Zucchini Crust Pizza with Japanese Eggplant

 Ingredients:

2 cups shredded zucchini (1 to 1-1/2 medium), squeezed dry

1/2 cup egg substitute or 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

For topping I used my recipe for Japanese Eggplant. I cut the eggplant thin then fried it without the tomatoes. 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°. In a large bowl, combine first 4 ingredients; stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Transfer to a 12-in. pizza pan coated generously with cooking spray; spread to an 11-in. circle.

Bake until golden brown, 13-16 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 400°. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese; top with slices of the Japanese eggplant. Bake until the edges are brown- about 10 minutes.

I didn't add any cheese to the slices of eggplant.

Ae-Yun gave me a bunch of veggies. Korean zucchinis and the Asian eggplants. This was a great recipe to use both veggies.

Ratatouille Bisque

 Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small eggplant, peeled and coarsely chopped (3-1/2 cups)

1 small zucchini, coarsely chopped (1 cup)

1 small yellow summer squash, cubed (1 cup)

1 cup coarsely  white onion

1 large red or yellow sweet pepper, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced


⅔ cup uncooked long grain rice

3 large tomatoes, quartered

3 14 ounces can chicken or vegetable broth

½ cup dry white wine, chicken or vegetable broth


1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper


1 cup whipping cream, half-and-half or light cream ( didn't add)

Directions:

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, onions, sweet pepper and garlic. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in rice and tomatoes. Cook and stir for 3 minutes more. Stir in broth, wine, tomato paste, salt and black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from heat. 

Using an emulsion blender mix until everything in the Dutch oven is smooth.

 Stir in cream ( if using) and basil. Heat through, but do not boil.

It's actually getting cooler here. Good time to make this. It was 55 this morning.

It was delicious! A make again.

Spicy Japanese Eggplant

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 Japanese eggplants, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 onions, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons chicken broth

1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce

1 teaspoon white sugar

ground black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon Asian (toasted) sesame oil

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir the eggplant cubes until they begin to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the eggplant with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

Heat 2 more tablespoons of oil in the skillet over medium-high heat, and cook and stir the onions just until they begin to soften, about 30 seconds. Stir in the garlic, and cook and stir an additional 30 seconds. Mix in the soy sauce, water, oyster sauce, chili garlic sauce, sugar, and black pepper, and stir to form a smooth sauce. Return the eggplant to the skillet, lower the heat, and allow the vegetables and sauce to simmer until the eggplant is tender and almost all the liquid has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. Drizzle sesame oil over the dish, and stir again to mix in the sesame oil.

Note: I served this over cooked broccoli.  It was so VERY good. On the list to make again. I hope to grow Japanese Eggplant next season. Mey's daughter sent these to me from Maryland.

Spicy Stir-Fried Japanese Eggplant and Cucumber

Found this recipe in the NY Times.

Make again- really good.


INGREDIENTS:

2  long Japanese eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds)
 Salt
2  long English cucumbers (or the equivalent in weight of Japanese or Persian cucumbers)
2  tablespoons rice vinegar
1  tablespoon soy sauce
½  teaspoon sugar
¼  teaspoon salt (more to taste)
2  teaspoons dark sesame oil
2  tablespoons peanut or canola oil
1  tablespoon minced ginger
¼ to ½  teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
2  tablespoons minced scallions or chives


Directions:

Trim off the calyx end of the eggplants. Cut in half lengthwise, then slice thin (about 1/4 inch). Lightly salt, and toss in a colander. Allow to sit for 15 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. Squeeze out excess water, then dry between sheets of paper towel.
Meanwhile, trim off the ends of the cucumbers. Cut in half lengthwise, then slice on the diagonal into 1/4-inch thick slices.
Combine the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, salt and sesame oil in a small bowl. Place all of the ingredients near your wok or frying pan.

Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or 12-inch steel skillet over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two from the surface of the pan. Add the peanut or canola oil to the sides of the pan and tilt the pan to distribute. Add the eggplant. Stir-fry for three to four minutes until cooked through. Add the ginger and red pepper flakes, and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the cucumbers and scallions or chives. Stir-fry 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce mixture to the wok, and stir-fry one minute until the cucumber just begins to wilt. Remove from the heat and serve.

Japanese Eggplant Recipe

First time growing eggplant.

LOVE this recipe. It's a keeper!


 1 pound Japanese eggplant
 2 tablespoons soy sauce
 2 tablespoons sake or dry vermouth( used dry vermouth)
 2 tablespoons brown sugar
 2 teaspoons rice vinegar 
1 tablespoon minced or grated ginger
 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes

Step 1    
Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, and then cut into 1/2-inch slices. Set aside.

Step 2    
In a small saucepan add the soy sauce, sake, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and ginger. Heat and stir until the brown sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside.

Step 3    
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and after the oil is hot, stir in the eggplant. Cook for 3-5 minutes, turning occasionally, until the eggplant is seared.

Step 4    
Stir in the teriyaki sauce and tomatoes, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1-2 minutes, or until the tomatoes are tender.

Eggplant Burgers with Caramelized Balsamic Onions

 One lonely eggplant was hanging out on my kitchen counter and I wanted to try something new.I saw this recipe on Eats Well With Others and knew it would be something we would really enjoy.

 Joanne has a recipe for poppy seeds rolls which she served with the burger. They look wonderful and the next time I make this recipe I'm going to try to make them.

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant ( mine was about a pound)
Kosher salt
1 cup panko
1/4 cup parmesan ( grated fresh parm)
2 tablespoons minced parsley 
1 minced clove of garlic
freshly ground black pepper ( used organic jar black pepper to taste)
1 egg lightly beaten
marinara sauce
mozzarella

Directions:

Bring a medium size pot with salted water to a boil.

