Baked Eggplant with Fried Green Tomatoes

Block of Extra Sharp Cheddar
Triangle of Brie
Some Mozzarella
Kalamata olive tzatziki
Fresh bread
Malbec & good company

Eat, drink, and talk while preparing the rest.

1 Eggplant
Breadcrumbs
Egg & milk

Slice that eggplant! Bread that eggplant!

3 fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup plus too much red wine
lots of basil, oregano, salt, pepper
three cloves of garlic
vidalio onion sugar (from The Spice and Tea Exchange)
chopped onion
olive oil

Saute onions five minutes in olive oil; add garlic; add wine until most the liquid cooks off; add everything else and simma. Layer sauce on bottom of pan; add breaded eggplant; top with sauce; top one slice with cheddar; one with brie; the rest with mozzarella. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

2 green tomatoes
breadcrumbs
egg & milk
cayenne powder, salt, pepper
olive oil

Add the spices to the breadcrumbs. Slice the tomatoes. Bread ’em! Fry ’em in the skillet!

Bon appetit!

Comfort Foods: Mac N Cheese

Mac and cheese sampler:

1) Greek Mac – feta, black olives, and diced tomatoes.

2) Crispy Mac – wheat germ and cheddar

3) Spicy Mac – cheddar and diced jalapeno with splash of tabasco

4) Nacho Mac – black beans, green chilies, and cheddar topped with sour cream and salsa

5) Mushroom-Swiss Mac – portobellos, swiss cheese, and green onions

6) Margherita Mac – marinara sauce on the bottom with mozzarella and basil, topped with tomato slice

Hello. Have a helping of moussaka.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/two-cheese-moussaka-with-sauteed-mushrooms-and-zucchini

Happy Thanksgiving, friends and strangers. I like this holiday. I know, of course, the genocide that followed on its heels. And that there is probably more myth than truth to any significance the legendary First Thanksgiving had on our country. Perhaps we celebrate an ideal: perhaps the holiday is more about what we want from the future than what really happened in the past.

Regardless, however, of the symbolic, cultural, or emotional significance of Thanksgiving, I still like the holiday. Odd, perhaps, for a vege-/pesca- tarian to relish the annual ritual sacrifice and consumption of the bird that Franklin wanted to be our national symbol (it would have at least been more original; imagine the Colbert Report with an angry turkey charging the screen).

I like two things about Thanksgiving: the food and the people. It doesn’t have Christmas’s hokeyness or Easter’s puritanical bent, and the food is much better than Halloween’s cheap candy. For my part in today’s culinary adventure, in addition to the bird my dad prepared, I made a vegetarian moussaka (pictured at the top of this post). It is essentially a Greek lasagna. The top layer is a mix of half a dozen eggs and feta cheese which makes for a souffle-like layer on top of the rest.

Along with the moussaka, we made scalloped potatoes, broccoli salad, green bean casserole, cranberries, and sweet potato with brown sugar and cinnamon. There was turkey, and Linda made a butternut squash lasagna of her own.

My sister-in-law, brother, dad, friend, and I were the only ones at the family table this year. The other half of the family went to Colorado Springs to spend the holiday with my grandpa.

And my ex was not here. I missed her. I’m glad we are separated and I want it to stay that way. But I miss her company and her friendship. I hope she had a good Thanksgiving. I am thankful, though, for having enough loved ones to cook for and with.

I’m a  lucky man to count on both hands
The ones I love.
Some folks just have one,
others they have none.

-Pearl Jam, “Just Breathe”

Every morning should begin with the arranging of spices, chopping of onions, and thick black coffee. Every morning, that is, should be a preparation for a feast.

For the Love of Coffee

My favorite foods and beverages fall into two categories, with little overlap: those that taste delicious and those that make me feel good. In the latter, I love salads, vegetables, and fruits; whole grains, legumes, and seafood. And the other category? Put simply, pizza, ice cream, and alcohol.

