A Turkish Delight

I hope you are all well - we’ve been getting out a bit more; we had a socially distanced dinner with Dan’s daughters this week and my neighbor and I sat out on the deck the other night chatting and catching up. So far so good.

We’re still not ready to head to a restaurant at least indoor but we have been frequenting walks at the Arboretum and around the neighborhood. It’s all good - well as good as it can be under the circumstances. 

On the flip side, we have a lot of time to work in the yard - it looks good and the garden is going strong. I picked my first herbs and lettuce/spinach this week and the green beans are flowering so it shouldn’t be too long. Tomatoes have some green fruit, squash, zucchini, and cucumbers are all flowering. I still need to thin my beets but other than that things are growing!

Imam Bayildi - a pan-fried eggplant casserole is a Turkish dish. It’s baked with tomatoes, garlic, and herbs and served room temperature in a lasagna-like slab. It’s a perfect vegetarian dish and easy to make ahead of time, as the flavors get better with age. 

After checking the weather this morning I decided to make dinner before noon and let the flavors meld - didn’t hurt to keep the kitchen cooler either. Normally the dish does not contain zucchini but I had one that needed to be used up and zucchini and eggplant go so well together that I took the chance - it did not disappoint. One slice of this might make you forget about lasagna or eggplant parmesan. 

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplant thinly sliced 1/4 inch thick lengthwise

1 medium zucchini

Sea salt

Olive oil

2 small yellow onions, diced

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Dash of cinnamon

One 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley, divided

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly salt the eggplant slices and allow to stand for 20 minutes. Pat the slices dry and set aside.

Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a large skillet. Pan-fry the eggplant in batches over medium-high heat until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Add more oil as necessary between batches so the eggplant doesn't burn, but try not to have too heavy a hand - less is more and the pan just needs to be greased. Remove the eggplant to a plate.

Add the onion and zucchini to the skillet and saute over medium heat until soft, 5 minutes. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, and cinnamon. Cook for one minute more, until fragrant. Carefully pour in the tomatoes and simmer until thickened slightly, 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in half the parsley.

Add 1/4 cup of sauce to the bottom of an 8x8 or casserole dish. Arrange one layer of eggplant evenly in the bottom of the skillet or dish. Slather with a layer of sauce, and repeat with the remaining eggplant and sauce - like you would a lasagna.

Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes, until the eggplant is very soft and the sauce has reduced. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before cutting into it. Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.

Thanks for stopping by!

A High Protein Salad and Bread Art

Hello hello, I hope everyone is doing well and keeping sane. The restrictions in Minnesota have eased up a bit and we had our first socially distanced dinner with Dan’s sister and brother-in-law. We've been walking at the MN Landscape Arboretum when we can get registered and I even got to connect with the person I’ve spent 2 years volunteering for last Friday - it was wonderful to catch up. 

I lost 20 pounds last week when I connected with my stylist Shane for a cut and color and I feel fabulous. Thanks, Shane for always making me a vision. I thought I was ready to stop coloring my hair but after she colored it I realized I am totally not there yet. As my friend Sharri says, 75 is a good age to stop coloring your hair - so I’m going with that. 

I’m still working part-time and loving the free Fridays. My veggie garden is thriving and our lawn and flower gardens have never looked better. 

I’ve been experimenting with bread baking - not the long and involved kind but the no-knead kind and most recently Bread Art. I’m not sure where I first encountered it - maybe Reddit or Pinterest but holy shit there are some super talented bread artists out there. Honestly, I could spend days just perusing the photos - and yes I have. 

Now that summer has arrived in full force, I’ve been looking for recipes that use the fresh fruits and veggies of season - especially those that are growing in the garden. I’ve been harvesting parsley, basil, cilantro, and kale and very soon green beans other early crops. 

I found a delicious grain salad recipe that called for pretty much everything I had in my refrigerator and freezer and I took the bread art challenge - I’d love to hear what you think. 

Summer Grain Salad 

For the salad:

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa

1.5 cups cooked barley

1 can black beans - rinsed and drained

3 radishes, diced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

3/4 cup diced cucumber

3/4 cup diced yellow bell pepper

1 handful kale - finely chopped

1 cup frozen corn - thawed

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/2 cup crumbled feta

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped, plus extra for serving

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons chopped chives

salt and pepper

For the vinaigrette

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions 

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Place your cooked grains and black beans in a large bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.

Add radishes, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, corn, and red onion to the grains, along with a couple big pinches of salt and freshly cracked black pepper and stir to combine. Add the feta and the vinaigrette and stir to combine. Add the fresh herbs and stir once more. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if desired. Serve with extra basil leaves.

Bread Art Focaccia

Ingredients

2 tsp (one packet or 1/4 ounce) dry yeast, make sure it's fresh!

2 cups warm water, (105-110F)

2 tsp table salt

2 cups white flour

2 cups whole wheat flour extra virgin olive oil, about 1/4 cup plus extra for oiling the bowl 

Instructions

Mix the yeast and the warm water in a large bowl. Stir in the salt and 2 cups of the flour and mix into a soft sticky dough.

Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and mix well, the dough will still be somewhat sticky and shaggy.

Oil a clean bowl and transfer the dough to the oiled bowl. Cover with plastic and let sit in a warm spot for 40 minutes.  Set the oven to 425F.

Turn the risen dough out onto an oiled baking sheet. Press it out gently with floured fingers into a rectangle, about 10x15, approximately.

Using your fingers, dip them into the olive oil and then make little dimples all over the dough. The oil will pool in the little indentations. Don't skimp here, that oil will flavor the dough and give it great texture as it bakes, too.

Decorate dough with onions, garlic, olives, cherry tomatoes and herbs. Bake for about 20-22 minutes, until the bread is just golden. Rotate the baking sheet halfway through if the bread is baking unevenly.

Enjoy!

A Vegan Mango Mousse

We’re in uncertain times and if you live near me, well it’s chaos. I thought long and hard about blogging when the world is so uncertain so if you are reading this know that I am trying to provide a small distraction. 

What happened in Minneapolis to George Floyd is an extension of a long period of systemic racism - in our police department and to be honest in the state overall. Minnesota Nice isn’t always nice. 

When I was growing up we usually had dessert after dinner. Sometimes it was pie, sometimes cookies and sometimes fruit. My mom made the best lemon meringue pie - the meringue was perfect and the tips a light golden brown - nice memories. 

I’ve been looking for some vegan dessert recipes that are fruit oriented and I came across the Vegan Mango Mousse on the Simple Sumptuous Cooking website. My mangos were ripe and sweet so I didn't add any additional sweetener although I did put a splash of maple syrup on top.

The prep time on this recipe is about 10 minutes and most of the time is spent peeling the mango. Plan ahead with this one though because you need to put the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator for a few hours - overnight is best. 

Ingredients:

3 ripe mangoes

1 ½ cup coconut cream

3 tbsp agave syrup Or 2 tbsp powdered sugar

Directions:

Place 2 cans of coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight. In this recipe you will only use the solid coconut cream, save the coconut water for another use. Peel the mangoes and chop them. Place mangos in a high-speed blender (Vitamix) and puree. Add coconut cream to the blender and mix until combined and smooth. If required, add sugar or agave syrup.

If you like, garnish the Mousse with fresh fruits or dark chocolate shavings or a splash of maple syrup. Refrigerate for a few hours and enjoy!