Corn Polenta with Sautéed Eggplant

Not too long ago I was telling you about my friend Meaghin’s wonderful blog- Cheery Observations.  She posts beautiful pictures and recipes to match it.  I wish we lived closer to each other, this way I could come over for dinner at least once a week.

Back in August Meaghin posted a recipe for Sweetcorn Polenta with Eggplant Sauce.  It’s a meal full of vegetables- so I definitely wanted to give this one a try.  And I was not disappointed, not one bit.  If you do anything this weekend- please make this recipe.  Delicious!

I did make alterations from Meaghin’s recipe, but I give her full credit for finding this one!

I do have one great product for all of you to try out in your kitchen.  Around here I have only been able to find it at Whole Foods, but I’m sure other stores have them as well.  It’s tomato paste in a tube!  I have never been able to use that little can all at once, so the tube is a great way of preserving the paste until I need it once again.  Add it to your shopping list!

Corn Polenta with Sautéed Eggplant
Adapted from: Cheery Observations

6 ears of corn
3 tbsp olive oil
2 1/4 cup of water + 7 tbsp of water
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium/large eggplant, cut into smaller pieces (the size of a quarter)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/3 cup of white wine (we used a dry)
2 large or 4 medium tomatoes, chopped
4 tsp salt
1 tbsp oregano, chopped
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 jalapeño, chopped (optional)
4 tbsp butter, diced
7 oz feta
2 tsp pepper

Remove the leaves and silk from each of the ears of corn.  While standing each corn on its flat tip, shave off the corn kernels.  Put all of the corn kernels into a sauce pan, cover them with the 2 1/4 cup of water and cook for about 15 minutes.

While the corn in cooking, heat up the olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add the onion, garlic and eggplant.  Sauté on medium heat for about 15 minutes- or until the eggplant turns lightly brown.  Add the tomato paste, and mix it up with the vegetables.  Once the paste is absorbed, add the wine and cook for about a minute.  Finally, add the tomatoes, water (7 tbsp), 2 tsp salt, oregano, basil  and jalapeño.  Cook on low heat for about 15 minutes.

While the eggplant is still cooking, drain the water from the corn kernels but keep the leftover liquid.  Add all of the corn into a food processor.  Process until the consistency is mushy (looks like polenta).  Return the liquid and mushy corn into the pan.  Cook for another 10 minutes while stirring it, so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.

When the eggplant and corn polenta have been cooked, stir in the butter and feta cheese into the corn mixture.  Stir well until the butter and cheese have melted, and become incorporated by the corn mixture.  Finally, add 2 tsp of salt and pepper, stir some more so everything is well combined.

Finally, spoon out the polenta on plates (or bowls) and then top it off with some eggplant sauce in the center.  Feel free to sprinkle chopped oregano on top.

Enjoy it with the rest of the bottle of wine!

Lentil & Summer Vegetable Salad

I cannot believe that it’s August, I feel like summer is flying by!  We’re trying to enjoy the the summer fruits and vegetables every single day.  There are many fresh tomatoes, zucchini’s and cucumbers in our fridge.

I’ve been trying to make easy salads that incorporate summer vegetables.  This is a salad which was not only nutritious, but also delicious (sorry, that’s so cheesy!).  But it’s true!  Definitely a keeper for a lunch salad.  It’s great with a slice of fresh bread or a pita.

Lentil & Summer Vegetable Salad
Adapted from: Fresh 365

1 cup of uncooked lentils
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
10 radishes, sliced
1-2 bell peppers, chopped (use colorful one’s)
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup kalamata olives, sliced in half
1/4 cup capers, drained
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups feta cheese, crumbled

Cook lentils in boiling water for about 20 minutes.  Drain, and add to a large bowl.  Add the tomatoes, red onion, radishes, bell peppers, cilantro, kalamata olives, capers, olive oil, lemon juice and feta cheese.  Toss all of the ingredients together before serving.

