Meatless Mondays : Eggplant with Buttermilk Sauce

All the sweets, carbs and booze of the holiday season have left me feeling weighed down, in more ways than one. Yes, my jeans are fitting a bit tighter than I'd like (eek!) but I just feel sluggish overall, like I need to hit the reset button on my body—and my habits. But it's near impossible to resist the urge to pour another glass of wine, or reach for cookies, candy, chocolate, all of the above, when you've been giving into that urge for weeks now, all in the name of celebration.

That's why the hubs and I have decided to focus, once again, on eating more healthfully, like we were before our wedding last May. Post-wedding, circumstances practically pushed us into poor eating habits: We honeymooned (lots of dining out). We made a big move, and had to drive across the country to get there (hello, fast food). We wanted to explore our new city (and one of our favorite pastimes is visiting new restaurants). And then we were a little lonely (cue emotional eating). Yep, we gave ourselves plenty of reasons to eat, drink and be merry. The holidays were literal icing on the cake—not to mention a more socially acceptable excuse to indulge.

Starting a new diet or exercise plan and losing weight is a top New Year's resolution for many, so G and I are in good company. But, to be successful, you have to be reasonable with yourself. Going to extremes might get fast results but it is not sustainable long term. Healthy living is a lifestyle so, as with anything, you've gotta cut yourself a little slack to keep from going insane. To that end, we're planning to cut back on eating out, to enjoy wine and cocktails in moderation just three days a week, to get our butts into the gym and ... to eat more vegetables. Which leads me to today's post.

I'm sure you've heard of "Meatless Mondays"—there's a whole website dedicated to it!—but when I proposed the idea to my hubby, he gave me a look and a smirk. "I'm not making it up," I exclaimed with a laugh. "It's a thing." I told him it would be good for us to commit one day a week to eating just fruits, veggies and whole grains. We're not big meat eaters, it's mostly fish and chicken in our house, but nevertheless. More veggies is always a good thing. To inspire our cooking, I picked up what is veritably one of the best all-veg cookbooks on the market: "Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi."

Tonight, our first Meatless Monday, we will be making the dish that so beautifully graces the cover of Yotam Ottolenghi's critically-acclaimed vegetarian-friendly tome: Eggplant with Buttermilk Sauce. We stopped by St. Pete's Saturday Morning Market this weekend and picked up two gorgeous eggplants for the occasion. While I have no idea how it will all turn out, the recipe looks and sounds mighty delicious, so I'd love to invite you to cook along with us! I'll post our results on Instagram.

Eggplant with Buttermilk Sauce

Recipe from "Plenty" by Yotam Ottolenghi

Serves 4 as a starter or side, or as a light meal when accompanied by crusty white bread or pita

Ingredients

2 large and long eggplants

1/3 cup olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoon lemon thyme leaves, plus a few whole sprigs to garnish

Maldon sea salt and black pepper

1 pomegranate (handy how-to video on getting the seeds out)

1 teaspoon za'atar (if you can't find this Middle Eastern spice blend, you can make it at home, traditionally with thyme or untraditionally with oregano; the trick then is finding sumac)

Sauce

9 tablespoons buttermilk (you can also make this yourself, with milk and lemon/vinegar!)

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a drizzle to finish

1 small garlic clove, crushed

Pinch of salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, cutting straight through the green stalk (the stalk is for the look; don't eat it). Using a small sharp knife, make three or four parallel incisions in the cut side of each eggplant half, without cutting through to the skin. Repeat at a 45-degree angle to get a diamond-shaped (or crosshatch) pattern.

Place the eggplant halves, cut-side up, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush them with olive oil—keep on brushing until all of the oil has been absorbed by the flesh. Sprinkle with the lemon thyme leaves and some salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, at which point the flesh should be soft, flavorful and nicely browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

While the eggplants are in the oven, seed the pomegranate. (You can use the cut-and-whack method, using a wooden spoon to beat the seeds out of a halved pomegranate, or you can use the cut-then-pull-apart-while-submerged method, shown in this tutorial, which promises less mess.) Once you have all the seeds removed, sift through to remove any bits of white skin or membrane.

