I Return...With Eggplant

It's been a while since I've last updated and frankly, it's because I haven't really been cooking...at all. Recently though, I did come into some fresh produce that inspired me to start whipping things up again. I miss cooking. I miss creating delicious dishes. Last night, I decided to remedy that and I made myself a delicious, huge, and simple dinner.

Cheesy Eggplant Rounds

Ingredients:
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chives
1 small eggplant, raw
1/4 cup of light mayonnaise

Directions:
Slice eggplant into four 1-inch slices.
Spread mayonnaise on both sides of eggplant rounds and arrange them on cookie sheet.
Sprinkle each slice with some Parmesan cheese and chives.
Bake at 475°F for 15 minutes.

I know the picture is kinda fuzzy but I love the detail.


My dinner last night...the brown stuff is AMAZING tamari-sesame dressing.

Broccoli Mushroom Cheesy Pie

This is totally from scratch.

Ingredients:
1 10oz package of frozen chopped broccoli florets.
5 large mushrooms, chopped
2 packages of Pillsbury crescent rolls
2 cloves of garlic, chopped.
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups of shredded mozzarella

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Thaw out the broccoli and dice up the mushrooms. Make sure to drain broccoli of excess water.
Line the bottom of the pie pan with 1 package of crescent roll dough.
Combine broccoli, garlic, mushrooms a big bowl of the shredded mozzarella.
Stir in the beaten egg.
Place mix inside the pan and cover with other package of crescent rolls dough.
Cook for about 25 minutes or until the crust is lightly brown.






Verdict:
Delicious!! Although too cheesy, even for me! Next time I think I'll cut the cheese down to 2 cups and add 1 cup of ricotta instead.

Grocery Fun

I bought a couple of items at Westerly today that I am would like to mention.

1) GT's Organic Raw Kombucha - I spoke with one of my super awesome veggie friends today and she recommended this drink, but warned me about the weird taste. I am drinking it as I type and well...I love it! The first sip was very weird, the second better and now...yum! I can only describe the flavor as tea with liquefied sour candy. I just wish I saw this around more and that it was a bit cheaper.

2) Lisanatti Almond Garlic and Herb Cheese - Yes, almond cheese. I am still looking for a good alternative to fatty, dairy cheese. I tried this one and, while very mild out of the package, it tasted pretty amazing melted. I got excited until I turned the package around and saw that the product was not vegan. It contains casein. Well, I guess my gradual transition is still just that- gradual.

3) SweetLeaf Stevia - I decided to finally break down and buy a bottle of stevia - which runs like $13 a pop. Stevia is a natural zero-calorie sweetener that is completely plant-based. It is also like 100x sweeter than sugar. The bottle that I bought comes equipped with a dropper. I placed one drop onto my finger and tried it. Wow! It was indeed super sweet. I am going to love playing around with this ingredient. I look forward to using it in smoothies, drinks, and baked goods (once I learn how to control the flavor). If you would like to read up more on stevia, check out this article on WebMD.

Other than that, I picked up a lot of essentials, including Vital Wheat Gluten flour for when I attempt to make seitan later this week. Now, THAT should be an adventure.

LifeThyme Natural Market

Yesterday, I decided to take a walk down to the Lifethyme Natural Market on 6th ave. and 9th street. I heard it was pretty small but I was curious, especially because I saw that they stocked Sheese (vegan cheese), which I have been looking for forevah!

Lifethyme was your typical small, health store with some yummy essentials and an insane stock of Yogi tea. What really stood out about the market was their delicious selection of buffet foods and pre-made goodies. Their bakery treats also looks irresistible and they have a juice bar! I would have loved to dig into one of the above mentioned treats but since I'm watching my calories, I did not.

As far as Sheese goes, they only had the creamy product in stock and while I would have loved to try it, it was around $11 a package (since it's imported from Scotland and all). Also, I don't mind Tofutti cream cheese so I'm really looking for a hard/melty cheese substitute.

Overall, I think I will visit the juice bar at Lifethyme as a weekly treat to myself (after walking down), but for a major healthy grocery shopping adventure, I'll stick with Westerly.