In regards to the TASTES DELICIOUS category, the age old wisdom of the Buddha still applies: everything in moderation. (And yet, sometimes I eat a whole pizza; a whole carton of ice cream; and no comment on the wine/beer/liquor.)

My point in introducing the two categories is to ask: Where does coffee fall? It could be fair to call coffee less of a drink and more of a lifestyle for me. Therefore, I have a vested interest in finding benefits to the black brew. On the other hand, if the bitter nectar is slowly killing or debilitating me, I have a vested interest in my own health, too. The sources below are from the Mayo Clinic and Harvard Medical School. So what’s the scoop on a few tablespoons of coffee grounds?

Negatives

unfiltered coffee may raise cholesterol (source)

increased heart rate and potential to cause irregular heart beat (source)

if the individual has a fairly common genetic mutation, 2-3 cups per day may cause increase risk of heart disease (source)

may increase blood pressure (source)

if consumed with cream/sugar, may have a lot of empty calories and fat (this is not coffee, it’s a freakin’ milkshake!)

heavy use (four to seven cups a day) may cause anxiety, insomnia, and irritiability especially in susceptible individuals (source)

Positives

improves cognitive function (source)

protects against Parkinson’s (source)(source)

protects against Type 2 diabetes (source)(source)

protects against liver cancer / liver damage (source)(source)

may reduce risk of developing gallstones (source)

may discourage development of colon cancer (source)

possesses antioxidants…whatever that does (source)

Both sources ultimately agree that coffee’s positive affects outweigh its health concerns for most people, assuming moderate consumption. Every individual may have different responses to it. This past month, I’ve been drinking two to three cups a day (probably averaging closer to 1.5, considering days when I don’t have any). I almost listed “addictive” under negative affects – but I can always stop whenever I want to…. No, really….

Shrimp & Corn with Margherita Tomatoes

1 lb shrimp, uncooked
1 can corn
olive oil
butter
fresh ground black pepper
sea salt
garlic flowers
fresh oregano
red pepper flakes

2 vine-ripened tomatoes
balsamic vinegar
buffalo mozzarella
fresh basil leaves

1) slice tomatoes in thirds; put 6 slices on baking dish; sprinkle balsamic vinegar on each; place slice of mozzarella on each; put one basil leaf on each; bake at 350 degrees

2) heat olive oil in pan over med-high heat; add garlic flowers; add shrimp; sprinkle of sea salt; some pepper; red pepper flakes; oregano; flip shrimp until cooked; add corn to pan; add slice of butter to corn; stir until butter if melted and corn is heated through

When I go to the coffee shop…

Seasonal Flavors (Ode to Corporate Hegemony)

Don’t let anyone tell you that Starbucks is without soul:
Peppermint white mocha lattes are all soul.
What is Christmas if not the taste of Pumpkin Spice,
warm, sweet, and autumnal.
A Venti is plenty to bring back old friends and loved family,
and enough warmth to get you through the lonely,
crowded December shifts.

I scribbled this ditty on a napkin several years ago, during a 1-year hiatus from teaching, while I was on a lunch break from my retail job. What do you order when you go to the coffee shop? Now that summer is fully here (with a feels-like temperature of 97 today), I’m back to iced tea or iced coffee. Here are my ten favorite drinks, in approximate order of most to least frequently ordered:

1) black coffee
2) unsweetened, iced black coffee (preferably with coffee ice cubes)
3) iced nonfat half-pump double matcha green tea latte
4) unsweetened iced tea
5) iced nonfat sugar-free caramel machiatto
6) nonfat sugar-free cinnamon dolce latte
7) nonfat sugar-free caramel latte
8) hot tea
9) pumpkin spice latte (at least once during the fall)
10) water

Most people have 1 or 2 drinks they order, but I keep the baristas guessing. What’s your coffee house drink? (The bar drink is for another time….)

