There are three things I love about this eggplant parmigiana recipe: delicious, easy, and healthy (OK, healthier). There is no dipping the eggplant into egg whites to bread it, and there is no frying. Any type of breading like that is always a messy process for me. It takes forever! This recipe is much faster and tastes so good. Continue reading Eggplant Parmigiana Made Easy
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Grilled Corn in Creamy Sriracha Sauce
Grilled Corn in Creamy Sriracha Sauce was inspired by a side of corn I ordered last week at The Little Owl in West Village, New York. And to think we almost passed this dish by. James had their delicious, highly recommended sliders in a spicy tomato sauce, and I had the best Eggplant Parmesan I had ever eaten. That was all we intended to order, but everything on the surrounding tables looked so good. We just had to try a few more of their dishes, and our server suggested we try the corn. Just corn. It sounded kind of boring to me, but I went with it and oh my goodness! It was the best “just corn” I’d ever tasted. Continue reading Grilled Corn in Creamy Sriracha Sauce
Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
I like to clean out the fridge before I leave town. I can’t bare to come home to moldy, wilted vegetables. Such a waste! Today I realized I had a dozen colorful peppers that would no longer be crisp and crunchy when I return from New York. I’m leaving in two days so I decided to cook everything, mix it with quinoa, and stuff it into peppers. It worked! These were delicious and there’s nothing left except a few tomatoes and cucumbers on the counter. Mission accomplished and it was a success! Continue reading Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Scrambled Eggs with a Venetian Buffet
If this post had sound, you’d hear the calls of cardinals and eastern sparrows from the treetops that surround our bedroom porch. It’s the setting for our traditional brunch that takes place every weekend at our house. From the bedroom you’d hear soft Italian love songs, and from far off in the distance you’d hear the traffic moving across the Tennessee River bridge and up Sand mountain to the small towns in northeast Alabama.
Sicilian Caponata
Yesterday I received two beautiful eggplants from a dear friend’s garden. It will probably be the last fresh eggplants of summer so I thought I’d better make the best of them. When I think of eggplants lately (I’m sure you’re tired of hearing me say this), I think of Italy, especially Sicilia or as you know it: Sicily. It was Sicily that rekindled my childhood love of eggplants. I guess because I grew up eating things fresh from the garden, I didn’t know eggplants could take on such a horrible bitterness. Later on in life, when I was unable to walk out to the backyard to pick fresh vegetables, I started to hate eggplants because they were always bitter, horribly bitter. Actually, my whole family hated them so when I cooked eggplants, I had to disguise them in tons of tomato paste or sauce with too much salt. Lasagna and Eggplant Parmesan are perfect disguises for grocery store eggplants you’ll have in the winter. I’ve come to realize that eggplants that are not fresh, will just be bitter. You can soak them in salt water, soak them overnight in milk, remove the seeds and peelings, or hang them in the shower (okay, the last one is a joke..hehe). These things will disguise the bitterness, but the best thing to do is have fresh eggplants. And that’s what I have today thanks to my buddy, Diane 🙂 Continue reading Sicilian Caponata
Homemade Manicotti Pasta
The deliciousness of this recipe comes from the homemade manicotti pasta I learned to make in the village of Sant’ Ambrogio, Sicily. I’m calling these crepe-like pasta manicotti, but they’re not actually called manicotti in Italy. Some Americans may also call them cannelloni, but the Sicilian cook called them crespelle. Call them whatever you like, but they are the easiest, tastiest pasta you’ll ever eat. Just try them.
Bruschetta de Venezia
Bruschetta, pronounced “Bru-Sketta” in Italy, is simply toast rubbed with garlic and topped with fresh tomatoes. During my visit to Venice this summer, I discovered how this simple little apertivo could become something more like a meal. For the past month, I’ve tried to replicate the taste I discovered at a little cafe’ outside of Piazza San Marco. To read more about our days in Venice, go here: http://www.eatwritepacklight.com/destinations-in-italy/venice/
Green Banana Smoothie
This tastes like a banana milkshake, and I’m not kidding. It has four ingredients. That’s all. The green is from the spinach, not a green banana. The banana has to be overly ripe to give it that really sweet, milkshake flavor. This is such a great way for me to guarantee I get enough fruits and vegetables to start my day. It’s so easy to make.
Homemade Chunky Tomato Pasta Sauce
This is so easy to do that I almost talked myself out of posting this, but I always use my own recipe for tomato sauce in the summer when I have tons of fresh tomatoes available. Continue reading Homemade Chunky Tomato Pasta Sauce
Healthier Jalapeno Poppers
What do you do when someone gives you a poke full of peppers?
You figure out how to make healthy jalapeno poppers, that’s what.