Blood and Guts Stuffed Eggplant aka Imam Bayıldı

For most people, Halloween is synonymous with sugary indulgence. From handfuls of candy to haunted cakes, most people completely abandon their ideas about healthy eating. The very mention of vegetables on this sinfully sweet holiday is almost unheard of.

Spooky sweets shouldn’t get to have all the fun. With a plethora of shapes, textures, and colors, vegetables have wonderful potential to get a Halloween make over as well. This dish will make a wonderfully unexpected addition to any Halloween party spread. Plus the savory vegetables will help balance whatever sweets you are sure to consume as the evening progresses.

These eggplants have garlic to ward off any vampires (if that isn’t your intent for the evening, be sure to grab a stick of gum or some handful junior mints) while the onions make surprisingly convincing guts and the tomatoes give the appearance of blood.

This is a traditional Turkish dish that is perfect for any occasion, spooky intentions aside. It is perfectly salty and spicy and fresh all at once. Add some beans or beef crumbles into the filling and you have a complete meal.

I used fresh basil, thyme, and oregano in this dish because here in sunny California, my herb plants are still thriving, but feel free to substitute dried herbs or use different herbs altogether depending on what you have access to.

Blood and Guts Stuffed Eggplant 

Adapted from The Shiksa in the Kitchen

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

• 5-6 long, purple Chinese or Japanese eggplants (leave the ends in tact, don’t remove the stems)
• 5-6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 12 large, whole cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced latitudinally
• 1 large onion sliced into very thin, half-moon style slices
• 1 Bell Pepper
• 1 spicy pepper (like Fresno Pepper or Anaheim Pepper)
• 2 large tomatoes, finely diced
• 1/2 cup basil leaves, julienned
• 1/3 cup oregano leaves
• 2 tablespoons thyme
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 large tomato, grated (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Peel the eggplants in stripes, leaving about half of the purple skin on the eggplant. Generously salt the exterior of the eggplant to make it less bitter, and set aside for 45 min (don’t worry, you’ll wash it off later).
3. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat in a deep sauté pan. Add onions, garlic, and peppers. Stir frequently to prevent browning. Continue to sauté the vegetables until the onions become transparent. Stir frequently to prevent browning of onions and garlic.
4. After onions are cooked, add the finely diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper  into the sauté pan. Cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the vegetable mixture from heat and allow it to cool.
5. Wash the eggplants, dry. Heat the remaining 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan (preferably nonstick, if not you may need to add more oil), and lightly brown the eggplants on each side for 1-2 minutes. Set the eggplants in a baking dish to cool.
6. Cut an opening slit through the middle of each eggplant, being careful not to cut all the way through the eggplant. Use your fingers to expand the opening slightly, so that there is a little pocket in the middle of the eggplant.
7. Stuff the pockets of the eggplants with the tomato-onion filling, equally divide the filling among the five eggplants. Season with a little more salt and pepper to taste.
8. Top the eggplants with the grated tomato into the baking pan,if desired. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, then make several slits on the foil to let the steam escape while baking.
9. Bake the eggplants for 45 minutes or until the eggplants are soft and fully cooked.

Fell free to dress up your eggplants with any spooky props from the party store. Fake bugs could be a fun added touch!

Homemade Italian Style Vegetable Soup

The sudden arrival of Spring means two things. One, the weather gets warmer so that frolicking outdoors starts to seem more appealing than slaving away in the kitchen.  Two, the farmer’s markets are full of the freshest, cheapest delicious produce. To take full advantage of the best of both situation, I highly suggest that you make this soup!

Now I know that making soup just as it’s finally starting to get warmer out may seem counterintuitive, but I promise, this really is a good idea… This soup is chock full of delicious vegetables to provide you with energy without weighing you down. By making this soup now, you can have it stored away in your freezer for easy, nutritious meals all summer long. My logic is, stock up now so that you don’t have to think about it later!

Homemade broth

This soup makes a veggie-filled accompaniment to any lunch or dinner. Store it in individually-portioned glass jars in your freezer, so that you can take it out the night before and have a delicious, preservative-free soup ready when you want in.

