Grilled Japanese Eggplant

I needed a side dish to bring to a party and had all these cute little eggplants from the farmer’s market. “What to do with them?” I thought. Well I figured making an Asian inspired dish would fit the bill, and I would feel good about bringing a healthy dish.

The eggplant is a nutritional winner. Low in calories and fat, rich in fiber, it has a low glycemic index, contains many essential vitamins and minerals and is high in antioxidants. These properties are effective in helping to control cholesterol ,  sodium and the inflammatory processes that are harmful to our bodies.

And now, the recipe . . . . . .

Use the long, skinny, baby eggplants. I used the purple and white striped variety, but any color will do. You do need the thin, baby variety however, as they have no seeds and are ore tender than the mature types.

Ingredients:

12 baby eggplants, washed, stems removed and sliced lengthwise
1/3 cup soy (regular, tamari or reduced sodium)
1/3 cup sherry or port wine
3 TBS sesame oil
1 tsp hot pepper flakes, ground (can substitute another chili-based hot sauce)
4 cloves of finely minced garlic
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Roasted sesame seeds
Optional: fresh grated ginger (about 2 tsp)

Directions:

Mix the soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil, pepper flakes, garlic, and black pepper and pour into a large , flat pan (a foil-lined cookie sheet is good). Place the eggplant halves in a single layer, into the pan, cut side down. Let them marinate for half an hour on the counter.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees for a convection oven, or 400 for traditional oven.

After half an hour of marinating, pour off the excess marinade into a bowl and set aside. Place the eggplant pieces into the oven and roast for 10 minutes. Turn the eggplant over, cut side up, brush with some leftover marinade and roast for an additional 10 minutes.

Remove the eggplant from the oven and sprinkle roasted sesame seeds on top. This can be served hot or at room temperature.

You can also grill them on the barbecue, but use one of those mesh grill pans or the delicate eggplant will get too mushy and fall through the grates of the grill. Cook on lower heat and for less time than in the oven.

Mushroom Barley Soup

What could be better on a wintery day than a nice hearty, savory soup? I love making huge pots of soup in the winter and freezing family meal size portions to pop out of the freezer or to give to a sick friend. This one is filling enough for a meal with some bread and a salad. IF you prefer vegetarian, use vegetable broth. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of mushrooms. Chop one pound finely and slice the other pound into thin slices. You can use any kindof mushrooms you like. Mixing varieties makes it interesting.
• 1 Cup of pearl barley
• 2 Quarts of vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 bunch of fresh, chopped parsley
• 1/2 bunch of chopped, fresh dill
• 1 cup of sherry or other wine of your choice
• Salt/pepper to taste
• Oil to brown herbs

Directions:

In a stock pot, sauté onions and garlic until just beginning to caramelize. Add chopped parsley, stir and remove from heat. Add the stock and wine, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any sticky onions. Add dill, salt, pepper and barley. Cover pot; bring to boil then lower heat to a simmer. Cook for one hour, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot every 10 minutes. After an hour, check the barley for doneness. If it is still hard, you can continue cooking the soup until the barley is tender.

There are many types of barley. Some take as little as 40 minutes to cook and some take 2 hours If you know how long your barley will take, adjust cooking times appropriately. You want the mushroom soup to cook for at least an hour but it can cook longer. If the barley is quicker cooking, add it later in the process.

Optional additions: chopped carrots, shopped spinach or kale to add extra goodness and nutrition.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Tenders

While this recipe is not ultra low in calories and fat, it is considerably healthier than the standard preparation. Therefore, you can enjoy the old standard with less guilt. The recipe is easy to prepare, satisfying , and heart healthy. It is also suitable for diabetics.

Ingredients:

2 large eggs, beaten
1 lb. chicken tenders
1 C whole wheat breadcrumbs, coarse
1/2 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
1 Tbs Italian seasoning (unless breadcrumbs are seasoned)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 C whole wheat flour (preferred)
Olive oil cooking spray
Marinara sauce for dipping

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put an oil sprayed wire rack on a baking sheet.

