Eggplant Parmesan

First, Let's talk about Daiya cheese...


I decided a couple weeks ago that it was time to finally treat myself to some Daiya cheese. Let me begin by saying, everything you've heard is true... it's AMAZING! Yes, while somewhat pricey, it's more than worth it! What's most amazing is how much the texture actually resembles cheese when melted. I've included some pictures of a cheese quesadilla to prove it! I ended up making eggplant parmesan with my mozzarella Daiya (which was amazing, so scroll down for the recipe!) and a bunch of quesadillas and grilled cheese sandwiches with my cheddar Daiya. highly highly highly recommended!



Now on to the main event:

Eggplant Parmesan


Level of Difficulty: fairly easy
Pots/Pans Used: 2/3

Ingredients

1 pkg extra firm tofu
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Italian herbs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
1 TBL lemon juice
1/2 cup whole wheat Japanese panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 large eggplant, sliced
olive oil
1 jar tomato sauce (I used a spicy tomato sauce. It was nice to have a bit of heat in the dish)
Daiya mozzarella (optional)

I haven't had eggplant parmesan in so long that i actually forgot what it tasted like. I knew this dish was good because with my first bite, all the eggplant parm flavors rushed back to me and it was an extremely nostalgic experience. Comfort food just rules!

Preheat oven to 350. First mix your panko, 1/2 cup nutritional yeast and bread crumbs (I recommend making your own bread crumbs) in a bowl. Just a WARNING: you will have a lot of breadcrumbs left over. I use mine to put on top of baked mac and "cheeze". I'll figure out a more exact measurement the next time I make it :) ! Brush some olive oil on the sides of your eggplant slices and coat them in the crumb mixture. Place them on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, you can begin your ricotta mixture. In a food processor, place the remaining 1/4 cup nutritional yeast and ingredients tofu thru lemon juice. Process until it resembles the texture of ricotta cheese. Now begin the layering process. In a casserole dish, spread a little tomato sauce, then eggplant slices, then spread out all of the ricotta mixture, then more eggplant, more tomato sauce and finally as much Daiya cheese as your heart desires. Pop it in the oven for 30 minutes. I was completely floored by how yummy this was! I'm pretty sure I gained five pounds in one meal because I simply just couldn't stop eating it!

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Grapefruit Two Ways!

#1 Broiled Grapefruit!

#2 Candied Grapefruit Peels!


I was inspired to try out these recipes because of my overwhelming love of the grapefruit. I seriously can't get enough of it. So I figured it was time to start exploring new grapefruit territories. Since I am trying to get rid of sugar I tried to figure out a way to candy grapefruit peels without it, but decided I might as well go big or go home, right? Still, I wanted to even it out with another sweet grapefruit recipe that doesn't rely on sugar. This is where the broiled grapefruit comes in. I highly recommended these. Oh! and If anyone can recommend a grapefruit recipe, please do!

Broiled Grapefruit
Level of Difficulty: too easy
Pots/Pans Used: 1

Ingredients

1 grapefruit, halved
1 1/2 tsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a small bowl mix the agave and vanilla together. Pour it over the halves of grapefruit. Broil in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until you see the tops begin to caramelize and they look like this:
(Notice my dog, Oliver, lusting over them in the background) :)


Yeah... it's really that easy.

Candied Grapefruit Peels
Level of Difficulty: takes time, but easy
Pots/Pans Used: 2

Ingredients

1 1/2 c water
1 1/2 c brown sugar
2 grapefruits
extra sugar to coat (I used some fancy vanilla bean infused sugar that I got as a gift, but regular sugar will be fine)

Start out by cutting the peels off the grapefruit and cutting them into strips.

You're going want to remove as much as the bitter white part as you can, but don't freak out about it.

Next, put them in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. Then drain off the peels to cool and then boil again. Repeat another two times for a total of 4 times being boiled. After that step, put 1 1/2 cups of water, the brown sugar, and the peels in a pot to simmer.

Simmer until they are translucent and the water and sugar mixture reduces and thickens a bit. This may take 30 minutes to an hour. Drain them again and spread the peels out on a drying rack with paper underneath to catch drippings. Let them dry and cool for several hours. Once you feel they're ready, coat them in sugar. Ta da!

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Shirin Polow (aka Sweet Rice)

Level of Difficulty: moderate
Pots/Pans Used: surprisingly, only 2!

