Recipes, Recipes!

My laptop has kind of been on the fritz lately and it's really hard to update from my phone (half the time it won't post and I can't upload pics), but I'm back! And I have a couple recipes to share.

Mashed Cauliflower
Do you love mashed potatoes, but hate all the sugar, carbs, and empty calories? Mashed cauliflower is the answer for you...and it's SO easy to make!

Ingredients:
-one large head of cauliflower
-free range, organic chicken broth
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-2 cloves garlic

Method:
-remove all stems and leaves from cauliflower and cut into florets.
-bring to a boil in a medium saucepan with one cup (or so, depending on size of cauliflower) of chicken broth.
-add two garlic cloves and 1/4 tsp black pepper
-after it is boiling, cover and turn on medium heat for 15-20 minutes
-then drain broth, put cauliflower into food processor and blend until creamy adding drained chicken broth slowly if necessary (shouldn't be).


Baingan Bharta
This vegetarian Indian food staple is delicious all on it's own or used as a topping over protein. I love making a big batch of it and using it on different foods over the course of a week--it's great on chicken, light white fish, or over rice.

Ingredients:
-1 large eggplant
-2 T olive oil
-1 yellow onion
-1 jalapeno pepper
-1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
-1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
-2 tsp garam masala
-1 tsp cumin seeds (not ground cumin)
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp turmeric

Method:
Preheat oven to 400. Slice eggplant lengthwise and sprinkle salt on the fleshy side. Rub both sides with olive oil and roast, skin side up for 25-30 minutes until tender. When the timer goes off, switch oven to broil and roast another five minutes until caramelized and golden.

While the eggplant is roasting, chop your onion, jalapeno (USE GLOVES!!) and ginger. Heat up the canola oil in a large skillet and add the onion. Saute for five minutes until tender then add jalapeno and ginger and saute another five minutes. Add spices and stir well.

When the eggplant halves have cooled enough, scoop out the flesh into a bowl and remove as many seeds as you can but don’t stress out over it. Then, add the eggplant and diced tomatoes to the onion mixture and stir together. Cook for five minutes.

Carefully ladle mixture into blender or food processor and process until smooth.