Vegan Mondays: Baingan Bharta (Eggplant Curry)

So in the wake of going gluten-free, it seems that my lactose intolerance (which I've known about forever, but been able to mostly ignore) is also beginning to flair up.  Which is common once one goes gluten-free with Celiac/intolerance--your digestive system can now process things the right way again, so any intolerance you already had before gets worse!

It is with sad news that I announce that I must (mostly) break up with cheese.

Which leads us into today's recipe!

I *may* have posted this recipe before, but I am making it again and it may be a tad different.  So oh well!  Enjoy it again!

I have combined two recipes to make this.  From here and here.   They are not horribly different, except for their spice amounts.

Ingredients:

2 T. olive oil
1 large red onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large tomato, diced (or use canned, like I did...maybe a 14-oz. can of diced tomatoes)
1 T. cumin seeds
1 t. ground turmeric
1 t. ground coriander
1 t. garam masala
1/2 t. red pepper flakes/powder
1/2 t. ground fenugreek
1/2 t. mustard powder (I didn't have this, so I used some mustard in the fridge)
1 large eggplant, or 2 medium, cubed
Salt to taste

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and bell pepper, and saute until cooked-through.  Add the garlic and saute until fragrant.  Toss in your spices and allow the scent to bloom.  Add the tomatoes, and allow this to cook for about 10 minutes.

Add in the eggplant and place a lid on top.  Turn the heat down and allow this all to cook, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes, until the eggplant is tender and the flavors have blended.  Lastly, taste for salt and season to taste.

 (I was bad about taking pictures as I was in a huge hurry.)

Serve plain, over rice, or with naan.  Enjoy!

"Satay" Pork Stir-Fry

I'm calling this a satay stir-fry because that was the flavor it most reminded me of.  I made this up (minus the marinade recipe, which I found here), and just kind of threw together what I had in the fridge.  You can add and subtract veggies as you have them.  I think the following would also be good in the stir-fry:  tofu, snap peas, greens, green beans, eggplant, zucchini, chicken, beef, green pepper, bamboo shoots, etc.

Play with it and enjoy!

Ingredients:

1-2 lb. pork tenderloin

Marinade:
2 T. hoisin sauce**
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. honey
2 T. green onions, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Stir-Fry:
The pork tenderloin, marinated, sliced into small, thin strips
3 T. oil, such as canola or peanut
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1-inch knob of ginger, minced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 head of broccoli florets, cut in equal-sized pieces

Sauce:
1/4 cup hoisin sauce**
1 T. peanut butter
1-2 T. honey
1-2 T. soy sauce
1 t. sesame oil
1/2 cup water

1 T. starch mixed with 1 T. water

Instructions:

Mix together your marinade and pour it over your pork tenderloin.  Marinate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.

Stir together the sauce ingredients and set aside.  You may want to heat it to get the peanut butter to combine well with the other liquids.  Taste and adjust to your liking.

Get out a wok and heat your oil in it over high heat, until the oil is shimmering and nearly smoking.

Add in the garlic and ginger.  Stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add in the pork and stir-fry until browned, about 2 minutes.

Add the vegetables.  Stir-fry for up to 5 minutes, until they are vibrant and slightly tender.

Add the sauce mixture.  Allow to come to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes more, or until everything is cooked through.

Add the starch mixture and allow to simmer until the sauce reaches a thickness you like.

Serve alone, or over rice!

I apologize for my lack of real pictures.  I didn't know it was going to be good until it was done :P.

You could easily make this vegetarian/vegan by substituting tofu for the pork.  Also, I think this would work with beef and chicken!

** If you need a good source for a GF hoisin sauce recipe, I used this one.

Slow-Cooker Balsamic-Tomato Chicken Stew

Balsamic vinegar is one of my favorite things on the planet.  It's up there with Sriracha.  I'll put it in everything.

Which brings me to this.

Oh my.

Delicious.

Just delicious.

