egg plant stew

EGGPLANT STEW
The slow cooker did its magic once again on an assortment of foods that are unlimited in my new diet.

I'll add some hot sauce to my dish, but generally this is pretty good.

Brown nothing before hand in any oil. Add no meat or dairy.

eggplant cut in chunks.
Sliced mushrooms
chopped green pepper
sliced white onion
four cloves of sliced garlic
one can of crushed tomatoes
one can of black beans(undrained)
Italian spice mix
good bit of oregano
good bit of paprika
bit of black pepper
stir it up, cover and cook

Cook on high a couple hours, then low until the eggplant is the texture you like.
Add salt and hot pepper to taste in your own bowl.

second batch october 16 - the eggplant was bigger and took up a good bit of space so I had to cook it down a bit first. I used the powdered garlic and some tarragon and pizza spice mix this time. Yellow onion. I put the mushrooms in whole. a package of 16 variety beans which had been boiled and let stand an hour absorbing much of the liquid.

third try - November 1 - 2008
I used large bites of eggplant and limited the rest to red and green pepper, a very few small carrots (from a snack bag) yellow onion, and the can of crushed tomatoes.

For spice I used black pepper and herbs de provence bought on line a few months ago. Nothing else this time.

I liked the taste of the result in the undercooked version.

I cooked on high for just three hours. The eggplant was not all much but some of the other vegetables were a bit too underdone. I have turned it down to low for another hour.

fourth try- Florida- January 5
I used a larger eggplant and lots of green pepper and with the portobello and bit of onion that filled the pot. Italian seasoning, oregano, black pepper, paprika, powdered garlic, no beans (no room), can of crushed tomato. In at 8:15 on high. Three hours then low for two hours. May be a bit overcooked. Is certainly done

5th try - This time no beans at all. Did not have paprika. Used organic diced tomato, nature's place, rather than the crushed Italian. And I just forgot the onion. I'll add it once things cook down a bit half way through the cooking.

May 28-2009- No beans again this time. Used some fresh baby spinach. Used can of whole tomatoes and sweet red pepper. Small bit of chicken broth as with the whole tomatoes it seemed dryer. Small carrots. I could not get the onion in until it cooked down a bit. Paprika and oregano and garlic powder. Black pepper.

July 2009 -
No Italian seasonings except the garlic
crushed that
No mushrooms
Used Tandoori spice and paprika

Boiled some lentils to combine if desired.

September 2009

I bought another slow cooker at the Methodist Fair for a dollar.

So I split an eggplant into two parts and made two batches.
Both batches had:
Chunked eggplant
Huffy's end of the year tomatoes. Very sweet. 2 large tomatoes
black pepper
two green and two red peppers
white mushrooms put in whole
sliced onions- one yellow and half of one white
covered with one half large can of crushed tomato with basil
(note: I tried cooking this without the additional tomato sauce and it would be fine if I wanted just vegetables, but I like the soup/stew like consistency, so I poured the sauce over the top of the partially cooked vegetables and hope it will seep into the mixture while keeping the top from drying out.)

One batched seasoned with fresh garlic and paprika
The other has black beans and herbs de Provence.

Cooked a couple hours on high but turned it to low before any vigorous bubbling started.
Tasted it an hour later and it is still too raw for my taste, but interestingly the eggplant is cooked almost enough. Perhaps next time I'll put the eggplant in after the two hours on high and then cook the rest until the eggplant is the texture I would like.

Still tasted good when the rest cooked up tender. I like the beans as long as there are not so many that they overwhelm the rest. This was half a 25 oz can or organic black beans. I drained them as well and suggest that so the bean juices don't overwhelm. Some for flavor is good. I would not rinse the beans of all the juices.

I like the herbs de Provence spices. The plainer version with just garlic and paprika is still good. Elizabeth likes that one. But it cannot match the bean version. Of course, the right sort of sausage would be good, or shrimp. We are making all veggie this time.

Also, I quartered the yellow onion, but I better like the onions completely sliced thin or chopped and the white onion is just a nicer, sweeter flavor than these fancy yellows.

PS: After a day in the refrigerator the bean eggplant stew seemed to sour a bit. I do remember Julia Childs talking about things covered before they cooled getting a little sour. She mentioned chicken stew, but perhpas it works for this as well. I added just one package of stevia and that sweetened my bowl just fine.

baked eggplant

BAKED STUFFED EGGPLANT
Wash the eggplant. Cut in half and remove pulp within 1/2 inch of skin. To the diced pulp add: 3 tbsp. minced onion 2 sprigs minced parsley 2 tbsp. minced celery 1 c. chopped tomatoes 1/4 c. chopped green pepper 1 c. soft bread crumbs 1 tsp. salt Put all this in the empty skins. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes until soft and lightly brown.

eggplant recipe to try

seems like I could leave the oil out of this process. From AARP

Ted takes justifiable pride in the enticing flavor meld of this version of the traditional Sicilian side dish. It can be served as a condiment on slices of Italian bread.

• 3 tablespoons, extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 3/4 cup, chopped celery
• 1/2 cored and seeded red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cored and seeded green bell pepper, chopped
• 6 green and/or black olives, pitted and chopped
• 3/4 cup, tomato puree
• 2 tablespoons, raisins
• 3 garlic cloves

• 1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 tablespoon, red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon, balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon each—dried basil, oregano, and parsley
• Salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon, freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the eggplant on a nonstick baking sheet, and bake until brown, without turning, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a deep skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, bell peppers, olives, garlic, tomato puree, and raisins, and sauté over medium heat until the vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes.

oat meal fish

May 27 09
The pan frying makes this less than radically healthy.
I suppose I need a similar blog for just fish recipes.
I have not tried this yet, and I wanted to save it.


