Eggplant Stew over Pasta

Earlier this year, I made a hummus babaganoush Pasta and I had an eggplant sitting in my fridge. It needed to be used last week and I wanted to try to figure out a recipe with it. We also had some Trader Joe's gnocchi (not vegan) in the pantry and I knew V would enjoy it. So, I figured I could make a mediterranean-inspired dish using the Eggplant. And I LOVED the end result. It was very filling (I had it over some penne pasta - vegan!) and V enjoyed it with gnocchi. A friend ate it with some Greek Yogurt!

I wanted to take care not to make it too Indian - that would have been easy - and to maintain a mediterranean taste to the dish. Here's how I made it -

Ingredients

Eggplant - 1 big, cubed
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Tomato - 2 small-medium, chopped
Chickpeas - 2 cups, cooked
Roasted Red Peppers - 1 cup
Garlic - 3 cloves, chopped/minced
Olive oil - 1 T
Cumin powder - 1 T
Chilli powder/flakes - 1 t (or to taste)
Vegetable Broth/Water - 1 cup
Marinara sauce - .5 cup
Salt/Pepper - to taste
Oregano, dried - 1t
Raisins (optional) - 1 T

Heat Olive oil in a pan (it would be best if you used something that could be easily transferred to the oven). Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
Add garlic. After a minute or two (when the raw smell is gone), add onions and saute till light brown. Add tomatoes and salt and cook for 3-4 more minutes.
Add Eggplant, roasted red peppers and chick peas. Add marinara sauce, cumin, chilli powder/flakes, oregano and cook till the eggplant cooks down a little. Around 10 minutes on medium flame.
Add water/vegetable broth to the thickness that you like. Bring to boil. Add raisins (optional), mix well.
Transfer dish to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

I loved this dish. It was filling without being too rich and the flavors were perfect.

Smoothies and Pasta

After we run or take the dogs out for a walk, I tend to make a smoothie when we come home - especially in the warm weather. Today, V had a smoothie with bananas, protein powder, strawberries, blueberries, light soy milk, orange juice and agave nectar. Mine did not have the agave nectar. Based on Em's suggestion, I added a handful of spinach to my smoothie. It did not change the taste too much, just a little. I liked it, but the photo was not appetizing. So the photo is only of the spinach-less smoothie!






















For lunch, I put together a quick pasta. Today was a beautiful day here and we ate in the deck! We did not want a hot meal, so I put together this pasta quickly. I change it around by adding herbs, different vegetables (when the tomatoes are out, I add tomatoes, or sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes instead). Sometimes, I add chick peas instead of the vegan meatballs. The sauce that I use changes too. If I was not vegan, I would add fresh mozzarella to it too. Here is what it contained today -

1 bunch, Asparagus
1 cup, Peas
2 cups, Pasta cooked
2 cups, Vegan meatballs
2 T, Pesto
2 T, pine nuts
2 t, Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Coat asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 40 minutes
In the meantime, cook pasta.
Mix all the ingredients including the asparagus. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy.

Pasta and South Indian food

Although there have been no blogs in the last couple of days, cooking has not stopped. I made a very South Indian meal last night. One of my brother's favorites - parrupu (lentils) with varthakozhambu (really can't translate that one! - a yummily sour stew-ish dish) with Keerai masiyal (mashed spinach). I don't think I can do justice to writing the details of such a dish. One of my friends (at another blog) is going to write a piece on varthakozhambu and I will link to it this weekend. And also find a recipe for the spinach dish and link that too!! But, it was yummy.




Today, I threw together the left-over Seitan with sphagetti, peppers, mushrooms and Trader Joe's vegan meatballs in a Trader Joe's marinara sauce (bow to Trader Joe's!). I doctor the sauce based on my taste - I added chilli powder, garlic and herbs today. Another trip to Trader Joe's coming up this weekend!!

I sauteed the Seitan some more today (without meaning to - I left it on the stove too long) and the pieces browned and were crispy at the edges. I liked this version of Seitan a lot more!

Hopefully, I'll try something new this weekend... Happy Friday!