Accretion

I was a dandelion, easily abused by a gentle breeze: a svelte 168 at 6 feet. It took great effort to reach that goal. A year to drop the initial 40 or so pounds, and another several months to drop the next 15-20. I started losing the weight when I hit 225 about four years ago. But over the past 12 months, I have leapt back up to 196.

Perhaps, as one friend suggested, it is happy weight: the weight that comes from contentedly sitting on the couch playing video games or watching television with your beloved. But it is probably a paradoxical combination of that and depression, which always feels a want of food to be at the core of its misery. Since last year, however, I have begun a process of accretion that, if I am to avoid hitting or surpassing my high mark of 225, needs to be halted now.

When I gain weight, I notice my body more. And it is distracting. I have a harder time concentrating because I begin to neurotically think about the discomforts of my body. My thoughts are less easily carried off because they stay so grounded on the position in which I am sitting, the crick in my back, the fat, the collar bone, the joints…yes, I told you I get a little crazy. Not to mention, I then get a little annoyed at things that wouldn’t otherwise annoy me. In addition to the accretion of fat, there are these other things as well.

This week is Spring Break, and so today I begin the process of shedding the clunky parts of myself that weigh me down. I started today by waking up at 8 with the intention to walk to the apartment gym. It was fitting that the first morning of my exercise routine should be raining. Walking down in the rain, I thought to myself, this is the commitment I need to show most every day: shunning the comfort of a warm bed and dry clothes for a bigger goal. To escape the immobility of a cactus and its thorns.

Farmers’ Market Souffle

Modified from this recipe to suit what I just purchased at the produce stand. I’ll make this tomorrow for dinner:

1 T vegetable oil
1/4 c diced red (or white) onion
bushel asparagus, bottoms trimmed, cut into 1 in pieces
1 red pepper, roasted
1 other bell pepper, roasted
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
2 T thinly sliced scallions
6 eggs
1/2 t sea salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1 pinch freshly ground nutmeg
1 c feta
1/2 c grated parmesan
parchment paper

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; add the red onion & asparagus, about 3 minutes; remove from heat and stir in the bell and jalapeno peppers and scallions.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt, black pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the cheeses and cooled vegetables.

Spray two loaf pans with vegetable spray, then lay down a sheet of parchment paper (find it along with the wax paper, aluminum foil, and baggies in the grocery store). Pour the egg mixture into the prepared pan, and top with another piece of vegetable oil sprayed parchment paper. Place the pan in a larger baking dish and place on the center oven rack. Pour enough hot water into the baking dish to reach halfway up the loaf pan. Bake until the center is firm and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Remove the souffle from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to release the souffle. Turn the souffle out onto a cutting board and remove the parchment paper. Cut the souffle into 8 slices and serve hot or at room temperature.

Shrimp & Clams

Dinner tonight: sauteed shrimp & clams with Mediterranean seasoning, Spanish rice, garlic mashed potatoes with feta, and asparagus.

I wanted to make some sea scallops, but at $17 a pound it wasn’t practical. I found some raw, shell-on shrimp for only $4 a pound and clams for 30 cents a piece. The bag of Spanish rice was 80 cents. A couple of potatoes for a dollar fifty. And leftover feta and heavy cream for the mashed potatoes. Oh, and I used Penzeys Spices: Salt Free Mural of Flavor, which includes shallots, onion, garlic, lemon peel, citric acid, chives, and orange peel to season the shellfish.

Chocolate and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

A great side at any barbecue!

summer pasta salad

Cold pasta salad: a great addition to any grill out. Penne pasta, preferably whole wheat; feta cheese or buffalo mozzarella; cherry tomatoes; black olives; fresh basil; celery; olive oil; black pepper.

Perhaps pine nuts and spinach would be tasty, too.

Oh, and cilantro! The ultimate summer herb. Cilantro somehow manages to refresh even in the oppressive Florida summer heat.