It’s that time of year again when spring is just beyond the horizon. Soon we’ll be able to leave the house without bulky sweaters and coats. This means, of course, we won’t be able to hide those holiday pounds anymore.
Soooo, let’s do something about it NOW!
Just because I’m slimming down doesn’t mean I’m about to sacrifice taste. There are plenty of delicious meals one can prepare to keep the calories at bay. Giambotta is one such recipe. It’s a delicious stew that’s quick to put together and makes enough to last for several days.
TIP: Don’t leave out the tomato paste – it adds flavor. You may be reluctant to open a can for just 1 tablespoon. As Queen Of Freeze, my advice is to spoon out 1 tablespoon mounds of the remaining tomato paste onto a piece of waxed paper and freeze. Once frozen, roll the waxed paper around the paste blobs and place in a freezer bag. That way you’ll have tomato paste for future recipes.
GIAMBOTTA – makes about 9 cups (I forgot to measure)
- 1 eggplant
- 2 tsp salt, divided
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 lb russet potatoes, chopped into 1/2″ cubes (don’t peel)
- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 zucchinis
- 6 T extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 T tomato paste
- 2 cups water
- 1 1/3 cup fresh basil, divided (USE FRESH!)
- 1 T dried oregano (or 1/3 cup fresh)
- 6 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- optional: hard cheese such as Pecorino-Romano or Parmesan, grated
Cut unpeeled eggplant into 1/2″ cubes. Place in a sieve and sprinkle on 1½ tsp of the salt. Toss cubes and salt together with your hands. The salt will draw out some of the water from the eggplant. Let drain for about 1/2 hour.
While eggplant is draining, chop the tomatoes, discarding the stem ends and any peels or imperfections. Also, chop the onion and potato.
Into a Dutch oven, heat 2 T of the olive oil over medium/high heat. Add in the drained eggplant, onion, and potatoes. Sauté until potatoes just start to brown – about 7 minutes.
Lower flame to medium and shove the veggies to the sides of the pot, leaving the center empty. Place the tomato paste in empty center and pour 1 T olive oil over it. Cook this mixture 2 minutes in the center, stirring often. This will bring out the flavor the tomato.
After cooking the paste, stir it into the veggies. Pour in 2 cups of water, scraping up the fond (the burnt bits stuck to the bottom of the pot). Add in the tomatoes (including the juice) and bring to boil. Cover pot and lower heat to maintain a simmer. Cook 20-25 minutes, just until potatoes are done (test by poking with fork).
While this is cooking, chop the zucchinis and bell peppers. Set aside.
Chop the basil and make a paste by mixing 1/3 cup basil (save the remaining 1 cup for later) with the oregano, 2 T olive oil, garlic, and pepper flakes.
In a skillet, heat 1 T olive oil over medium/high flame. Add in the zucchini, bell peppers, and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook 10-12 minutes, until browned.
Shove the zucchini and peppers to sides (like with the eggplant), leaving the center clear. Place the basil paste in center and cook 1 minute. Mix the paste and zucchini/pepper mix together. Pour into a bowl until ready to use.
Add 1/4 cup water into the now empty skillet. Notice all the blackened bits. This is called ‘fond’ and it’s full of flavor!
Over medium-high heat, scrap fond off bottom. Save.
When eggplant mixture is done, add in the zucchini/red peppers and fond water from skillet. Cover pot and let sit off-heat for 20 minutes to combine flavors.
When ready to serve, stir in remaining 1 cup chopped basil. Top servings with grated cheese, if desired. (I highly recommend using the cheese!)
Company was coming and I needed a bread – fast! I flipped through my America’s Test Kitchen cookbook and found this Kalamata Olive Bread recipe made in a cast iron skillet. (To those under 35, cookbooks are how people used to get recipes!)
Being the mother of picky eaters, I’ve struggled to find dishes my boys would willingly eat. CHEESY “HAM” CASSEROLE became an instant favorite in our home. A bonus is that it’s loaded with broccoli, so even if they try to pick out the larger pieces, they’re still ingesting the smaller bits. (Hey, I’ll take what I can get!)
NOTE: If you’re using colored pasta, such as Wacky Mac that I use, you’ll notice that the color, unfortunately, fades with cooking. (See photo below). I don’t think there’s anything that can be done.
While the pasta is cooking, steam the broccoli. Like the noodles, you don’t want it overcooked or it will be mushy. Just steam it for about 5 minutes.
While the pasta and broccoli are cooking, cube the “ham” into bite-sized pieces. 
To save dirtying a bowl, use the empty pasta pot to combine the noodles, broccoli, “ham”, mayonnaise, milk, and 2½ cups (139g OR 5 oz) of the cheese. Stir gently, but thoroughly. Pour into a 2.5 quart casserole and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup (35g OR 1 oz) cheese on top. Cover and bake at 350º Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.
It seemed appropriate to post a Tres Leches Cake recipe for Three Kings Day, (aka, the Epiphany). Tres Leches (three milks), three kings. Yeah, okay – it may be a stretch. But it’s still a delicious recipe and you could certainly serve it on the Epiphany…or anytime, for that matter.
Anyone who owns a television, computer, or has been to a store lately knows it’s the holiday season. People will gather for small get-togethers and big galas. And where people celebrate, there’s always food. (It’s a rule!)
In a small bowl, combine the milk and flour to form a smooth paste.
In a larger bowl, beat the eggs. Pour the flour paste into the eggs, beating to combine.
Sprinkle about one-third of cheese (you don’t have to measure) onto baking pan. Top with one can of chilies, spreading evenly. Add half of the remaining cheese, then the other can of chilies, the rest of the cheeses, and, finally, pour egg mixture over chili-cheese mixture, smoothing top.
Bake at 375º F, uncovered, for 45 – 50 minutes – until browned. Don’t worry about the edges being too dark – they’ll be discarded into your mouth. Remove from oven and let set for about 15 minutes.
Run a spatula around edges and underneath to loosen.
Place a plate on top and flip to remove – it will plop down…hopefully. Then place another plate on top (which is the bottom of the chili-cheese mixture) and flip again. Now, it’s right side up. Here’s the BEST part – cut off the 4 edges and eat them (you won’t be serving them). They are an irresistible crispy, warm, cheesy temptation.
Let the square rest a few more minutes to make sure it’s firm, then slice into squares. TIP: I used a large pizza wheel.
The one imitation meat that really does taste like the real thing is “sausage”. (quotation marks denote fake meat.) My go-to brand is Morningstar Sausage Patties. (I’ve never actually tried any other brand since these are so good!)
I’ve been struggling with a post topic for Halloween – there’s only so much pumpkin one can eat. Then I came across a wonderful article by Helen Nichols – 
Inspired by my new-found apple information and beautiful photos, I decided to create an apple based recipe. A memory shot out from the deep recesses of my mind of a college friend who told me she made an apple omelette because it was all she had in the fridge. She couldn’t believe how delicious it was. I was skeptical, but obviously intrigued enough to file it away in my memory-bank.
The subject of my previous post was 
Believe it or not, sometimes I crave a chocolate-free cookie. That’s a pretty bold statement from a certified chocoholic – but, there it is.
Vegetarian Cooking For Carnivores BLOG 