To make the sauce, whisk together all of the ingredients. Taste for seasoning, then keep cold until needed.

To serve: Spoon plenty of buttermilk sauce over the eggplant halves without covering the stalks. Sprinkle za'atar and plenty of pomegranate seeds on top and garnish with lemon thyme. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

As always, if you give this recipe a try I'd love to hear your thoughts. Fingers crossed we can find za'atar, or at least sumac, at the store this afternoon. If you have any favorite vegetarian recipes, please share—we need all the Meatless Monday inspiration we can get!

(Top photo taken by me at the Saturday Morning Market, 

Plenty book image via Chronicle Books)

Last Night's Dinner : Southwestern Salad with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

In an act of redemption following the large slices of super spicy sausage and pepperoni pizza the hubby and I consumed while watching football on Sunday, I decided to put together a yummy salad brimming with colorful vegetables for dinner last night. And since it got the seal of approval from the GT (and myself!), I thought I'd share the "recipe."

It's a "recipe" because, like I usually do, I just winged it last night. Throwing together a salad isn't an exact science. The dressing, well, that's a little more so. But science was never my best subject so when I make a vinaigrette it's a lot of guesswork, eyeballing, tasting and adjusting. That's the fun! I love whisking something together, giving it a try, bringing a spoon over to my husband to get his opinion, and then adding a little more of this or that to make it perfect.

Nevertheless, I realize that isn't so helpful to anyone trying to recreate the dish, so I've done my best to formulate an actual recipe. But I'll still encourage you: Have fun! Play with your food! Make it your own! It will taste that much better.

Southwestern Salad with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

Prep time: 15 minutes

Makes 2 generous servings

INGREDIENTS

For the salad:

Romaine lettuce, chopped into chunks (I used a pre-washed package to make life easy)

2 cups grape tomatoes (red and yellow), sliced in half

1 ear of corn, husk and silky threads removed, kernels cut off the cob; reserve cob for vinaigrette

Half a can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup of red quinoa, cooked according to package directions

1/4 cup of pepitas (mine were roasted and salted)

1 avocado

For the vinaigrette:

Handful cilantro, leaves picked from stems and finely minced

Juice of half of a large lime

Sherry vinegar (can sub red wine vinegar, or even balsamic vinegar if necessary)

Extra virgin olive oil

Honey

Sriracha (or your favorite hot sauce)

Corn cob milk

Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

While quinoa cooks, prep the vegetables. Once the quinoa is ready, assemble the salad ingredients. Place romaine in a large bowl and lay tomatoes, corn, beans, pepitas and quinoa over the top, in rows or a pinwheel design. Finish with slices (or chunks, if you prefer) of avocado.

To make the vinaigrette, in a small bowl, whisk together about 1 tablespoon of vinegar and the juice of half a lime with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add 1-2 teaspoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of Sriracha and the "milk" from the reserved corn cob. (Using the back of a knife, scrape the corn cob to release the corn milk. It is best to do this over the bowl in which you are preparing the vinaigrette.) Whisk to combine, then add cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. 

Try the vinaigrette; it should be tangy, slightly sweet from the honey and the corn milk, with a hint of spice from the Sriracha. Adjust seasonings if necessary to balance the flavors. Add more olive oil or honey if it is too bitter, add more hot sauce if you would like more heat, etc. Don't underestimate the power of salt—a good pinch can bring out all the flavors in the dressing!

Once you have perfected the vinaigrette to your tastes, dress the salad, toss and serve immediately.

The reason I love this salad is that, even though it is admirably healthy with fresh veggies, good fats and a light vinaigrette, it is also extremely filling thanks to the beans and quinoa, which coats the romaine once mixed. The creamy avocado and satisfyingly crunchy pepitas upped the yum-factor. You definitely don't feel like you are sacrificing flavor for fewer calories, and you can have a large helping guilt-free. On top of that, it is quick and easy to prepare. And no need to turn on the oven—perfect for those warm, Indian summer evenings.

