Saturday, September 11, 2010

Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Pasta with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce

Last week, I went to the closing night party of an art exhibit and was greeted with a tableful of fresh late-summer vegetables, grown in a local church garden.  My eyes landed on a beautiful little eggplant, and I immediately knew that I wanted to roast her.  This is what I came up with and it was delicious!  I used a kamut-quinoa pasta, since I don't like to eat too much wheat, but feel free to use whatever kind floats your boat.

Pasta with Roasted Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Mushrooms with Red Wine
4-6 servings
1 small eggplant (about 1/2 lb)
1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes
1 medium red onion, large dice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
16 oz white button mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound spiral pasta (I used Eden brand kamut and quinoa twists)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine (I love cooking with a good Rioja)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Parmigiano Reggiano, or another hard cheese like Pecorino Romano or Manchego
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Toss the eggplant, tomatoes, and red onion with 1 tablespoon of the oil.  Season with a large pinch of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper.  Roast for 20 minutes, stirring at the 10 minute mark.  Remove from oven and set aside.
Meanwhile, boil the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain well reserving pasta water.
Heat the remaining tablespoon olive oil in a skillet with high sides over medium to medium-high heat.  Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring once in a while, until they have released all their liquid and they have begun to brown a little, about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add tomato paste and mix into the mushrooms, “toasting” it until it deepens in color, about 1 minute.  Add the red wine, and balsamic vinegar to the skillet to deglaze. Using a wooden spoon scrape any fond that has formed on the bottom of the pan.  Add basil, oregano, tarragon, and red pepper flakes, and a large pinch of salt.  Stir to combine. Add the roasted vegetables to the skillet and simmer to combine the flavors, about 5 minutes, adding about 1/4 pasta water to thin followed by cooked pasta. Toss until well coated, adding more pasta water if needed.  Garnish with a sprinkling of finely grated parmigiano reggiano if desired.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Detox Weekend

I've been doing a detox this weekend and its been hard.  Detox diets and cleanses have become very popular lately, but they're not a new idea.  People put themselves through these things for different reasons, whether to lose weight, get rid of toxins, or sometimes even for religious or spiritual purposes.

This weekend was perfect for me to give my body a little bit of a rest after enduring a very hot summer.  The weather is finally cooling down a little, and I went to my first yoga workshop with Ana Forrest Saturday morning (sweat out those toxins!).

My view on detox diets is actually a bit mixed.  I believe that our bodies already know how to detox themselves without  requiring weeks of only drinking maple syrup, lemon-aid, and cayenne, or five different kinds of juices at regularly scheduled intervals.  On the other hand, I think that sometimes its a good idea to give the system a rest by eliminating processed foods, sugar, alcohol, wheat, dairy, and animal flesh.

I took what I've learned about detoxes over the years and what I know about my own body (that I'm lactose intolerant, have trouble with red meat, get shaky when I don't eat) and designed my own plan that included green juices, flax oil, fruit, cooked vegetables, tea, and, (gasp!) even dessert.

Here's my plan:

Apples and Grapes (Breakfast, in between juices, meals, whenever hunger strikes)
Green Juice, 2 or 3 times a day (equal parts parsley, celery, romaine, kale) with 1 teaspoon ground Salba
Flax Oil (taken with Green Juice)
Roasted Summer Squash with Barley Miso Vinaigrette, Spike and Spirulina Seasoning, Baby Spinach, and Millet (for lunch and dinner)
Banana-Coconut Ice Cream (only ingredients are bananas, coconut milk, nutmeg, and raspberry preserves)
Filtered Water (stay hydrated, flush out toxins, and lubricate your organs)


(The inspiration and basic recipes came from The Seasonal Detox Diet, by Carrie L'Esperance, a great book for those wanting to learn more about detoxing.)

Instead of starving myself, I nourished my body with whole, nutrient-dense foods meant to support specific organs associated with late-summer (according to Traditional Chinese Medicine), and a few supplements to provide extra vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes.

Now that I'm coming out of the detox, I'm slowly re-introducting foods (whole-grain crackers with peanut butter at breakfast, adding an egg to lunch), not pigging out with a burger and fries.

Although I'm still a bit more lightheaded than usual, my digestion has been great, blemishes have begun to clear up, and I feel much less summer heat.

Anyone else detoxing this time of year?  What are your favorite methods?

(Before detoxing or changing your diet drastically, please consult a doctor or health professional.)

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Berry Season



I don't love ice cream.  Don't get me wrong, I can really enjoy it once in a while, but its not something I always keep a pint of in the freezer.  My grandmother, on the other hand, lives for the stuff.  She can't go to bed without getting her fix.  I won't theorize here why she's got a standing appointment with the frozen treat, but I'm sure we could have a long and somewhat racy discussion about it.

Since attending culinary school, where the focus was on vegan ice creams with homemade nut milks, I've become more interested in actually making the stuff.  I think every time I've been the guest chef at one of their Friday Night Dinners, I've included ice cream in the dessert.  Most recently, I was inspired by my a friend's Facebook post regarding blackberries, which are currently in season.  The result is one of my favorite ice creams I've made to date, which is really saying something, because when it comes down to it, chocolate is my thing.