I have nothing more to say.

Ingredients:

1 T. olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T. tomato paste
1 t. anchovy paste OR fish sauce (fish sauce is made from anchovies)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (depends on how many you're serving)
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 t. marjoram/thyme
2 bay leaves
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 cups of canned, whole tomatoes (San Marzanos are the best)
1 bunch Swiss Chard, roughly chopped
Salt & pepper to tasted

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add your onions and bell peppers and allow to cook until they are beginning to brown.  Add in garlic and stir together, cooking for 1 minute more.  Remove from heat.

Now place everything else except the Swiss chard and the salt and pepper into the slow-cooker.  Set on high for 6 hours.

If you want less liquid, uncover the slow-cooker about halfway through.

30 minutes before serving, add in the Swiss chard and season with salt & pepper.

Serve over rice, pasta, polenta, or, as we did, sunchoke puree!

I can't wait to eat the leftovers.  I think it'd be fantastic as a pasta sauce.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

I'm back!

Spent a week with Charles in Boston.  Had a great time, I really love that area.  Told myself I would update, but I didn't.  Oops.

Today's recipe is one I've had saved for over a year, and last night, I finally decided to make it.  I frequent a site called Reddit (Frequent?  Ha, it's really an addiction to a time sink!), and I give all the credit to user sardonicsalmon for posting his in-law's grandmother's recipe for chicken jambalaya.

Be warned, you can feed a small village with this recipe.  But, it freezes well, so do what you will!  It also takes up a large chunk of time to prepare, so it's a great all-day weekend food-project.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, giblets removed (mine was about 3 lbs.)
2 quarts, or more, of water
5-6 hot Italian/cajun/andouille sausage (whatever you can find)
6 (yes, 6) medium onions, diced
3 green bell peppers, diced
3 red bell peppers, diced
6 stalks of celery, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 serrano chiles (or jalapenos, or chipotles), minced
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1 T. thyme leaves
2 t. marjoram
Hot sauce to taste
1 T. salt
1 t. black pepper
2 cups of rice (not instant; I used a wild rice blend per the recommendation of a commenter)

Instructions:

You can do this in one pot or two.  Use a heavy-bottomed stock pot or a dutch oven, but whatever you use, make sure it has a heavy lid.

Take your chicken and place it in a large pot, pour the water over it (enough water to cover it) and bring to a boil over high heat.  Turn down your heat and simmer until the chicken meat is falling off the bones (about 30-45 minutes).  Remove, allow to cool a bit, and pull all the meat off, chopping into bite-sized pieces.  Place the chicken bones, skin, etc. back into the pot and continue boiling to create your chicken stock.  After about an hour, remove the chicken parts, strain the mixture, and cook down until it is about 1/3 of the original amount of stock.  Make sure you have enough to cook the rice per package instructions (about 4-5 cups).

You can empty out the pot and reserve the stock in a bowl, or use another pot now.

Place sausages, whole, in the pot and brown over medium-high heat.  Make sure it's fatty sausage so that you render out some grease.  When just cooked through, remove the sausage and reserve, slicing it into bite-sized pieces.

Add in all the chopped veggies (onions, peppers, garlic, chiles, celery) and turn the heat down to medium-low.  Cook for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are cooked down a bit and translucent (no browning, though).   It looks like a lot, but as the original poster said, it will reduce by half, at least.

Add in the herbs, salt, pepper, and hot sauce.  Stir and cook about 5 more minutes, taste, and correct seasoning.

Add in the meats and rice.  Stir in your stock.  My veggies had let out a lot of water, and I ended up only using a few cups of my chicken stock to cook the rice properly.  Bring to a boil, then turn down to LOW and place the lid on the pot.  Cook for 50 minutes, no stirring, no bothering.  It won't burn.

When done, remove from heat, and allow to sit for about 10 minutes with the lid on.  Serve!

This is fantastic, and I hear it's even better leftover.  Enjoy, everyone!