Recipe alert: Leek, eggplant and tomato roast

Today's leek, eggplant and tomato roast falls into the happy-accident recipe category. A good friend was coming over for lunch on the weekend, and I had a leek and some Campari tomatoes to use up, not to mention a skinny Japanese eggplant and a plump orphan garlic clove.  Tada! Necessity gave birth to this pleasant culinary invention.

It takes all of 10 minutes from fridge to oven, another 35 minutes of roasting, and then you're away to the races. Read on to find out how to make this irresistibly easy dish.

Leek, eggplant and tomato roast

 Ingredients:

• 8-10 Campari tomates, halved
• 1 leek, minus dried out or damaged leaves, sliced in 1/2" rounds
• 1 smallish Japanese eggplant

• 1-2+ cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp+ herbes de Provence  
• salt and pepper, to taste

 Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400F and set a rack in the centre.
2. Line baking pan with parchment paper.
3. Wash and chop vegetables.
4. Mince garlic.
5. Toss vegetables in balsamic vinegar and olive oil, then add minced garlic, herbes de Provence, salt and pepper.
6. Once vegetables are evenly covered, pour onto the baking pan. (And modify suggested amounts of balsamic and olive oil as needed. I added both liquids by guess and by gosh, and these are my best estimates.)
7. For best results, set the tomatoes cut-side down on the parchment paper. They will cook best this way. There's no need to do this for the leek or eggplant rounds.
8. Pop pan into preheated oven. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or as long as it takes for vegetables to turn into mouth-watering medley.
9. Serve as hot side to a main dish -- say leek and spinach frittata, for instance.:) You'll like the way the sweet, savoury and smoky flavours mingle.

 Tell me how it goes!

Recipe alert: Leek and spinach frittata

I've missed blogging away for you over the past 2 weeks. Between beautiful, sunny days, a month of free Netflix, shopping for (pretty) curtains, proofing a friend's job application and serving as a main course for a swarm of woman-eating black flies whose bites I mistook for the work of bed bugs, life has been on the full side. Thank God for good friends, kind parents, a nice boss, and yoga!

You'll be glad to hear that I haven't neglected cooking, though, and that I've invented two splendid, simple recipes for you to try: a leek and spinach frittata garnished with slices of Campari tomatoes, and a side dish of roasted veggies using the leftover leeks and Camparis, plus a Japanese eggplant.

Tonight, I have just enough time to divulge the secret of the toothsome...

Leek and Spinach Frittata

Ingredients:

• ghee or butter and coconut oil
• 2 c baby spinach leaves, washed and chopped
• 1 leek, chopped in 1/4" rounds (use the deep-green leaves, too, but cut away any that are tough or dry)
• 15 egg whites (or 1 x 500g container of egg whites or 7.5 eggs)
• 1/4 c Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp thyme
• pinch of nutmeg
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2-3 Campari tomatoes, sliced in rounds

Yellow tulips sunnified my late-April weekend

Preparation:

1. Rinse the leeks and spinach separately. Get rid of as much sand or dirt as you can.
2. Chop the leeks and spinach.
3. Preheat oven to 400F. Make sure one of the racks is in the middle.
4. Put a 9.5" oven-friendly frying pan on medium.
5. Once it heats up -- not before -- add enough ghee to cover the bottom of the pan. (Ghee gives the frittata a deeper flavour and a nice density.)
6. Pour in the chopped leeks. Saute them until they get soft, but not flaccid.
7. Add the spinach. Saute it until it wilts and the leek rounds are quite soft and almost falling apart.
8. Scrape the leek and spinach mixture out of the frying pan into a separate container.
9. Wash frying pan and grease inside with coconut oil.
10. Pour egg whites into a bowl. Whisk them a little: you don't need to do much.
11. Add Parmesan cheese, herbes de Provence, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
12. Add leek and spinach mixture.
13. Quickly stir everything together.
14. Pour mixture into greased frying pan.
15. Decorate with rounds of Campari tomatoes. If you feel so moved, mill some pepper over the top.
16. Set frying pan on middle rack in preheated oven.
17. Set timer for ca. 25 minutes. It make take longer for your frittata to cook. You'll know it's ready when the edges are golden and your egg pie swells up in the centre.
18. Let it cool, then cut it in wedges.
19. Pair with a side of roasted leeks, tomates and eggplant, and congratulate yourself on a job well done.

