The start of a new year, like a poem, has both heft and a lightness of being. It carries the weight of our hopes and expectations for an entire year, 365 days. New year's day, Jan. 1, flies on the wings of optimism and starts the week off with a heady sense of freedom -- it's a new beginning, a chance to get things right, be your best you.
Here's a poem and few recipes I tried, enjoyed and shared in the first week of 2017:
Our local Farmers Market is bursting with the bounty of summer produce. Red, sun ripened tomatoes, purple eggplants, summer squash, onions and leeks, a variety of herbs -- all laid out in tempting display.
I like to cook with seasonal ingredients because not only do you get the best quality and best flavor, but it's also cheaper.
Unfortunately, I can't limit myself to a few items when faced with such a selection and end up returning home with a bulging bag. And there's the garden produce to consider...and I have to figure out ways to use all of it up and keep the family from complaining.
So I was really excited to discover a recipe in the Weight Watchers Family Meals cookbook that made good use of all kinds of vegetables I'd picked up at the Farmers Market and from my garden.
It's a layered dish, but still pretty easy to make and full of flavor and summertime goodness.
Farmer Market Casserole with Tomato, Eggplant and Zucchini
Right now all the ingredients are in
season, which makes this the perfect summer recipe.
Makes 4
servings and is vegetarian and gluten free.
Ingredients
2 teaspoons
olive oil
1 small
eggplant (about 3/4 pound), unpeeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 medium
onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 1/2
teaspoons dried oregano (or you can substitute about 2 or 3 tablespoons of
fresh leaves), divided
3-4 large
garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoons
salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon
of black pepper, divided
1/4 cup
chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup
chopped fresh sweet basil
3/4 pound
medium to small tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 large
zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices (should be about equivalent to tomatoes)
1/4 cup
grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degree
Fahrenheit. Spray a shallow 8-cup casserole dish or 9-inch deep pie plate with
olive oil nonstick spray.
2. Heat oil
in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add eggplant, onions, half the oregano,
garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper; cook, stirring, until
eggplant is very tender and browned in spots, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat if
eggplants brown too quickly. Transfer to prepared dish or pie plate.
3. Mix parsley, basil, remaining
oregano, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over eggplant
mixture.
Even though the herbs are not the title of the recipe, they are key to adding flavor to the dish!
4. Arrange tomato and zucchini slices
on top of the herb-covered eggplant in alternating rows, overlapping slices.
Don't they look pretty? Mmm, nothing beats the flavor of garden tomatoes.
5. Bake until vegetables are tender
and browned along the edges, about 25 to 30 minutes.
6. Sprinkle
evenly with cheese and place under broiler for about 2 minutes. Serve hot, warm
or at room temperature.
Note: Next time I might use goat cheese or Feta crumbles, both of which are locally produced by El Camino de Las Capbras. If you try it out let me know what you think!
My parents always threw a New Year’s Eve bash. The furniture would be removed, music and drinks would flow, and tables would totter under the weight of food. Yes, my parents liked a good time, and yes this party was to celebrate their wedding anniversary (December 30) as well as the new year. What was not commonly known was there was also another, more superstitious reason.
The first day of a new year isn’t just another day for most people. It’s weighed down with significance and superstition. What you do in the beginning sets the tone for the entire year, determines the course. My mother, a steadfast believer of this, refused to spend money or cook on the first day of the year. So she was always made sure to have plenty of leftovers for January 1.
When I married the Cowboy and got initiated into Texan ways, I learned the importance of black-eyed peas. He insisted on eating them on January 1 to insure good luck and prosperity for the rest of the year. For this tall, dark and practical man of few words to admit to a superstition simply endeared him to me. Made me smile and give him a big hug (yes, it’s got to be love), then cook him those beans.