OAT MEAL COATED FISH

Whisk 1 egg and 1/4 cup mil
Dip washed and dried fish in salt and pepper seasoned flour
then di in egg or bruch on egg with brush
then dip in oats. Press oats down so they stay on the fish.

Pan fry about 4 minutes each side.

fish garnish a la El Cortez

The green garnish is samphire.  There are two varieties, one in the UK and one here.

http://mememe14.blogspot.com/2006/07/samphire-greens.html

http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry/?id=4399

fish leftover fish ideas

wraps

Basic fish and musroom
Took leftover perch bits (grilled) and mixed with baby portobello. Heated in microwave. Put in a wrap with a bit of Tapa tio. Very nice with a salad on the side. 11/14/2008

June 2010

I made fine patties for breakfast.  Leftover bluegills ground with red and green pepper, onion, flavored with garlic and pepper, mixed with egg and cooked in those nice rings I bought for eggs.  Very tasty but next time I need to cook the onions and peppers just to reduce the amount of water.  The mix was just too sloppy.

Fish pickled

"We recently made a batch of pickled wax beans using a recipe from Chez Panisse Vegetables that called for cider vinegar. We were excited to try it and reached for our bottle of Trader Joe's organic, unfiltered cider vinegar that we've come to love in vinaigrettes.

But when we tasted the beans, we found the fruit flavor to be a little overwhelming and wished we'd used something a little cleaner. Perhaps the more traditional filtered variety would have yielded a less apple-heavy result. The lesson here was a terribly obvious one: the flavor of the vinegar is going to come through in the finished product, in a big way.

As we browsed more recipes and tried out a few of them, we realized that plain old white vinegar is a popular choice. We've found that it allows the flavors of other ingredients to shine, instead of overpowering them, whether it's garlic, onion, dill, coriander, pepper or something more exotic.

It's really all about personal preference. But for us, as we continue our pickle quest, we'll save our fancy flavored vinegar for other recipes and reach for the big (and ridiculously cheap) bottle of the white stuff."

from 

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=554199


I did not do well on my first batch of bluegills.  I think I should try smaller batches until I know what I am doing.  Aug 11

elizabeth's seafood stew

Question for Marnie at end of email....

I used this basic recipe:  ( dewey, could you put it on your blog?)

This simple soup is perfect for a quick lunch or a family supper with crackers or garlic toast.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chicken or fish broth
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/8 tsp. white pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup frozen green beans, thawed and drained
• 3/4 lb. fish fillets, cut into 1" pieces

Preparation:

In medium saucepan, combine all ingredients except tomatoes and fish. Bring to a boil and simmer 5-7 minutes until vegetables are crisp tender. Add tomatoes and fish; simmer 10 minutes over medium heat until fish flakes easily when tested with fork. 4 servings

My variations:  I had no carrots...used black and cayenne pepper and mixed frozen veggies.  My fish was left over shrimp, stone crab and canned chicken of the sea crab meat.  Dewey thought it was very yummy...  I wanted something a bit different in the flavor...I thought the cayenne pepper helped quite a bit but still it needs something more.  Any ideas?

Hugs, Elizabeth

Humus

Looking for a recipe for humus without the oil and fat that is in the supermarket variety, I came across this one online at All Recipe.

I wonder if the tool we use to smooth the lentils or peas in soup will smooth this out. Also wonder if Key Lime juice would be good either with the lemon juice or without it.

• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained, liquid reserved
• 2 ounces fresh jalapeno pepper, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• My folders:
  DIRECTIONS
• In a blender or food processor, combine garbanzo beans, jalapeno, cumin, lemon juice, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the reserved bean liquid. Blend until smooth.

Further thoughts have me wondering about soy sauce used in place of oil in recipes for humus. Lots of healthy diet books are also trying to limit salt, so soy is ignored as is hot pepper sauces like Frank's. I'm not trying to limit salt. There does not seem to be a link between salt and cancer which is the healthy focus of my new eating. At any rate, I have to have some way to treat myself besides fruits.

11/6/08 Everything here worked well but the humus is a bit bland even with the nice pepper bite from Charley's habenaro which I used in place of jalapeno. I added a bit of tamari and black pepper and that seemed to make a big difference.

Exciting is the humus provides an entire new fat free medium with which to experimentally add spices and different flavors.
I tried eating it and then eating Joseph's Tahini Humus. The home made version is just as good. There is 20 fat calories in a serving of prepared humus that are missing in the home version. That is nearly half of the total calories.

THANKSGIVING

Started with mashed chick peas, a bit of Tamari, and a bit of lime, garlic powder. Broke the mixture down into four bowls, left one plain, and added these things to the other three.

1. added Mexican spice and a good bit of Nellie and Joe's lime juice and cilantro
2. added Chuckmonk's pepper sauce
3. added raw bulgar

These along with the basic made a nice mix of choices served with cut up veggies. I liked the cut red onion. I added some jars of hot sauce for variety.

I'd say the response was luke warm. Folks might miss the taste of the olive oil. Cory did ask later for the way humus is made.
I liked all of them. I especially liked what the lime juice does and may try just that with no Tamari next time.