Eggplant Parmesan

Get ready for lots of pictures. As I loaded up my pictures to iPhoto I realized how much has happened in the last week. This happens to me every week when I go to write a new post so I shouldn't seem so surprised every time. The main recipe for this post was inspired by 99 cent eggplant at the Hamilton Farmer's Market and a bunch of tomatoes courtesy of my Tatone :D
You will also notice the lack of measurements. This is due to the fact that I was hungry and impatient, what else is new.

Eggplant Parmesan

1 very large ripe eggplant
salt
oil
breadcrumbs
quick rolled oats
basil
oregano
parsley
garlic powder
salt
pepper
1-2 eggs

Slice the eggplant into thick pieces (3/4 inch?). Layer slices in a colander sprinkling with salt in between layers. Place a heavy item on top and allow to sit for 30 to 60 minutes to draw out any excess water. Wipe slices dry with paper towel. Lightly grease a baking sheet with oil and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix together about 1:1 of breadcrumbs to oats. (I only added oats becuase I ran out of bread crumbs but it turned out quite nice). Sprinkle basil, oregano, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.

You can hardly see the spices in the mix there and I would probably add more next time. I would say 2 tsp each (basil, oregano, parsley) if you use 1/2 breadcrumbs and 1/2 cup oats. Whisk the egg until mixed. Dip each side of eggplant in the egg and dredge through the breadcrumb mixture to coat well. I didn't bother dipping the sides of the slices (I was trying to conserve breading mixture). Place on the greased baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 7-10 minutes on eat side. Watching carefully that they don't burn.

While this was all happening I was also making some sauce. Very similar to the recipe I posted a while back (found here). With these soft delicious eggplant slices you could layer with some sauce and parmesan and bake some more, OR you could make a sandwich.

The sandwich consisted of whole-wheat toast, eggplant slices, fresh tomato sauce, and parmesan cheese. Adding the cheese to the hot eggplant and sauce allows it to melt without toasting the sandwich further (another time saver). I loved this sandwich and loved how the eggplant turned out. The leftover eggplant was good on its own with some sauce and cheese. If you are wondering, on the side there I had some chicken and roasted red peppers cooked in red wine and balsamic vinegar, probably one of my favourite food combinations.

Now as promised, here is a series of pictures from the past week.

Jenna's Birthday celebration


Carrot Spice Birthday Cake (made by me..isn't it pretty?! haha)


Sweet Potato Quesadilla's from the Bean Bar


BFT....Bacon Fig and Tomato Sandwich

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken cacciatore is one of my favourite dishes. I have never been 100% sure what it is exactly but as long as it is a stew with chicken and tomatoes I put it into the cacciatore category. This past weekend I was at my Nonna and Tatone's (Italian Grandparent's) house for dinner and I had mentioned that I had made some cacciatore. "Cacciatore? What made it a cacciatore?" They were interested to see how "Americanized" my version was. I told them how I did it and they nodded in semi-approval. At this point I was really interested as to what authentic cacciatore was. So I asked.

Cacciatore in Italian means "hunter" and chicken cacciatore means a chicken dish prepared hunter style. This dates back to when hunters would go out for days on end to hunt for meat. Their meals would consist of meat cooked with whatever vegetables they could gather and of course, wine. I would say my recipe is quite authentic in this case...minus the hunting part. This makes me happy. I just wish my Grandparent's could have given it a taste, as I thought it was delicious.

This recipe is very easy, so some of the quantities are vague becuase I just threw stuff in. There is a lot of wiggle room here. As long as you use quality ingredients you will get quality results. This is especially true when it comes to the tomatoes.

Chicken Cacciatore

3 ripe plum tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
cm of chili pepper
2 cloves of garlic
2 small leeks
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 small chinese eggplant
roasted red peppers (I used about 1/3 of a ziploc bag full - about 3 Shepard peppers) *
red wine

To remove skin and seeds from tomato:
Bring a pot of water to a boil, leaving enough room for tomatoes. Make very shallow slices all around the tomato to make a cross shape. Add tomatoes to boiling water. Boil until skin starts to peel back, a minute or two. The riper the tomatoes are, the quicker this will happen. Remove from water and allow to cool. Peel off the skin and cut off the tough stem areas.

