Baked Ratatouille Salad with Feta

Inspired by Bon Appetit, August 2000

Ingredients:

1 12-14 ounce eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch-thick rounds

1 large tomato, diced into large chunks

1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise

1 red bell pepper, cut lengthwise into 6 strips

1 medium onion, cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves of garlic

2 to 3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

2/3 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese

2 tablespoons slivered fresh basil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Mix eggplant, tomatoes, red bell pepper and onion in a bowl. Add olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat all vegetables with oil. Place oil-coated vegetables on baking sheet.

3. Bake for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, remove baking sheet from oven and flip as many vegetables as possible. Then, return baking sheet to oven for 12 additional minutes.

4. Allow vegetables to cool for 5 minutes, then place in large bowl.

5. Drizzle vegetables with vinegar. Sprinkle with cheese and basil. Serve.

Variation: Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Place eggplant, zucchini, red bell pepper and onion on baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; turn to coat. Grill vegetables until tender and tinged with brown, turning frequently, about 6 minutes for eggplant and zucchini and about 10 minutes for red bell pepper and onion.

Divide vegetables between 2 plates; drizzle with vinegar. Sprinkle cheese and basil over and serve.

Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes

I have always enjoyed sweet potatoes, but I believe that it was this recipe that started me on my sweet potato craze several years back.

By Alton Brown

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 whole canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped*

1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can of peppers

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Put cubed potatoes into steamer basket and place steamer into a large pot of simmering water that is no closer than two inches from the bottom of the steamer basket. Allow to steam for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.

2. Add butter to the potatoes and mash with a potato masher. Add peppers, sauce, and salt and continue mashing to combine. Serve immediately.

*Tip: I can never eat an entire can of adobo peppers before they go bad without freezing them. Use what you need for this recipe, put the rest in a freezer bag and freeze until next time!

Three-Bean Cumin Salad

From Gourmet, March 2007

I really haven't altered this recipe other than by decreasing the amount of olive oil used, but I'd like to share it because I love it. It's a great potluck dish that can easily be made the night before.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups frozen shelled edamame (8 ounces)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 cups thinly sliced celery
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Bring pot of water to boil and boil edamame, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Drain in colander and rinse with cold water to stop cooking.
2. Heat oil in small skillet over low heat until hot but not smoking. Cook cumin, stirring, until fragrant and a shade darker, about 30 seconds. Pour cumin oil into a large heatproof bowl.
3. Add edamame and all remaining ingredients to cumin oil and toss. Let stand at least 10 minutes for flavors to blend.

Thyme-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

by Kathyrn Matthews from Epicurious.com

If you know me, you know that I love sweet potatoes. So, when Ben and I decided to make a two-person Thanksgiving feast in 2008, I knew that I had to find the perfect sweet potato recipe. After much searching through cookbooks and online, I came across the recipe below. I haven't altered it because it's great the way it is. Although it was our sweet potato masterpiece for Thanksgiving, when I made it at home for my family, we used it as a form of sweet potato fries. So clearly, it can go either way. Just make sure not to overcook this recipe. The picture above is from the first time that I made this recipe. They are slightly overdone, but delish!

Ingredients:
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch-thick rounds
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup fresh thyme leaves, plus 6 thyme sprigs for garnish (I have used dried as a substitute)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 450°F. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and toss. Arrange potato slices in single layer on heavyweight rimmed baking sheet or in 13x9-inch baking dish. Place on top rack of oven and roast until tender and slightly browned, about 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, garnished with thyme sprigs.

Unhealthy, Delicious Potatoes

Ingredients:
4-6 medium to large potatoes
Milk
1/4 c. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. cream cheese
2-3 Tbsp. chopped onion
2 tsp. parsley

Dice potatoes into cubes so that they will boil quickly and boil until tender. Drain potatoes, add milk until at desired texture, and beat. Add butter, salt, garlic salt, sour cream, cream cheese, chopped onion, and parsley. Mix well and place in glass casserole dish. Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

These may be about the worst potatoes in the world for you, health-wise; they are also the most delicious.

Mom's Lumpy Applesauce

by Beth E. McDermott Harrington

Ingredients:

10-20 apples, peeled and quartered

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Peel and quarter apples. Place the apples in a large pot and cover the apples with water. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the water before boiling. Boil the concoction until the apples are tender. Remove the pot from heat and drain water from the pot. Transfer to a separate bowl and mash with a fork until the desired texture of your applesauce is reached.

Summer Squash with a Kick

by Laura Harrington

Ingredients: 

3 summer squash (yellow or green), thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp red-pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. salt

Heat garlic, oil, and red-pepper flakes in skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes, or until garlic begins to turn golden.  Add squash and salt.  Stir.  Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes.  Uncover, increase heat to medium, and cook another 10 minutes longer, or until liquid is almost gone.

Steaming Green Beans

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh green beans, with stems removed

1 diced garlic clove

1 Tbs. butter, cut into small chunks

Sea Salt

Combine green beans, garlic, butter and 1/4 c. water in a microwavable glass dish with lid. Season with sea salt to taste. Cover the dish and microwave on high until green beans are crisp, yet tender (approximately 6 to 7 minutes). Pour off any excess liquid.

Mom's Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Casserole

by Beth E. McDermott Harrington

Ingredients:

(Casserole Body):

3 c. cooked mashed sweet potatoes (approximately 5 potatoes)

1 c. sugar

1/4 c. softened butter

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. evaporated milk

(Casserole Topping):

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. flour

1/4 c. butter (melted)

1 cup pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, softened butter, salt and evaporated milk. Mix until creamy. Spread into a buttered casserole dish. In a separate bowl, mix the brown sugar, flour, melted butter, and pecan halves. Crumble this mixture on top of the casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Green Bean Casserole

by Beth E. McDermott Harrington

Makes "a ton" of green bean casserole

Ingredients:

3 Cans green beans

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can's worth of skim milk

Fried Onions (approximately 1 can's worth)

In a casserole dish, combine green beans, cream of mushroom soup, enough milk to fill one of the cream of mushroom soup can, and enough fried onions to fill one half of the cream of mushroom soup can. Stir. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. After the casserole has cooked for 30 minutes, sprinkle fried onions (amount as desired) atop the casserole. Return the casserole to the oven to cook for another 10 minutes.

Note: If you want a creamier casserole, you can make this casserole with a 2:1 green beans: mushroom soup ratio rather than 3:1. The 3:1 is the healthier version (and in my taste is still plenty creamy).