Put flour in one shallow dish and eggs in another. Mix parmesan cheese, garlic powder , Italian seasoning and breadcrumbs and place in another shallow dish.  Coat each tender in flour. Shake off excess and coat each tender with the beaten eggs, then roll in breadcrumb/parmesan cheese mixture to coat thoroughly.

Place the tenders on the wire rack, spray with cooking spray and bake for 10 minutes. turn them over, spray the tenders and put back in oven for about 10 minutes more, until crisp.

Serve with marinara sauce or offer a variety of sauces like sweet and sour, teriyaki, etc.

Serving size=4oz. 335 calories per serving; 12 grams of fat (4 saturated); 132 mg cholesterol; 23 grams carbohydrate; 31 grams protein; 3 grams fiber; 607 grams sodium; 466 mg potassium.

Diabetic exchange equivalents: 3 lean meats, 1 starch, 1 vegetable

Makes 4 servings; 30 minutes prep/cook time

Lemon-Marinated Shrimp

 

• Serves 12. Nutrition info per serving: 73 calories; 3 g fat ( 0 g sat , 2 g mono ); 92 mg cholesterol; 1 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 10 g protein; 0 g fiber; 154 mg sodium; 108 mg potassium
• Ingredients:
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/4 pounds cooked shrimp
• Brown garlic in oil in a small frypan on medium heat for 1 min. Add lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper. Toss with shrimp in large bowl. Refrigerate. Give it at least 2 hours to marinate before serving

 

How Simple Delicious Can Be: Summer Tomatoes

Ah, the joys of summer tomatoes. I know, you think I’m crazy, but nothing is like a big, juicy sweet tomato mixed with almost anything – but at the very least, fresh basil. Tomato with fresh mozzarella? How about with cucumbers? Garbanzo beans, onion, garlic, vinegar . . .

Just this week, I cut up one of those beautiful tomatoes with cucumbers (sans seeds), Tossed in some aged vinegar, fresh chopped basil and garlic and a spot of extra virgin olive oil. Magnifique!

Another day, I chopped up a tomato, sweet onion, basil (OK, it grows like a weed and I always have tons of it), added oil and vinegar and voila!

How about a can of rinsed and drained garbanzo beans, tomato, broccoli, garlic, olive oil and rosemary?

The combinations are as varied as your imagination can stretch. Add them to chili. Toss them in a pasta salad, just slice them and eat them as it!

Tomatoes are a powerhouse of nutrition. Low in calories and fat; and high in potassium, vitamins A, C and K, folate, choline, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and even water!

So, slice up a tomato and add anything! Tell me what you came up with. Tomatoes: the incredible, edible and versatile nutritious food. Can’t beat that! Oh, did I mention how good they taste?

Pesto Sauce: easy and delicious!

Pesto ready for pasta

Pesto sauce is a great accompaniment to pasta of course, but yesterday I used it in a baked fish recipe. It was scrumptious! I altered the usual recipe, halving the olive oil, so there would be less “oozing” when the fish was cooked. Why waste this precious extra virgin olive oil?

Here is the standard recipe. In a later post, I will note the changes to this recipe as incorporated into the fish dish.

PESTO SAUCE

2 cups of basil (I prefer to replace 1 cup with parsley for a less potent taste)

3 cloves of garlic

1/3 cup shelled pignoli (pine) nuts

1/2 cup grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Chop basil/parsley, garlic and pine nuts briefly in food processor. Scrape bowl. Slowly drizzle in olive oil until blended. Add cheese, blend and serve with whole wheat pasta. Remember it goes a long way, so don’t drown the pasta in the sauce. It is used more like a butter. Put a tablespoon on the pasta. It will melt and coat the pasta. It is hard to find a good tasting whole wheat pasta with a good “bite.” I like Trader Joes’ brand best, especially their thin spaghetti in the cellophane wrapper.