Mishmash of delicious veggies

This is an incredibly flexible soup to which you can add any vegetables, herbs, or spices that you have on hand. Feel free to add beans and pasta to make it more of a traditional Minestrone. Or top the soup with a bit of pesto to give it a French provincial flavor. You can even substitute the basil, oregano, and thyme for some miso paste and siracha sauce to give it a slightly Asian taste.

Delicious and nutritious and ready to go!

Homemade Italian Style Vegetable Soup

Servings: 8

Time: 2 hours

Ingredients

• 4 cups of assorted vegetables in less than pristine condition (onions, carrots, celery, bell peppers, mushrooms, lettuce, leeks, ect)
•  2 bay leaves
• 12 peppercorns
• 3 cloves of garlic, lightly chopped
• 1-2 sprigs of rosemarry or other herbs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1-2 leeks, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced or chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 1 (28-ounce) can of diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups of frozen green beans
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspooon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh or frozen spinach or kale, defrosted

Directions

1. Dump your assorted vegetables, bay leaves, peppercorns, garlic, and herbs into a large stock pot and fill the pot with enough water to just barely cover the vegetables. With the stove on high, bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. In the mean time chop up and prepare all of your vegetables for the soup itself. Use a strainer to remove the vegetables, and then set the remaining vegetable broth aside. Alternatively, if you don’t have the time, you could skip this step altogether and use boxed or frozen vegetable broth.
2. Using the same stock pot as before, lightly saute your celery, onion, leeks, and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add your carrots and zucchini and continue to lightly saute for another 1-2 minutes.
3. Pour in the tomatoes, green beans, basil, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, and broth (from step one).
4. Allow soup to simmer for 30-45 minutes, then add in the spinach or kale, and allow it to cool for an additional 10 minutes.
5. Ladle into bowls and serve (or freeze). Enjoy!

Happy Earth Day and Detoxifying Greens Soup

Happy Earth Day everyone! It seems like in today’s technological world that people have created remedies for everything, even that don’t need cures. Say for example, vitamins. Few people actually need to rely on man-made vitamins, if they simply eat a well-balanced diet with plenty of nutrient-rich fruits and veggies. Today people have come to rely on vitamin-enriched gummies and cookies for their daily dose of nutrients instead of focusing on the real issue of how to incorporate naturally nutrient-rich foods into their diets.

Caramelizing onions and mushrooms

Greens in the process of wilting

Just one cup of kale fulfills the daily Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin K requirements while also providing calcium, iron, protein, fiber, potassium, and many other important,naturally-occuring nutrients. The greek yogurt, lemon juice, mushrooms, broccoli, onions, garlic, and peppers in this soup further enhance its nutritional power.

Non-blended soup

Blended soup

So if you’ve had too much easter candy or indulged in too many baked goods lately, this is the perfect way to get your body back on track the natural way. Of course it’s still fine to take a daily multi vitamin, but try to begin getting most of your nutrients from whole foods rather than man-made compounds. This not only ensures that you get the most out of your meals, but it also is less invasive and wasteful of the planet’s miraculously nutritious foods.

Ready to serve

As a warning, this soup is not for the faint of heart. My mom and Goose looked at it, and could not believe that I was actually enjoying this green concoction. It’s made almost entirely of vegetables, and as a result it looks and tastes like vegetables. I think it’s delicious and comforting. This soup is a delicious combination of bitter, spicy, and tangy tastes.

Detoxifying Greens Soup

Adapted from Stetted

serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 3 medium yellow onions, sliced
• 2 cups sliced button mushrooms
• 
4 cups vegetable broth
• 4 bunches assorted greens(mustard, komatsuna, mizuna, beet greens, kale, or chard
), chopped
• 1 cup broccoli, broken into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 
1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt

Directions

1. In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the garlic, onions, and mushrooms.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until onions take on a nice brown color, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes.
3. Add the vegetable broth and increase heat to just bubbling, then add the greens and the broccoli to the soup.
4. Reduce heat to medium and cover the soup. Allow it to cook until the greens have wilted, about 10-15 minutes.
5. Puree soup in a stand blender or with an immersion blender, and return it to heat.
6. Stir in paprika, cayenne, and lemon juice, then season with salt and pepper.
7. Just before serving, add a swirl of yogurt into individual bowls.