Ingredients
2 cups basmati rice
2 cup carrots, shredded
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup orange skin, sliced
1/2 cup unsalted pistachio, slivered
1/2 cup slivered almonds
3 TBL agave nectar
½ teaspoon powdered saffron
5 TBL olive oil
3 TBL salt
Potato, sliced
Dash of cinnamon

Right now is a very special time for my room mate, Rana Falahat, because it is the Iranian new year, "Haft Seen". In preparation for the new year, she was kind enough to make this dish for my mom and I last weekend. It was sooooo delicious that I had to tell you all about it! My absolute favorite part is the orange peel. Seriously, it's amazing! She served it with an awesome vegetable soup and crisp potatoes. It was my first time eating Iranian food, but it definitely won't be my last. Believe it or not, this was one of Rana's first recipe attempts. Without a doubt, it was a HUGE success. It is somewhat time consuming, but if you have the time to spare and feel like experimenting with a new cuisine, this recipe isn't really that difficult at all. Also, I know that saffron can be expensive so I'm sure this meal would still be good if you decide to leave it out. Lemme know how it goes...

You can prepare the rice however you want, but I’m just going to include the way Rana did it. She washed the rice a few times then soaked it in four cups of water with the salt for 2 hours. If you prefer a faster method, by all means, go for it.

Start by preparing your orange slices (my favorite). Peel the orange skin and remove the white layer and cut into slivers. In a small sauce pot, place the orange slivers with a cup of water and boil for 5 minutes. Then, drain.

In a saute pan, add 2 TBL oil and saute the cranberries for a couple minutes. Then saute the carrots for a couple minutes, and then add the orange slivers, pistachio and almonds. Add the agave nectar to the pan with 1 cup of water and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Next, add the liquid saffron (powdered saffron dissolved in 2 TBL hot water) and cinnamon.

In a large non-stick stock pot, bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Drain the rice and pour into the rapidly boiling water and let boil for 10 minutes. According to Rana, “the rice should be soft on the outside, but still firm in the center.” Strain and rinse again with cool water. Return the pot to the heat with 3 TBL oil and put slices of potato on the bottom of the pot. This prevents the rice from sticking and burning to the bottom and you’re left with deliciously crispy potatoes at the end! mmm. Then add the rice into the pot. Make 2-3 holes in the rice to release some steam. Cover and cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat. Once steaming, lower heat and steam rice for an additional 50 minutes.

The way Rana served this dish was by putting a layer of plain rice in the bottom of a casserole dish, then mixing some rice with saffron and putting the saffron rice as the top layer. Then she poured the delicious mixture on top. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but let me tell you, the results are well worth it.

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Stuffed Shells

Level of Difficulty: easiest with a food processor, but not hard without one!
Pots/Pans Used: one!

Ingredients

1 pkg shell pasta
1 jar tomato sauce
1 pkg extra firm tofu
nutritional yeast
fresh basil, chopped
garlic powder
s&p
lemon juice

I have had this recipe in my head for quite a while now and decided to try it out this weekend with my boyfriend. The tofu filling resembles ricotta cheese pretty amazingly! I highly recommend trying this out. Was great with some asparagus and garlic bread.

First preheat your oven to 350 and boil the shell pasta. You can make the filling in a food processor or you can just use your hand (that's what I did and it was somewhat tiring). If by hand, mash up the tofu until it resembles a firm ricotta cheese texture. *** I added a little water gradually to make it more moist. I honestly didn't measure at all in this recipe so add the nut yeast - lemon juice ingredients to taste. In a casserole dish, spread out some tomato sauce. Fill the shells with a couple spoon fulls of the tofu filling and repeat. Finally, top with remaining tomato sauce and bake for 15-20 minutes. Makes for really great leftovers!

*** This is a step I forgot and added later on

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Thin Mushroom Pizza

Level of Difficulty: 1,2,3, done!
Pots/Pans Used: UNO!

Ingredients

1 pkg mushrooms, sliced (I used 2 portobello caps)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBL olive oil
1 TBL soy sauce
1 tortilla
Tofutti's herb & chive cream cheese
fresh basil

This recipe is based off of a pizza recipe in The Kind Diet (Just an update, I am on day four of my Superhero diet... yay!). I was feeling super lazy and I was starving from not getting a break to eat all day so I needed this pizza done FAST. Therefore, I made some very slight adjustments to make the cooking process easier and quicker. Let me just say, I LOVE the idea of using a crisp tortilla as the dough. I felt completely satisfied but not too weighed down by a heavy crust. Nom nom nom, I seriously can't wait to make this recipe again. Ideally, I would have used a whole wheat tortilla (new diet) but I couldn't find them at my grocery store. So that's the only adjustment I might make for next time. Either way, it was sooooooo good!

Preheat the oven to 350. Pop the tortilla in the oven on a baking sheet and let it crisp up ( I didn't pay attention to how long it took, sorry). In a saute pan over medium heat, add the oil and garlic. Next, add the mushrooms and once they get a nice sear, add the soy sauce. Saute another 3-4 minutes. Spread the cream cheese onto the crisp tortilla and then top with the garlicky mushrooms. Chop up some fresh basil to garnish on top. Cut into slices and feel free to pig out!

FYI, I have also made the Almond Butter Brown Rice Crispy Treats and the Mushroom, Pea and Leek Risotto from The Kind Diet. HUGE SUCCESSES

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