Catching up - Eggplant day!

 I was just reminded by an old friend that there was a reason I started this blog.  While I am not subscribed to a CSA this summer, I am making regular trips to the farmers market and my garden is starting to produce.  So, today I have been cooking with eggplant all day.  So, first, here are some pictures of my garden this year;

I have a LOT of basil, but I truly believe you can never have enough basil!  

Today I picked my second Rosa Bianca Eggplant.  I turned the first one into eggplant pizza, but today I decided to make a lasagna.  Who knew a softball sized lasagna would make such a large lasagna!

Eggplant Lasagna

1 small Rosa Bianca (or globe) eggplant

salt

1 lb ground turkey

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 small sweet onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

24 oz. spaghetti sauce (I used Classico roasted garlic sauce this time)

8 basil leaves, chiffonaded

16 oz whole milk ricotta

1 large egg

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups Mozzarella, shredded

Instructions:

1. Slice the eggplant lengthwise into 1/8 inch slices.  Lay slices on double layers of paper towels.  Sprinkle with salt and allow to sit for 20 minutes until.  This is to remove the moisture from the eggplant.  Using another double layer of paper towels, sop up the moisture that results and brush excess salt off slices.  Set aside.

2. In a large skillet over med-high heat, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil.  Cook the onions over med-high heat until they start to become translucent.  Add ground turkey and cook until no longer pink.  Add garlic and cook and stir for about a minute more.  Drain this mixture.  

3. In a prepared casserole dish,, pour in about 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce. Pour remaining sauce into meat mixture and mix well.  Cook for about 2 minutes and then add basil and mix well.  Cook for about 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

4. Meanwhile, stir together ricotta, egg, and parmesan cheese until well mixed. 

5. To assemble, place about 6 slices of eggplant into casserole over sauce.  Spoon about half of the ricotta mixture over eggplant and spread evenly.  Spoon 1/3 of sauce over ricotta and sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella.  Repeat those layers once.  Then layer on remaining slices of eggplant and sauce and top with the remaining mozzarella.  Cover and bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is browned.

Note: The eggplant was a bit al dente in this initial run.  I would suggest cooking the slices for a short while before layering them in the casserole.  Or you could increase the covered cooking time to 40 minutes.

Brussels Gratin

I hate when the farmers market starts reminding me that summer is almost over (in reality).  While at the farmers market this weekend, I found some brussels sprouts, but they are starting to get bigger than I prefer.  I chose a pint that had smaller heads, but there were a few that were quite a bit bigger than I usually settle for.  But today, I decided I had better cook them because they are older and probably won't keep as long.  As I usually do, I got on Pinterest to get some ideas and saw recipes for Brussels sprouts gratin.  After reading a few of them, I decide to try my hand at coming up with a recipe since I had about 1/3 the amount of sprouts that any of the recipes called for.  I figured if I could make a proper sauce, it would be okay because I also had some small baking dishes that I could split them into.  But you can use a bigger baking pan and it will work just as well.  Here's what I did:

Brussels Sprouts Gratin

• 2/3 pound fresh Brussels sprouts*
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 cups Swiss cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 350F.

Wash Brussels sprouts; dry.  Cut bases of sprouts and remove the loose outer leaves.  Cut in half or in quarters (depending on size).  Place in a microwave safe bowl with 1/4 cup water.  Cook on HIGH for 7 minutes, or until sprouts are just beginning to cook.  Drain and set aside.

In a skillet, melt butter.  Add flour and whisk, cooking for about 2 minutes.  Slowly add milk, whisking the whole time to prevent lumps.  Cook until thickened, about 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper and add 1 cup cheese, stirring until cheese is melted.

Place sprouts into a prepared baking dish.  Spoon sauce over the sprouts.  Then sprinkle with remaining cheese and Panko bread crumbs.  Dot with butter.  Bake, covered, for 20 minutes, until sauce begins to bubble.  Remove cover, change oven to broiler, broil for about 5 minutes or until bread crumbs are golden brown.

*Farmers market ingredients

What to do with squash

This month, I have received 2 turban squash, 1 acorn squash and 2 butternut squash in my CSA packages.  For me, that is a lot of squash.  In the past, I might have bought 4 squashes a WINTER!  So, the question then becomes; "what do you do with all that squash?"  Last night, I started to address that with a very simple recipe using ingredients I had in my pantry.

Easy Stuffed Squash

Makes 6 servings

3 medium winter squashes (acorn, turban, buttercup)
1/2 pkg onion & sage stuffing mix
1 cup fat-free chicken broth

Prepare a 13"X9"X2" baking pan with cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 400F.  Cut squashes in half and remove seeds.  Place squash halves in pan cut side up.  In a medium bowl, combine stuffing mix and broth.  Allow stuffing mix to absorb the broth.  Spoon into cut squash halves.  Cover loosely with foil and bake for 1 hr 10 min or until squash is cooked.  Squash is cooked with a fork easily pierces the flesh.  Makes 6 servings.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 4/squash half

I have to say that there is just something about the contrast of the sweet squash and savory stuffing that makes this so good!  This recipe could be dressed up by adding sausage and/or chopped apples, dates or raisins to the mix. 

I had good news last night:  I received a new investigator award from the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation.  So, I will be in Cleveland for another 2 1/2 years at least.  So, this will give me more time to enjoy this wonderful CSA program that I have joined.