Asparagus & Broccoli Orzo Salad

Not having access to the Internet is a lot more difficult than I thought (well, at least when you’re not on vacation).  Last week was my first at my new job.  After rewriting my name, filling in all the special numbers, having my picture taken, and signing my name about 30 times- I am now allowed to have computer access!  Success!  I felt very out of touch with the world up until today.  Unless someone left a paper copy of an article, or was talking about a specific topic, I had no idea what was going on in the world (yes, that includes the Prince William-Kate wedding gossip).  So for all of those that have had busy days, this is a perfect salad- either to eat during your lunch hour, or enjoy when you get home and don’t have time to do much.

It’s asparagus season!  Last week I saw it for the first time at our Farmer’s Market, so it’s time to get cooking with it.  This is a great spring recipe- light, flavorful and fast.  Although I had made it for friends (when I made this dessert), we had plenty of leftovers for the two of us.  We don’t tend to buy alfalfa sprouts often, just because if you don’t use them fast enough they’ll get all soggy, but this was definitely a fantastic edition to this salad.

Asparagus & Broccoli Orzo Salad
Inspired from: 101 Cookbooks

1 cup orzo pasta, uncooked
1 lb asparagus; washed, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups alfalfa sprouts
1 cucumber, quartered and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup feta, crumbled

Bring a large pot to a boil, add 1 tbsp of salt.  Once the water is boiling, add the orzo and cook per package instructions.

This next step can be done in 2 ways:

1) About 30 seconds before the orzo is finished cooking, stir in the asparagus and broccoli.  Cook for 30 seconds, then drain and run cold water over the 3 ingredients.

OR

2) Once the orzo is cooked, drain it and run cold water of the pasta.  Then boil another pot of water, add the asparagus and broccoli for about 1/2-1 minute.  Then drain and run cold water over the vegetables.

In a small bowl whisk together the dressing: lemon juice, olive oil and 2 tbsp of salt.

Add the orzo, asparagus and broccoli to a large bowl.  Then toss those ingredients with the dressing.  Finally, add the alfalfa sprouts, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and feta.  Toss once more for all of the ingredients to mix well.

Broccoli & Radicchio Pasta Salad

It’s a Sunday night, and what can we make (quickly!) for lunch tomorrow?  Pasta salad!  This was an extremely fast dish to make (the pasta cooking was the most time consuming), and by the next day the flavors blended even better.  This can be a dish for dinner, but we enjoyed this quick and easy lunch for the next 2 days. 

Broccoli & Radicchio Pasta Salad
Adapted from: Power Foods Cookbook

1 lb spiral pasta
1/2 lb frozen broccoli
1/4 cup grape seed oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 pints cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
1 small head radicchio, cored & shredded
1/2 cup basil, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 oz feta cheese

Bring a pot of water to a boil, and cook pasta until tender.  Add the broccoli 4 minutes before the pasta is cooked.  Drain pasta and broccoli.  While the pasta is cooking, whisk together the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, honey, garlic, red pepper flakes, pepper and salt in a large bowl.  Add the drained pasta and broccoli.  Mix in tomatoes, olives, radicchio, parsley and basil stir to combine.  Top with feta cheese before serving.

Broccolini Quinoa Salad

Yet another quinoa salad!  This one sparked my interest since it had broccolini in it- we love it, but have only roasted it.  But this salad allowed us to use it, and it was very refreshing.  As with many of the other quinoa salads, feel free to play around with the amount of each ingredients.  And if you find anything that’s a good addition to this salad, definitely let me know!

Broccolini Quinoa Salad
Adapted from: Sprouted Kitchen Blog

1 cup quinoa, dry
4 broccolinis
2-3 oz feta cheese
1 cup roasted red peppers, cut into thin slices
1/4 cup capers
1 cup chickpeas, rinsed
3 tbsp parsley, chopped
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil

Bring 2 cups of water and quinoa to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Place the broccolini right on top of the quinoa after 10 minutes.  Cover to finish cooking the quinoa and broccolini.  Fluf the quinoa, and roughly chop the broccolini.  Toss the roasted red pepper, broccolini, chickpeas, capers, dried oregano, salt and pepper to the quinoa.  Add the lemon juice, olive oil and stir again.  Cut the feta into small cubes, and add the feta and parsley to the quinoa.  Enjoy!