Pasta Alla Norma

I have always been interested in cooking with eggplant, and have more recently been satisfied with the recipes I'm trying with the texture and taste of the eggplant. I saw a cooking show with their recipe for pasta alla norma and thought that it would be a really easy dish to make vegan, and make some changes I thought would be even better. 
I made this pasta last night and all of the prep took me about 30 minutes. Once the prep was done, it was about 15 minutes till i was eating. I began by peeling the eggplant. I cut one into 1/4 inch slices and the other into 1/2 inch cubes. I salted them and put them in a colander to help pull out some of the extra moisture. I then slices the onions and sauteed in a pan with olive oil until translucent, added the garlic, and then added the cubed eggplant and sauteed for about 10 more minutes. I then added the crushed tomatoes and seasoned with Italian seasoning blend from the farmer's market, salt, and pepper. I added 1 tbsp butter substitute to make the sauce a little richer. I left on low/med to simmer.
I boiled the pasta while I pan fried the breaded eggplant (flour, egg substitute wash, then seasoned panko bread crumbs).
Once the pasta was done I tossed the sauce in it, and served with a friend eggplant on top!
YUMMMMY!! The eggplant in the sauce was soft and almost melted into the sauce, and the fried eggplant added a perfect amount of crunch and depth of flavor....definitely making this one again!!!


Pasta Alla Norma:

2 med eggplants
1 1/2 white onion
1 pound pasta
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp butter substitute ( earth balance)
150g crushed tomatoes
Italian seasoning (or basil/oregeno)
flour
egg substitute (ener-G)
panko bread crumbs with italian seasoning and salt/pepper

Soy Ginger Vegetables over Quinoa + the perfect green smoothie

For the past couple of weeks I have been experimenting with different green smoothie recipes and I think I have come to the perfect recipe! I started using 'light' orange juice in place of almond milk, as well as using a brown rice protein powder for more daily protein since I have increased my weight workouts.  I have been experimenting with different frozen fruits (no sugar added of course) and for the past couple of mornings I've been hooked on the recipe at the end of this post!

For dinner I made a soy-ginger sauce that I used with vegetables over Quinoa. The carrots and mushrooms tasted amazing in the sauce, and I think either one alone in this sauce would be a great side dish wish any sort of food with Asian flavors.  I started out by cutting the carrots lengthwise and cutting the halves into 1/4 inch thick strips and placed them into a small saute pan with about 1 tsp of earth balance 'butter' to allow them to get a little soft. I added the broccoli and then the snap peas. I poured the sauce over the vegetables and covered them with a pot lid. I thinly sliced a portobello mushroom in half then made slices (1/4 in. thick or so). I tossed the vegetables and sauce and let cook for about one more minute before I removed from heat. It was delicious! The sauce is heavy in ginger flavor, so you might want to do a taste test before adding the full amount.


Soy-Ginger Sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch of pepper
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Green Smoothie Recipe
2 large leafs of kale (or 2 handfuls baby spinach)
1/2 banana
1/2 cup frozen peaches
3/4 cup light orange juice
1 small tbsp brown rice protein powder
(can add 2-3 strawberries, or a small handful of blueberries too!)

Banana Pancakes

With all the bad weather and city closing because of all the ice, I have been very creative in the kitchen the past few days! This recipe is great because you can use whatever pancake mix you already use, and I'm sure it would turn out just as good as mine with the substitutes. The key is to chop the banana lengthwise, then cut 1/4 inch thick slices from there, and submerse the bananas in the batter (not just sprinkle on top)- this gives a great flavor as the banana cooks with the added spices.

Banana Pancakes
2 cups pancake mix
1 cup + 1/4 cup almond milk
1 1/2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer
2 tsp vanilla (Mexican vanilla is my favorite!)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Homemade Hummus and Acorn Squash Soup/ Recipe Nutrition Calculator

Last night I wanted a light dinner, and decided to make the hummus and dip some red bell pepper in it. (I just found out red bell peppers have over 300% of your daily vitamin C!! How cool! http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2896/2 )  
I used the recipe in the getting started recipe book and found the recipe a little runny. It wasn't quite as thick as traditional hummus is, but the freshness of it made up for the off texture. Next time I make this (and there WILL be a next time!) I will drain both cans of chickpeas, and I think this would resolve the texture issue.

I made Acorn Squash soup tonight which turned out SO SO SO tasty! I used the recipe from the getting started cookbook as a jump off point, and made a few changes to make it a little healthier. According to one of my favorite recipe calculators, the entire batch of soup is only 230 calories. Since there are 4 full bowl servings, this is definitely a light, tasty, and healthy soup which is oh so fresh and pretty easy to make!

The website I use for a recipe health calculator is:
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp


Hummus
2 15-oz cans chickpeas (both drained!)
1/4 c lemon juice
1tsp salt
1tbsp

Acorn Squash Soup
1 medium sized acorn squash (cooked on 400 degree oven for 1 hr, seeded & peeled)
1/2 cup almond milk
2 cups vegetable broth
1tsp salt
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp nutmeg

It's Official!!!

I LOVE MY VITAMIX!!!
There's something oddly intoxicating about waking up each morning and using this powerful machine to make something so deliciously healthy that has me hooked! I have been using spinach in my green smoothies the past few days, I am still undecided which I like better- kale or spinach- for them.
On another note, I made a DELICIOUS tomato basil pesto sauce two nights ago!! It was a little thin, so next time I will add some corn starch or some other thickener to make it thicker and creamier. Other than that, this sauce had SO much flavor!! The recipe is from the getting started cookbook, and blending took NOWHERE near the 30-45 seconds they recommend- after 15seconds I waited another 5 for good measure, but the texture was perfect. The combination of the fresh basil and the tomatoes in a sauce was so refreshing- definitely going to be a favorite for spring pastas! I would highly recommend this recipe!!


I feel like I am getting the hang of these recipes and I am looking forward to getting creative with the different things I try. I am definitely going to be trying some more sauces (I'm thinking roasted tomatoes and roasted red bell peppers sounds good!), and plan on making some fresh hummus within the next few days!


Tomato and Basil Pesto Sauce (getting started cookbook)
1/2 cup olive oil
4 ripe tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh spinach (i added a little more :) )
6 garlic cloves
1 tsp salt (I added more once I tasted it with the pasta)
dash of black pepper

Applesauce!

So after a few days of taking it easy to start the new year, I finally made the applesauce! I used two fuji apples (I read this is a good apple to make sauce out of), washed them, and cut them into quarters to rid them of the core. I placed two apples, skin and all, into the vitamix and squeezed some lime juice on them (~2 tsp) since I did not have the suggested lemon juice to prevent oxidation of the apples. I added 1 tsp of cinnamon, and 1 tsp of apple pie spice (a pre-mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice) to add some more flavor.
I will admit this took a little bit of effort to push the apples into the blender (with the tamper) on variable speed 3. It took some muscle, but I ended up with some 'home-style' chunky applesauce (variable 5 is suggested for the more pureed texture).
The color with the spices and the inconsistencies with the peel did NOT make this applesauce appealing to the eye, yet it is definitely tasty!
Next time I make this, I will definitely peel the apples before blending!!

Applesauce
2 Fuji apples, cored and quartered
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp cinnomon
1tsp apple pie spice