage. Helen fit right in at the Ross household; she loved food and she loved to cook.

Helen navigated our kitchen with ease, cooking up a memorized repertoire of traditional Greek dishes -- not South African. (It was obvious she and her family, closely identified with their roots even though Helen had a stash of Rooibos tea in her suitcase.)

My mother was so impressed with her cooking, and the flavor of Helen's dishes, she dashed out and bought a book on traditional Greek cooking. And therein began my love affair with baklava and moussaka.

This was back in the late '70's and the eggplant purchased then for the moussaka was always very organic. I have vivid recollections of cutting into eggplant only to find a worm or two. One simply cut around the worms or picked them out.

The eggplant I buy now is always so perfect: perfectly shaped, beautiful color, minimal marks on the skin, and no worms inside. And it's not bitter! We used to cut our eggplant, sprinkle it with salt, and then let it sit to sweat which drew out the bitter flavor.

I do wonder why even organic vegetables are so perfect these days?!

Eggplant is a versatile veggie because it will soak up flavor due to its sponge-like texture. I love it tossed in the pan with lashings of good quality olive oil.

Both Monday's ratatouille, and today's parmigiana, call for browning eggplant in a pan or skillet with olive oil, and again, because of it's spongy quality, eggplant will lap-up oil, and taste better for it!

Eggplant Parmigiana
1) Wash, trim and slice two large eggplant length-wise.
2) Heat good quality olive oil in a skillet or pan and place eggplant slices into hot oil, turning to brown slices evenly.
3) Once browned, drain eggplant on a paper-towel lined plate.
4) Meanwhile, chop onions, a smashed garlic clove, some red or green bell pepper, and slice a tomato or two.
5) Saute, garlic, onions & bell pepper till soft.

To assemble: Line a baking dish with a layer of eggplant, dot eggplant with a layer of the sauteed onion, garlic and peppers. Add a layer of sliced tomatoes (or you could use a bottled or tinned tomato sauce if you wish), then dot with crumbled feta.

Begin again with a layer of eggplant and finish with a layer of crumbled feta or grated cheese of your choice. Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for about 30-40 mins or until the parmigiana is hot through.

While parmigiana is cooking prepare a side of:

Okra & Crimini Mushies in Vermouth & Cream
1) Wash and slice a portion of fresh okra and one large white onion.
2) Either wipe crimini mushies clean of dirt and organic bits or peel them with your fingers by gently taking a piece of flesh from the under-side of the mushroom, and peeling it up and over and off the top of the mushroom. (I do this because I find I like the white flesh under the top skin to be exposed and because I find it very Zen peeling mushrooms -- what I can say!)
3) Toss okra, onion and mushies into a pan or skillet with a big dob of butter, stir around over med-to-high heat until veggies have softened and taken up all the butter.
4) With the heat on high, pour in a good slurp of Vermouth. The liquid will bubble away furiously, and the alcohol will evaporate.
5) At around the 5-min. mark, reduce heat to med. Add a slurp of pouring cream, gently stirring it into veggies and vermouth. Allow to simmer gently on low for another few minutes, then season to your liking.

To Serve: Pour okra & mushroom combo into a serving dish and place on the table with the hot parmigiana still in its baking dish for family-style table service. You might also like to serve a side bowl of hot elbow or shell noodles tossed with olive oil and chopped parsley.

Red and Green Ratatouille

This week, I'm going to focus on the budgetary benefits of weaving vegetarian meals into your weekly menu plan.

It goes without saying that if you buy less meat protein, you'll spend less at the grocery store.

One thing to be conscious of when buying fresh vegetables is the produce that's best bought organic, and the conventionally grown produce that's safe to eat.

You might like to review Food News' Shopper's Guide to Pesticides and familiarize yourself with the good, the bad and the ugly news.

Summer is the season of abundant fresh produce, which means summer veggies are priced reasonably and soft fruits are often on sale.

I bought two-for-one bunches of baby red chard the other day -- delicate little leaves with an equally delicate flavor and the bunches were huge! So keep your eyes peeled.

Despite loving salads in summer, I prefer them as a side to a hot dish. That's why my meal idea today is ratatouille, which by the way, can be served cold if you don't fancy a hot Italian vegetable casserole in the middle of summer.