If you decide to try out this recipe, I'd love to hear how you like it—and how you made it your own! Roast the corn? Red beans instead of black? Baby greens mixed with romaine? Toss in grilled chicken? A sprinkle of shredded cheese? The options are truly endless. Happy cooking :)

Fruity Fix : Simple Smoothies

[The makings of a good morning: blooming buds (thanks to the hubs) and a berry-licious smoothie.]

I've been on a smoothie kick lately. I know blending fruit isn't groundbreaking, but I guess I forgot how good a smoothie can be. It's quick, it's easy. The worst part is cleaning up! (I'm not a fan of cleaning, if you couldn't tell.)

Anyway, I got over my dislike for cleaning the blender and concocted two delicious smoothies this week: A very berry banana smoothie. A classic, I'd say. And then a peach mango smoothie that was like sunshine in a glass. Seriously. Sunshine.

I make my smoothies like I make my meals. No measuring; just wing it. A handful or two of fruit, a splash of milk, one more scoop of yogurt... For me, the crafting is half the fun. Blend, taste, add, blend some more... Until it's just right.

For the berry banana smoothie, I used frozen mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries and blackberries), a frozen small banana (cut into chunks), plain Greek non-fat yogurt, unsweetened almond milk and a little bit of mango "fruit smoothie" juice. I used restraint when dumping in the berries because I really wanted the banana flavor to shine through. I love banana.

For the peach mango version, I used frozen sliced peaches, a generous scoop of mango sorbet, plain Greek non-fat yogurt and unsweetened almond milk. I also added a little of that mango smoothie juice to help thin out the mixture, which was very thick thanks to the sorbet, while keeping that mango flavor.

The peachy mango smoothie was so rich and thick and creamy that it felt a little criminal, like I was having an ice cream shake! Granted, there was a spoonful of sorbet in there but overall it was a sweet afternoon treat that I could feel good, not guilty, about.

Do you enjoy making smoothies? What's your favorite concoction?

I, for one, can't wait to use the leftover raspberry sorbet in our freezer to blend up something amazing.

No-Guilt Brownie Muffins

I was watching the Food Network the other day (one of my favorite pastimes), and an episode of Hungry Girl came on, with a focus on healthy swaps for common (fattening) snacks. One recipe seemed too easy to pass up: Lisa’s Yum Yum Brownie Muffins.

So I decided to give the two-ingredient recipe a whirl this past weekend. All you need is a box of devil’s food cake mix (chocolate cake mix will work, too) and a can of 100 percent pure pumpkin (be sure not to grab pumpkin pie filling!).

I followed the Hungry Girl recipe for the most part. I couldn’t find devil’s food cake mix (I was at Target, so my options were limited). At first I grabbed a box of Duncan Hines Classic Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix, but a look at the ingredients list changed my mind. The whole point of the recipe is to be healthy, and the list was long, hard to pronounce and a bit stomach-turning. (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil? Polyglycerol Esters Of Fatty Acids? No thank you.)

I quickly traded up to a box of Immaculate Chocolate Cake Mix. The all-natural mix is a couple bucks more but totally worth it. The ingredients are few and simple—exactly what you would use if making a cake from scratch.

To assemble, you just stir together the cake mix and pumpkin puree, which takes the place of added oil or eggs (and even butter or shortening with my cake mix). Because the batter is so thick and can be difficult to stir, I deviated from the recipe directions slightly by slowly incorporating the cake mix into the pumpkin in four batches. That made it much easier to stir, and much easier on my arm!

Once the batter was completely smooth, I deviated again and added a couple handfuls of chopped walnuts (I like a little crunch in my brownies, and my muffins, and nuts offer some healthy fat). I then scooped the sticky batter into a muffin pan lined with colorful baking cups (an ice cream scoop would be great for this job, but two spoons worked just fine!) and baked it in a 400-degree oven for 20 minutes.

The finished brownie muffin was crisp on top—just how you want a muffin to be—and fudgy inside—like a perfect brownie. The husband loved them and I felt good knowing I could eat one (or two) guilt-free.

These would probably be divine served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream... But I settled for a cup of hazelnut coffee with a touch of cream instead.

Have you tried any healthy-yet-delicious dessert recipes lately? Do share!