Eggplant with thai basil, garlic and fried tofu

This is the first year I've grown eggplant.  It's generally not a plant I get excited to eat, although the fruit and flowers are so beautiful and I have a strong affinity for purple vegetables.  So when I saw the Baker Creek description for Chinese string eggplant as the best-tasting they're grown, it sounded like the perfect opportunity to give eggplant a shot in my garden.  I only got one plant to take up roots but one was enough: it's been quite prolific and produces plenty for the two of us to eat eggplant once a week.  It grows right next to the Thai basil.

peanut oil
1/2 lb tofu, extra firm, blotted dry, cut in 3/4 inch cubes
1/3 yellow onion, sliced
10 Chinese string eggplants (about 1 1/4 lbs) , sliced in 1 in diagonal pieces
4 large cloves garlic, minced
large handful of Thai basil leaves
3 T rice vinegar or lime juice
1/4 c nama shoyu or soy sauce
3 T brown sugar
sriracha to taste, optional

In a large sauce pan, heat 1/8 inch of oil on high.  Cook tofu on 2 sides until golden brown.  Remove from oil and let drain.

Pour out most of the oil but leave some in the pan.  On high heat, stir fry onion until they start to soften.  Add eggplant and stir fry until mostly soft.  Add garlic and basil, stirring until basil is wilted.  Add the rest of ingredients and allow to steam and reduce until sauce thickens, softening the eggplant.  Stir in the fried tofu and serve over brown rice.

Serves 2-3

Shakshuka Verdes

I've got plethora of purple tomatillos in my garden this year, which I generally turn into roasted salsa verde, which I them turn into enchiladas mostly.  But between the tomatillos and the abundance of poblanos, I got inspired:

1/2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
sunflower oil
sea salt
1 medium zucchini, quartered, sliced thin
2 large cloves garlic, minced
6 poblanos, roasted, peeled and seeded, julienned
2 cups tomatillo sauce
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
6 eggs
3 oz jack cheese, grated

In a large pan, saute the onion with a bit of oil and salt until soft. Then add zucchini and when it begins to soften, add the garlic and saute a couple more minutes.  Stir in the poblanos and sauce, bring it to a simmer and allow to thicken a bit.  Stir in the cilantro.  Create a well for each egg, top with cheese and cook to desired doneness (I like my yolks soft but chewy, not runny) with the lid on.

Serve with sour cream or avocado with roasted potatoes, or corn or flour tortillas.

Mulberry Lemon Coffee Cake

My spouse is the baker so this is his recipe.  This is his favorite breakfast during mulberry season.

For the topping, into food processor:

2/3 cup whole wheat flour (or spelt or flour of your choice)
2/3 cup pecans (or nut of your choice)
1/2 brown sugar (or sugar of your choice)
5 tablespoons melted butter or oil of your choice (walnut would be nice)
pinch sea salt
zest of 2 lemons

Pulse until a course meal texture and set aside.

For the cake, in a separate bowl, mix:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup quinoa flour
1/3 cup oat flour
1/3 spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of sea salt

And set aside

In a separate measuring cup, mix:

juice of 1 lemon
add buttermilk to 1 1/4 cups
1 teaspoon vanilla

And set aside.

In a bowl to a stand-up mixer, cream:

4 tablespoons butter or oil of your choice
1/2 cup evaporated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
zest of 2 lemons

Add 2 eggs to mixer, (incorporate 1 at a time).

Alternately mix in a third of the flour mix, then a third of liquid, repeating until all incorporated.

Spread mixture into a buttered 9x13 pan. Sprinkle on top 4 cups of fresh mulberries. Then sprinkle on the crumbly topping.  Bake at 350 degrees 40-60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean of cake (but you'll still see berries on the toothpick).

Light Vegetable Soup

I'm doing a short fast to rest my intestines.  I fasted yesterday (just water) and today I'm keeping my calories very low and drinking veg/fruit juice with little to no fiber, fat, and protein.  Tomorrow I'll add more calories and fiber, keeping my fat and protein low, with a fruit and greens smoothie for breakfast and this soup for lunch and probably dinner.  After that, I'll start to add in grains (maybe oatmeal for breakfast and a mushroom and wild rice soup for lunch), then add a bit more protein (maybe a lentil soup), then a bit more fat (adding nuts and seeds), progressing until I reach my normal diet, as long as my intestines seem to handle each day healthily. 

½ tblsp olive oil
½ cup yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup carrot, diced or julienned or thin sliced quarters
½ cup celery, diced
½ cup zucchini, chopped or sliced
1 cup tomato, diced (fresh or canned) with juice
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup fresh greens, packed, rough chop
a handful of Italian parsley leaves, fresh, chopped
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil in a pan on medium heat until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes, stirring (do not brown). Add the carrot and celery and cook until they begin to soften, about another 3 minutes. Add zucchini and cook until it begins to soften, another couple minutes.

Add the tomato and broth and simmer briefly. Stir in spinach and parsley and season to taste.

3 servings

Growing my own Kitchen Sponges

As I've endeavored towards creating zero waste, one of my issues was finding a decent, sustainable implement for cleaning dishes.

As a kid, my family had a dishwasher, which seemed to me worthless, since I had to clean the dishes before loading them.  Consequently, as an adult, I've never owned a dishwasher and have always hand washed my dishes.  I've learned to do this while using a minimal amount of water, so as not to waste this precious resource.  And now that I own my home, I've plumbed my kitchen sink water to drain into mulch basins that water fruit trees, herbs and native plants in my front yard.  I use soap especially made for grey water that breaks down into plant food; not only does it not harm the soil, it benefits the earth.

But for many years I struggled with the kitchen sponge.  Even the more natural options are still highly processed and packaged and disposable.  I tried numerous clothes, wooden scrub brushes and the like and found them unsatisfactory.  Ultimately, I hit upon the idea of loofah, typically used in the shower, but why had it never occurred to me to use it in the kitchen?

I found them offered by a small citrus farmer at the Hillcrest farmers market.  I bought all he had; four desiccated husks.  I think I paid a dollar a piece for them.  They were a total pain-in-the-ass to peel; it took forever.  I cut them up in four-inch sections and they worked beautifully!  Perfect texture for scrubbing without damaging my enameled pots.  Food bits easily rinsed away.  Each section lasted months and then they go into the compost!

And I saved the seeds!  It took me a couple years to get them to grow (and the loofahs I bought almost lasted me that long).  Now I've grown my own kitchen sponges!

And they are much easier to peel before they've completely dried out!