Unlike a lot of people, I don’t consider cooking a chore. There is a certain kind of peace in chopping and mincing, measuring and mixing. The heady scent of garlic, onion, ginger or the softer scents of cinnamon or vanilla are like aroma therapy. So come January 1, I insist on cooking dinner together (hey, with a superstitious mom and hubby, some of it had to rub off on me).
My 2011 mantra is: Live creatively, consciously, healthfully and simply. And black-eyed peas, an excellent source of Calcium, Folate and Vitamin A, dovetailed beautifully with that philosophy.
I’ve been hearing about the Meatless Monday movement for a while and this year I want to make it a part of my life. The goal is to reduce meat consumption by 15 percent for better health for yourself and the planet. The strategy is simple: Go Meatless once a week. Now I understand the organizers’ reasons for choosing Mondays –Monday is the beginning of the week and helps set the intentions for the rest of the week (again, the importance of the 1st day). Also, Meatless Monday sounds a whole lot more poetic than Meatless ANYOTHERDAY. I tried them all out.
I love the idea, but couldn’t commit to Monday. Part of living consciously is to pay attention to your body and emotions. So if I happen to crave steak on a Monday, I’m going to let myself enjoy steak that day. Instead, for me, Meatless One Day works better.
So for our first dinner of the year, on January 1, Saturday, the Cowboy & I enjoyed black-eyed peas cooked in a curried yogurt sauce served over brown rice and accompanied by a beer. Okay, so the beer didn’t quite fit the healthy part, but it was Shiner Cheer, an enjoyable nod to end of the holidays.
Continuing the pattern of firsts, this seemed to be perfect for my first 2011 #LetsLunch post.
So, what was your first dinner of the year?
Curried Black-Eyed Peas
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 bay leaves
2 large red potatoes, washed and cubed (I leave the peel on)
1 jalapeno minced (deseeded if you don’t like it hot)
1 small onion, finely sliced
6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
½-inch ginger root, peeled and grated
1 ½ teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, cleaned and diced
1 can of black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
2 cups of water
½ cup whole yogurt or Greek yogurt
A handful of cilantro, chopped
Directions:
1.Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
2.Add the bay leaves and potatoes, and cook until the latter is turning golden brown
3.Add the jalapeno, onion, garlic and ginger and cook until the onion has softened.
4.Toss in the spices and tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.
5.Add the bell peppers and black-eyed peas, cook for another 5 minutes. Add the water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes (the potato should be done). Turn off the heat.
6.Temper the yogurt with some of the cooked peas, then fold in the yogurt mixture into the rest of the curry. Stir and sprinkle with cilantro.
7.Serve with rice and sliced lemon. Serves 6 to 8
If you'd like to join Let's Lunch, go to Twitter and post a message with the hashtag #Letslunch -- or, post a comment below.
And don't forget to see other Let's Lunchers' healthy dishes below: Cheryl’s Watercress Soup at A Tiger In the Kitchen Emma's Quinoa with Grilled Veggies at Dreaming of Pots and Pans Linda's Mesquite Date Muffins at Free Range Cookies Mai Hoang's Spicy Cauliflower at Cooking In The Fruit Bowl Steff's Frittata attempt at The Kitchen Trials
Once you leave a continent, the political borders of individual countries often cease to matter as much, become less of a divisive wall. If I ran into another American in France, for a moment at least, I wouldn’t be from Texas and he wouldn’t be from New York. We'd both be Americans. If we were trying to settle in a new country, most likely we’d share Thanksgiving and July 4th and other holidays. Because at that point what matters most is that common bond – America.
Similarly, people who come from different parts of the Indian-subcontinent, whether from Bangladesh or Sri Lanka tend to hang out together and identify themselves as desi or deshi. Desh means land. We are ultimately from the same land.
So when the local museum wanted to celebrate India and our small Indian-American community asked me to help...I made my curried chickpeas and joined the party.
Preeti creates Henna Designs.
Usha paints a rangoli
To read my article on the event or to check out the recipes, click here.