Take the skin off the eggplant and cut into cubes to about 1 inch. Toss the cubes in the boiling water. Leave uncovered and cook until the cubes are soft. They should be done in about 10-12 minutes.

Drain and allow to cool.

You want to get as much water out of the eggplant. I have a potato ricer which worked great. If you don't have a potato ricer leave the eggplant in the colander and press down to remove the excess water.

Once the extra water has been removed finely chop the eggplant. 

Add the eggplant to a medium size bowl and add the panko,cheese,parsley and garlic. Season to taste with the kosher salt and pepper. Add the egg ( which was beaten) and mix well.

Form the eggplant mixture into four patties. Add to a large frying pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter. Melt the butter in the frying pan and add the olive oil.

Cook the burger on one side. You want it to be a light golden brown  ( takes about a minute or two) and do the same thing to the other side.

Once they are cooked place on a paper towel.

I placed them on a small pan and added the mozzarella. Placed the pan under the broiler until the cheese melted.

Remove the burger once the cheese melts and place on a roll. You can toast the roll or just take a roll out of a package. Did it both ways and it's delicious no matter which way you enjoy the burger.

When the burger is on the roll, add some marinara which has been heated.

Top with the  caramelized onions enjoy.


I added the Balsamic Caramelized Onions for one reason- I love them and I have so many onions I wanted to start using them before they started to sprout.

 Heads up on these.They take awhile to cook. If you are in a hurry- don't add the recipe. It takes over an hour before they are done. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 sweet onions- thinly sliced ( I used plain yellow onions)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper ( used few shakes from the organic jar of black pepper)
2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 -1/2 cup balsamic vinegar ( depends on how much you like balsamic you like)

Directions:

In a large saucepan heat the oil over medium to low heat.

Add half of the onions to the saucepan. Once the first half of the onions has cooked down add the rest of the onions. Add the salt and pepper.

When all of the onions are cooked down add the sugar and stir gently. Add the balsamic and continue to stir.

Reduce the heat to low and cook the onions slowly-stir once in awhile to make sure nothing sticks. You want a nice low steady heat on them for an hour.

The balsamic will cook into the onions and the taste is amazing.

Remove the onions from the pan and add to the burger.

Recipe - Balsamic Caramelized Onions

Soba Noodles with Roasted Eggplant

 I LOVE this type of noodle! It's not the pasta Gabe enjoys but the recipe sounded good and I wanted to give it a try.

Picked up a eggplant at the local farmers market. A very nice man was giving out samples of melons and I sampled my share and felt I needed to buy something from him and the eggplants were a good price so I picked up a few.

1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound)
8 ounces soba noodles
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon peanut oil, divided(used sesame oil)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed(didn't use)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt(didn't use)
3-1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons Thai-style chili sauce
4 medium carrots, grated
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 cup diced English (hot house) cucumber( used regular cucumber)

1. Preheat  broiler. Cut eggplant in half lengthwise and place, cut side down, on a baking sheet. Broil until skin is blackened and flesh is soft, about 10 minutes. Set aside until cool.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cool water. Extract as much water as possible, then place in a large bowl with 1 teaspoon peanut oil.
3. Mash garlic and salt together to form a paste. Place in small bowl and add vinegar, tamari/soy sauce, ginger, brown sugar, chili sauce and remaining 1 tablespoon peanut oil. Whisk until the above is well-blended.
4. Peel the eggplant and discard the skin. Chopped  the flesh in the food processor. Add the eggplant, carrots and sesame seeds to the noodles, then add the dressing and toss well. Just before serving, garnish with cucumber

I really liked this, Gabe was so so. I'll make it again. When did he say the next diving trip was? Recipe was adapted from Here

Zucchini and Eggplant Bake

I knew when I saw this recipe that it was going to be a good one and it's definitely a make again!

Gabe,who is not into vegetables really liked this and said it was like a vegetable lasagna without the noodles.

This recipe adapted from My Favorite Things. She is also on facebook under The Breakfast Club-ordinary people who love
 love extraordinary food.

3 medium zucchini,thinly sliced (4 cups)*
2 large red sweet peppers, coarsely chopped ( 2 cups)
2 medium onions,coarsely chopped ( 1 cup)
1 medium eggplant-peeled and coarsely chopped (5 cups)
2 cloves garlic,minced
3 tablespoons olive oil*
4 eggs
1/2 cups light mayo *
4 ounces pecorino-romano cheese, grated (1 cup)*
8 ounces shredded mozzarella (2 cups)
12 rich round crackers,crushed (about 2/3 cup)*

star indicates my changes to recipe:
I use a mandoline to slice the zucchini
In place of the olive oil I used Smart Balance spray to coat the pan. Sauteed the zucchini first and then rest of the ingredients.
Use any kind of of mayo, mine was fat free
Didn't use Pecorino cheese, only Romano
No crackers on ours, didn't want the extra carbs.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease a 3 quart rectangular baking dish
In a 12 inch skillet cook zucchini,sweet pepper, onion, eggplant,garlic in hot oil over med. heat for 10-15 min. or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally
Get an extra large bowl and whisk the eggs and mayo unto combined. Stir in Pecorino-Romano cheese and 1 cup mozzarella.
Add cooked vegetables,toss to combine.
Evenly spread vegetable mixture in prepared dish
Top with remaining mozzarella and cracker crumbs
Bake uncovered for 20-25 mins or until top is lightly browned and knife comes out clean from center.
Let stand 10 mins before serving