Next up: simple and succulent roasted veggies... Stay tuned!

Recipe alert: Easy cauliflower tabouleh

In the past, I haven't been a big fan of cauliflower. This was especially true in 2014, when it was
dubbed health food of the year, and the price tag on the hitherto humble veg soared.

But I'm revising my prejudices in 2015. Yes, the friendly cauli is quite messy, and it develops brown spots if left to its own devices for more than a day or two, but it's got lots of health benefits to make up for these deficits. Most importantly, prepared with care, it can taste pretty darn good.

You really should try this quick and easy cauliflower tabbouleh. I'm certain you'll like it. It would be especially refreshing on a hot day -- not the middle of January, which is the time I've picked to share it with you. Try garnishing it with avocado and serving it with steamed green beans or roasted asparagus and a nice salmon steak. You could also throw in some diced coloured bell peppers to give it more colour.

N.B. If you're like me, you may find the powdered garlic a bit much. In this case, try substituting finely minced fresh garlic.

Recipe alert: Baked eggs with kale

Looking for an easy and delicious egg dish for breakfast or brunch? Check out Patty Javier Gomez's baked eggs. The preparation and ingredients are simple, and the result is heaven in a ramekin.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
2 stalks kale
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tbsp. coconut oil
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 jalapeno, chopped
4-5 olives, pitted and diced
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Sautee onion, kale in coconut oil.
2. When onions are soft, add apple cider vinegar.
3. Add spices and sautee for 3-5 minutes more.
4. Scoop out mixture and put into small ramekins.
5. Add diced olives and jalapenos.
6. Crack an egg over mixture.
7. Bake at 400F for 10-15 min. or until egg is cooked.
8. Serve with a side of sauerkraut and avocado for a delicious breakfast/brunch!

Recipe alert: Braised cabbage with beet and apple

And no, I'm afraid this post isn't about borscht.:)

Last night, I had a dinner party. It was great fun: my parents brought a beautiful, fresh green salad -- complete with crisp escarole lettuce from Santa Barbara Market -- and my mom's matchless home-made French dressing. My good friends Daniel and Lizzie brought a lovely, light Merlot from their most recent batch, courtesy of Neighbourhood Winemakers on Davie St.

My guests were nice enough to rate me well in the delicious and nutritious departments yesterday night, and ask me to share my braised cabbage recipe. Here, both for the cabbage converts and the veggie skeptics among you, is a new sweet-savoury contender...

Braised cabbage
a.k.a. delicious, low-GI, mostly veggie side
Serves: 5+
Inspiration: Fresh Juice's fall recipe for honey-mustard roast pork tenderloin with braised cabbage

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil (I used extra-virgin coconut oil because I felt I had to try my newest oleic acquisition:))
1 red onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
1 apple of any variety you choose, except Granny Smith (too tart), peeled and thinly sliced
1 beet, peeled, halved and julienned
1/2 red cabbage, halved again and thinly sliced
2 tsp apple cider or red-wine vinegar
1-2 T maple syrup
1 C water
1 T miso paste, mild
salt, pepper, fennel seeds, caraway seeds and dill, to taste
sprinkling of whole peppercorns (optional)

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in Dutch oven, large pot or saucepan.
2. Add onion, apple and beet slices. Cook, stirring, until the onion softens (5 to 10 mins).
3. Stir in remaining ingredients.
4. Put lid on pot or saucepan.
5. Bring mixture to boil.
6. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until all ingredients are tender (20 mins to a half-hour.)
7. Taste and alter seasoning as your taste buds and creativity suggest.
8. Guten appetit!

Recipe alert: Curried pumpkin seeds

And since we're all in agreement on how great pumpkin seeds are, I thought I'd share a recipe with you, courtesy of my foodie friend Catherine, who found it in Patricia Well's book, Salad as a Meal - Healthy Main-Dish Salads for Every Season. It's easy and delish. Give it a try!

Ingredients:

2 cups hulled* pumpkin or squash seeds

1 T curry powder or gomasio

2 T tamari or Japanese soy sauce

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl combine everything and toss to coat evenly.
3. Spread seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet.
4. Place in oven and roast, shaking the pan from time to time until seeds change colour to toasty brown and begin to puff up and pop (8-12 mins).
5. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

How the heck do you hull pumpkin seeds? The answer is right here.