If you don't have an ice cream maker, you love ice cream, or you're sensitive to dairy, like me, I highly recommend getting one.  Even if you only use it twice a year, its worth the fifty bucks for a really high quality home-made dessert.

(For many at-home ice cream makers, the bowl of the machine must be kept in the freezer at least a few days to ensure proper churning.  I keep my bowl in the freezer almost all the time, just to make sure its REALLY good and frozen.)

Vegan Blackberry Ice Cream
makes 1 quart

1 pint blackberries, gently washed (mmm...Greenmarket...)
1 cup whole cashews, soaked overnight and rinsed
1 can full-fat coconut milk (I like Thai Kitchen)
1 cup maple syrup, divided
1/2 teaspoon vodka (keeps the ice cream from getting too icy)
pinch sea salt

In a medium saucepan toss blackberries with 1/4 cup maple syrup.  Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the berries are falling apart.  When slightly cooled, strain berries and their juices through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl.   Using a rubber spatula, press all the liquid from the blackberries.  The more liquid extracted will result in a stronger flavored ice cream.  Set syrup aside.

Put cashews in at least a 2-cup capacity measuring cup, and add filtered water to the 2-cup line.  Blend thoroughly with immersion blender.  Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, using a spatula to press all the "milk" out of the pulp. Whisk this cashew milk and blackberry syrup together, along with the coconut milk, 3/4 cup maple syrup, vodka, and salt.  (If your coconut milk is at all lumpy, you may wish to strain this through a sieve as well.)  Whisk until well combined and refrigerate thoroughly.  I like to chill my ice cream base overnight, as I find it churns much faster and efficiently.

Churn according to ice cream maker instructions.  Freeze churned ice cream for at least 3 hours, or overnight, before serving to firm up. (Referred to as "curing.")

* I prefer using half coconut milk and half cashew milk as my ice cream base, but feel free to experiment with using all coconut milk, or other nut milks.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Chilled Avocado Soup

This is one of my favorite summer recipes.  From Peter Berley's Fresh Food Fast.   He suggests serving with homemade tortilla crisps and sour cream, but I prefer to keep this soup smooth and I'm a little big lactose-intolerant, so I leave them out.  Of course, feel free to use them, or even substitute tofu sour cream.


Chilled Avocado Soup with Lime and Jalapeño

4 servings

3 limes (I've also made this with lemons-delicious!)
3 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 small jalapeño pepper, with seeds, chopped (I leave this out if its too hot out)
1 teaspoon course sea salt or kosher salt, plus additional to taste
2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1. Squeeze the juice from 2 1/2 of the limes and cut the remaining half into 4 wedges for garnish.

2. In a blender, combine 3 cups of ice water (a mixture of water and ice) with the lime juice, avocados, garlic, jalepeño, and the salt and blend until smooth.  Chill the soup until ready to serve.

I don't have a blender, but I do have an immersion blender, which I use to make this and just about everything else (soups, salad dressings, smoothies, ice cream base.)

Enjoy!

Sweltering Heat

I will be the first one to tell you that I do not handle the heat well and I never have.  My hometown is situated in a river valley only fifteen minutes away from the Adirondack blue line, and in the hottest months benefited from a cool Canadian jet stream (though in the winters, we were quick to forget).  Summers were spent at the YMCA camp in the mountains, where temperatures regularly dipped into the 50s or even 40s at night.

Living in New York City, the summer heat and humidity has been a major challenge, but I'm getting better at dealing with it each year.  I try to stay green, using mostly fans to keep me cool, and setting the A/C  no lower than 75 only when it becomes absolutely necessary.

Along with keeping the air circulated, try these tips to keep that heat from getting to you:

Avoid fried foods, overly spicy foods, or fatty foods.  Instead, add protein (baked lemon-balsamic tofu, garbanzo beans, or poached chicken) to a salad filled with seasonal vegetables for a balanced entree.  If have a stomach that can handle it, try eating more raw foods in the summer.  Lightly steam or saute vegetables if raw foods are too difficult for you to digest.  My current favorite summer dish is chilled avocado-lime soup.

Iced mint tea or even red rooibos will cool you down, aid digestion, and provides antioxidants.  The rooibos from Miss Tea has been my favorite this year.

Lastly, try making a homemade cooling body spray with essential oils.  Purchase a 1 oz spray bottle from The Container Store or Ricky's and add 9 drops lemon, 7 drops peppermint, and 2 drops lavender.  Top off with filtered water.  I've used this so much this summer and its perfect before bed, as a midday refresher, or post-yoga.

Stay cool out there!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

I'm in love with breakfast.

As I was revamping my blog, I came across this little tribute to breakfast I wrote three years ago. I think its a great way to start things off fresh...

Its true. I can't get enough of you. Pancakes, buckwheat and sourdough, waffles, multi-grain, of course. Eggs with gruyere, chicken hash, served with some fresh oranges, smashed. Seven-grain toast with preserves and butter, side of plain yogurt, with berries its better. Freshly brewed coffee, or jasmine green tea, don't forget the smoked salmon bagel with dill, capers, and organic cream cheese.