Quinoa with Swiss Chard & Cherry Tomatoes

This was dinner tonight. It certainly was delishous, healthful, filling, easy and quick to make when getting home just before 8pm after a day at the office and after-work visit to the gym. All that is true, but the real reason I'm excited about this post is that it was made with produce freshly harvested from my urban garden. As I was arriving home late and tired and not in the mood for shopping, and stumped with a fridge that has nothing fresh in it, I turned to my garden. Hopped out the back door and cut some beautiful crisp fresh-as-can-be swiss chard and picked some ripe cherry tomatoes from my plant. Some of them had started bursting open, so I think my timing was just right!

There's not much of a recipe to this. Basically got some quinoa going on the stovetop, took a quick shower while that was cooking (multitasking is a necessity on busy weeknights:). Chopped chard and halved tomatoes.

Sauteed the chard for just a minute or two in olive oil, then added the quinoa and tomatoes and stirrred. I really wanted to retain the freshness of the tomatoes and basically just wanted them warmed through.

Added to the pan was juice from one lemon, a dash of soy sauce and the smallest splash of rice vinegar. It turned out nice and tangy, you could very well leave out the rice vinegar if that is not too your taste. Salt & pepper to finish. Freshly prepared, balanced and delishous dinner in just over 15 minutes. I considered adding some feta and green onions on top and am sure it would be great, but did not get around to doing so and did not miss it. The tomatoes were super sweet and juicy and balanced so well with the tangy lemon juice dressing. This makes the trouble of caring for my urban garden worthwhile.

QUINOA WITH SWISS CHARD & CHERRY TOMATOES

1/2 Cup Quinoa 1 Cup Water

Handful Chard leaves, chopped

1/2 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, halved

Juice of 1 Lemon

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

1 Teaspoon Rice Vinegar

Bring Quinoa and water to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes until all water is absorbed.

Meanwhile sautee chard for just 1-2 minutes in a splash of olive oil until wilted.

Stir in cooked quinoa and tomatoes. Add juice, soy sauce, vinegar, season with salt & pepper.

Top with feta cheese & sliced scallions if desired.

Eggplant Parmesan

A few months have lapsed since I made this dish and chronicled it by taking pictures along the way, and now am finally getting around to writing a post about it. There are positives as well as negatives about the loooong time in between shooting and posting. As far as upsides, browsing through the pictures just reminded me again of how much I like to make (and eat) eggplant parm and how delishous eggplant can be. Unfortunately on the downside, I don't recall the exact details of the recipe, or if I even followed a recipe. Usually I will use a combination of recipes as a guideline and what I have on hand, as well as a good dose of improvisation whenenver I cook. This eggplant parm is a pretty good example of such a recipe. I also follow the same process for making tofu parmesan. It's hard to mess it up!

I don't find the first step absolutely imperative, but whenever I do have the time, I will sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and let the water drain off in a colander. It is supposed to remove some bittnerness from the eggplant as well as excess liquid.

Next is the egg wash (an egg beaten with a few teaspoons of water) and then breadcrumbs. Here are various options: plain breadcrumbs, or seasoned with dried herbs like oregano, or use store bought Italian flavored breadcrubs, some grated parmesan can also be added to the crumbs.

Variation: When making tofu parmesan, I generally just use water bath and crumb coating. Even easier!

Bake eggplant slices in a hot oven and turn over when it starts softening and browning. I find it much easier and cleaner than pan-frying and it is more healthy as side benefit. I sometimes give the eggplant (or tofu) slices a quick spray of olive oil to aid in browning.

When eggplant is softened and a bit browned on both sides (test with a fork, should not have much resistance to go through), remove from oven and get ready to assemble in a casserole dish. I happened to have some home made fresh ricotta cheese on hand. (See previous post on how to make this!) You can use ricotta or cottage cheese. Add an egg and some grated parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper and you have your cheese layer ready to go.

Lastly you will need some tomato sauce. Bottled sauce have done it for me in a pinch, but I prefer to make my own using a can of crushed tomatoes, with sauteed garlic and red pepper flakes & seasonings, cooked until it thickens just a bit.

Assemble layers of tomato sauce, eggplant slices, cheese mixture and top with shredded parmesan or mozzeralla. If you want it real cheesy, add some mozzeralla in between layers too!

Ready for the oven. Bake in preaheated oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly and browned on top. It is good just as is or served over pasta, or on a sandwich.