Cut into quarters. Remove seeds and put into a fine strainer over a bowl. Cut remaining tomato flesh into bite sized pieces. Once all the tomatoes have been seeded, move the fleshy seeds around in the strainer to remove all the juices. Add these juices to the diced tomatoes.

Heat olive oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pieces of chicken breast and cook for 5-8 minutes until almost cooked through.

Add chili pepper and garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Add leeks, carrots, celery, and eggplant.

Cook until vegetables are beginning to brown. Add tomatoes and roasted red pepper.

Once simmering, add a splash of red wine and stir.
Allow sauce to simmer for about 20 minutes, until desired consistency is reached.

almost there...

This can be served on it's own or with any kind of bread or pasta. I had it on couscous with Asiago cheese on top. Delizioso! (yes I had to use an online translator for that)

Happy Canada Day!

I hope everyone enjoyed the Holiday, I know I did. Spent the day outdoors mostly, except when shopping at lululemon in Oakville which was open today with stuff on "sale". The day concluded with a dinner party at a friend's house.

Birthday Dinner on Wednesday was a success...I think, haha. I made three dishes, two of which I had never made before. None were my own recipe, as I am not very well versed in Indian cuisine. I made Indian Spiced Baked Chicken, Palak Daal, and Bhindi Bhaji. These were served with naan bread and some brown rice (for save measures for the picky eater brother). I made few modifications this time around, but I have many suggestions for some modifications.

Indian Spiced Baked Chicken

This chicken recipe is actually really good (click here for the recipe). I love baked chicken, I find that it usually turns out very moist. I used chicken breasts and thighs instead of a whole chicken just so I didn't have to man-handle too much raw meat (not my cup of tea). In this recipe you "rub" the chicken with some spices and marinate for a couple hours. I was short on time so only did this for about an hour. Next time, I would leave out the ginger as I found it very overpowering in the end.

I loved the idea of the yogurt coating which is added after baking for 20 minutes. Once covered with foil and returned to the oven, I feel it really keeps the meat moist and adds a bit of creaminess to the drippings, which can be used as a sauce if desired. To make this recipe as healthy as it can be, and it is already lean and filled with beneficial spices, use olive oil to make the yogurt topping instead of the butter.

Palak Daal

Like I mentioned in my last post, this is one of my favourite dishes. I decided to follow the recipe more closely than I usually do (click here for the recipe). Normally, I do not add chili peppers, ginger, asafetida, or cilantro. I also use green lentils, ground cumin instead of cumin seeds, and add double the amount of cumin. I much prefer it with my modifications which were originally made out of convenience.

before:

after:

This soupy comfort food is good with rice and also with naan or pita bread.

Bhindi Bhaji

I wanted to also make a vegetable side dish that didn't have too much spice. This dish uses okra (click here for the recipe). I have never tasted okra before this so it was all very new. It kind of tastes like zucchini but not as good. Since my mom doesn't like tomatoes, I didn't add them afterwards as a garnish but had them on the side. I think it would have been best to add them into the pan with the okra. I also didn't use cilantro becuase I am not a huge fan, but I think I would next time; it was a little plain.

Cumin, tumeric and coriander are present in many indian and mediteranean dishes. There are many health benefits to these spices such as detoxing as well as increasing the metabolism due to the heat of the spices. Cumin is very versatile and can be added to almost anything, veggies, popcorn, guacamole, salads, etc. Have fun with it!

Tomorrow I will be talking about my new favourite breakfast which I finally tried after reading about it on one of my favourite blogs, "Oh She Glows".

P.S. I don't know why the font went all wonky...I didn't mean for the Bhindi to be all in your face, lol.