Red Ratatouille (pic at the top)
1) Chop one large eggplant, one brown onion, one or two cloves or garlic, one red or green bell pepper, two zucchini or one pale-green giant courgette, and 4 juicy tomatoes.
2) Heat olive oil in a skillet, add eggplant and toss about until pieces have browned slightly. Remove from pan and slide eggplant onto a paper-towel covered plate (paper towel will absorb any excess oil).
3) Add more oil to pan, this time tossing in garlic and onion. Stir about till onion is transparent.
4) Add bell pepper, zucchini, stir veggies on med heat until they begin to soften slightly.
5) Add browned eggplant and then chopped tomatoes, turn heat to low.
6) Put a lid on the skillet and gently stew veggies in their own juices until they're soft (about 15 mins)
7) At around the half-way mark, you may like to enrich the flavor of the red ratatouille by adding a big dollop of tomato paste or a tinned or bottled tomato sauce -- enough to moisten, but not flood your veggies. You may even like to add a slurp of red wine to further enrich the flavor.
8) Cook gently a little longer, and taste test, adding salt and pepper if you wish.

To Serve: Toss chopped fresh basil over the lot, and drizzle with olive oil. You may like to grate fresh Romano, Parmesan or your choice of hard Italian cheese over the ratatouille or serve the cheese in slices on the side with crusty Italian bread. A crisp, green side salad, and perhaps a side bowl of quinoa or millet with pine nuts will complete this vegetarian meal.

You're probably most familiar with the red-based ratatouille above, the color of which comes from tomatoes. But a friend gave me lots of basil and a pale-green giant courgette from her garden last week so I decided to create a green ratatouille which takes its color from the pesto I made from the basil, and subsequently mixed into the ratatouille.

Green Ratatouille

1) Follow points one through six, leaving out the tomatoes.
2) While veggies are gently stewing, make pesto:

Pesto
1) Toss a washed bunch of basil into a blender with a couple cloves of smashed garlic, a big handful of either walnuts or pinenuts, a handful of washed parsley (parsley diffuses the intensity of the raw garlic), and a handful of grated Romano or Parmesan or your choice of hard Italian cheese.

2) Turn blender on and begin pouring in about a half a cup of olive oil or enough to create a smooth paste, or less if you prefer a chunkier pesto. Salt and pepper to taste.

To Serve: Add a couple big spoons of pesto to your skillet and stir into veggies. Test taste, add more pesto if you prefer a richer flavor. And then follow the serving suggestion for the Red Ratatouille.

Because green ratatouille is absent tomatoes, you might like to serve it with a side of sliced tomatoes, sliced mozzarella and sliced cucumber. Decorate a plate with slices of the three, and drizzle with olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar.

Savory Bread Pudding & Asparagus

It's Friday, and once again, I want to offer readers an easy-to-make, family-friendly meal.

Savory bread pudding is a clever adaptation of the old-fashioned dessert favorite, sweet bread pudding.

Making use of any stale bread on hand, leftover vegetables such as chard, eggs and milk (ingredients from the most recent grocery list), this is a delicious dish that will take about an hour to make.

Savory Bread Pudding & Asparagus

1) For the bread pudding: Chop into chunks any leftover baguette you have, or for that matter, any stale bread you have in the fridge or freezer (unfreeze bread first).
2) Saute all the leftover chard (wash it first, and remove woody stalks) in olive oil with a little garlic.
3) Halve all the leftover cherry tomatoes.
4) Set aside a cup of frozen peas to defrost.
5) Break 4 eggs into a bowl & add a cup & a half of milk, beat with a whisk till eggs are thoroughly mixed into milk.
6) Now toss bread & veggies into a baking dish. If you have dried herbs, i.e. basil or thyme or oregano, add about a teaspoon & stir through. Season with salt & pepper, stir again.
7) Pour egg & milk mix over the bread & veggies & gently press the lot down with back of a spatula.
8) Pop into a 350 degree for about 40 mins.

Grilled Asparagus

1) While bread pudding is cooking, break off woody ends of asparagus.
2) Heat olive oil in a skillet and toss asparagus in, stirring it about -- it will brown as it would if over an open-flame grill.

3) Cook for about 5-7 mins, or till it turns bright green.

4) Remove skillet from hotplate and drizzle some olive oil over the asparagus, season with ground black pepper and salt.

To Serve: Dollop a heaping spoon of bread pudding onto a warm plate with a side of asparagus. A bright, slightly dry, chilled white wine would be a fab flavor pal with this simple-gourmet, Friday-night dinner.