Ellie's Blog

Adventures in the Kitchen - Week 1

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A new year, a time to try something new. Also, a time for very cold weather in New England, a time to avoid going outside as much as possible. So I've committed myself to trying to cook more - and cook more new things - so that I also can bring tasty food for lunch at work and avoid going out every day.

Taking the lead from fellow HubSpotter, Karen Rubin, I'm going to blog about my adventures in the kitchen (check out Karen's blog for some serious recipes and tasty adventures). This will help me actually stick to my resolution, and will also give me the opportunity to share another aspect of my life with my devoted readers.

Week of January 19, 2009

On the roster for this coming week:

Mini Eggplant Lasagnas

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant, at least 12 inches in length after trimming
• 2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 12 tbs pasta sauce (of your choice) - I'm going to try sliced fresh tomatoes
• 16 tbs ricotta cheese
• dried oregano
• 4 tbs grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 475F.
2. Slice the eggplant in 24 (1/2-inch-thick) slices and arrange on a lightly oiled baking sheet. 
3. Brush eggplant slices with oil and season with salt and pepper.
4. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 425F.
6. Assemble in 8 stacks on one of the baking sheets:
1. 1 eggplant slice
2. 1/2 tbs pasta sauce
3. 1 tbs ricotta cheese
4. sprinkle of oregano and pepper
5. [repeat 2 more times]
6. top off with 1/2 tbs Parmesan cheese
   
7. Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until heated through and Parmesan cheese has melted. Serve warm.
   

Pineapple Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 tbs peanut oil
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 cups cooked white rice
• 3/4 cup chopped pineapple (fresh or canned)
• 1/2 cup frozen mixed peas and carrots, cooked according to package directions, drained - I'll be using whatever vegetables I happen to have and think will go well
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the scallions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.
3. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
4. Add turmeric and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds.
5. Add rice and cook, stirring, until thoroughly coated with the turmeric mixture.
6. Add the pineapple, mixed vegetables, salt, and pepper, cook and stir until heated through. Serve warm.

Crustless Roasted Red Pepper and Cheddar Quiche

Ingredients:

• 1 (12-ounce) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained well and patted dry, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 2 tbs fresh parsely, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 8 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Arrange peppers in the bottom of lightly oiled pie plate (8 1/2- or 9-inch - though I'll likely make multiple mini quiches in muffin tins).
3. Top with all but 2 tbs of shredded cheese.
4. In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, parsley, salt, and black pepper. Slowly pour over bell peppers and cheese.
5. Top evenly with tomatoes.
6. Bake in center oven for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Sprinkle with remaining cheese the last few minutes of cooking.
8. Cool, cut, serve warm.

You'll note that these recipes do not actually go together - I didn't make an effort to do so. I picked out three of the tastiest recipes (that were also relatively easy) from one of my new cookbooks. I also simplified the language of the recipe for this blog post.

These recipes came from The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Kitchen - yum.

Photo by Deluxx