tomatoes Archives - JoyFoodly

Guest feature with the Vegetarian Momma–Sweet n Spicy Eggplant Pasta

Aug 17 by Chef Hollie Greene Leave a Comment

eggplant easy 0

This week, I’m over the moon thrilled to have my Sweet n Spicy Eggplant Pasta recipe from the Joyful 12 featured by the Vegetarian Momma on her beautiful site. What I love most about Cindy’s site is that she’s dedicated to helping families feel confident that they can cook real foods that are allergen friendly (primarily gluten and nut free), vegetarian focused, and easy for busy families. Her approach is to have joy in the cooking process, and that’s how I know we’re kindred spirits!

eggplant easy 1

This recipe was created as a “throw-it-together” simple seasonal meal. It’s based in my love of Italian cooking and the beauty of convenience plus bright flavors. Head on over to Cindy’s site to get the recipe, and if you’d like to learn more about my Joyful 12 Online Kitchen Learning Lab where we explore cooking 48 vegetables and fruits through family friendly recipes and videos over the course of a year together (all gluten free!), start cooking now with this 50% off coupon code: joyfoodlyfriends

Sumac Grilled Chinese Eggplant Dressed with Tomatoes, Basil and Feta

Aug 3 by Chef Hollie Greene 1 Comment

How often has this happened to you? The smell of someone grilling in their backyard stops you in your tracks. The rich smoky wafts of something caramelizing on the bbq are intoxicating. And while I do adore grilled meats and fish, where I really spend most of my creative cooking energy is on those summer grilled vegetables. Vegetables are meant to be grilled. And not just in the form of a kabob.

Recently, I heard the best public radio chat on how to grill like a pro over the summer. Mostly the banter between the three chefs was meat focused, but then, one of the chefs brilliantly suggested that taking a large globe eggplant and stuffing it with garlic, wrapping it in tinfoil, and throwing it on top of the charcoals was the way to go. The finished grilled eggplant was cut open like a potato and dressed like a mozzarella and tomato salad–with olive oil, salt, and a little balsamic vinegar.

Are you drooling? I was. No, really. It was hard to concentrate on driving! I knew I wanted to try to recreate this luscious image he has planted into my brain, but I was stuck. We don’t have a charcoal grill, just a mini gas Weber grill that literally sits on top of a table out the back door of our small San Francisco apartment. Hmm….grilled globe eggplant was not in my immediate future.

I couldn’t give up. So I figured I’d opt for another variety that would work for my grill, Chinese eggplant. These thinner light purple eggplants are so popular today you can find them in grocery stores all over the country. The best thing about them is that they cook quickly, have great taste and don’t require salting. Now I was ready to grill!

First, I brushed each cut half with a generous amount of olive oil before salting them and placing them down on the searing hot grill for about three to four minutes.

Once I had some nice grill marks on the cut side of each eggplant, I pulled them off the grill. More olive oil was brushed on, and at this stage I added big pinches of my sumac and paprika spices and a little more salt. Placing the two halves back together, I wrapped each eggplant in tinfoil and put them back on the grill for seven to ten more minutes.

The first night we ate them immediately after grilling with all of the fixings I’d dreamed up, but then I discovered something that worked even better–letting them cool in the refrigerator and serving them later to guests as a cool antipasti appetizer helped the smoky but sweet flavors of the grilled eggplant to develop.

Scattered with red and yellow cherry tomatoes.

Crumbled salty feta on top and freshly torn basil.

Drizzled with generous spoonfuls of good balsamic vinegar and fruity extra virgin olive oil.

This is my new favorite antipasti summer side that is sure to make you relish eggplant and want to grill vegetables all summer long. Don’t be shy! Share your favorite summer grilling tips with me–I’m officially addicted to vegetable grilling!

Special thanks to Elle Wildhagen, our photographer and videographer, for this beautiful shoot.

Sumac Grilled Chinese Eggplant Stuffed with Tomatoes, Basil and Feta Drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil

2015-07-28 10:36:34

Serves 4

Save Recipe

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

30 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

30 min

Ingredients

Chinese eggplant (or fairytale), 4
Olive oil, about ¼ cup (divided)
Salt, 1 tsp. (divided)
Sumac spice, ½ tsp.
Sweet paprika, ½ tsp.
Cherry tomatoes, 1 cup
Balsamic vinegar, 2 TBS
Feta Cheese, 6-7 oz.
Basil, ½ cup

Prep

Take 5 minutes to get out all your ingredients, measuring and cooking equipment needed, and place them on a cookie sheet within easy reach.
Wash all produce.
Pre-heat grill.
Cut eggplants into halves. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt.
Get toppings ready: cut tomatoes into halves, crumble feta, tear basil with your hands.
Toss cut tomatoes in 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons olive oil and set aside.

Cook

Grill eggplant cut side down on the hotter side of your grill for 4 minutes.
Take off of the heat and place on a plate. Sprinkle the seared side with the sumac and sweet paprika. Then, wrap each eggplant (the two cut halves back together) in tinfoil. Place them back on the grill over medium low heat, close the lid, and cook another 7-10 minutes (depending on how thick your eggplant are).
To serve, place cooked eggplant on a big platter. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and balsamic vinegar, top with tomatoes, crumbled feta and basil. Sprinkle more salt and cracked black pepper on top, as desired.

Notes

Culinary note: we tested this recipe with the small light purple variety of eggplants, called Chinese eggplants. They are very different from the globe eggplant we are used to, as they do not require pre-salting and cook very quickly. Another summer variety that would work is called fairytale eggplant. They are small, round and a beautiful speckled purple and white color.
Cooking equipment: we grilled our eggplant on a very small Weber gas grill (like it fits on a table top!), so do not worry about your grilling equipment—this is an easy summer recipe! Find the hottest part of your grill to sear the eggplant and build some nice flavor. After 3-4 minutes, we pulled ours off the highest heat, and wrapped each one in tinfoil to create the ability for the eggplant to steam and therefore cook quicker on the lower heat area of the grill.

By Chef Hollie

JoyFoodly http://www.joyfoodly.com/

Growing Yard Art – A Gardening Primer

Jun 15 by Chef Hollie Greene Leave a Comment

I’ve yet to meet a child that didn’t love to dig in the dirt for fresh vegetables. It doesn’t take much to get started with a small home garden. This week, I’m thrilled to have a guest post by Susan Huff of The Soulful Seed With heartfelt love for home gardening and a career helping families and communities make this a reality, Susan brings a loving and easy approach to help you get your first home garden started this summer. Thank you, Susan!

When we eat food, we have the opportunity to begin a relationship with food, paying attention to what fuels our bodies and satisfies our soul. It can also provide an even deeper experience with the earth, the climate, the location and the space we live in. It all begins with a garden! Few things are more satisfying than growing food you can eat. Regardless of where you live, or even the space you have, there is always an opportunity to develop a deeper relationship with food and health when you start a home garden.

Gardening is popping up everywhere. Co-ops, community gardens, school plots, and even social media, like these fun suggestions for kid friendly gardening, provide ample examples of how easily YOU too can do it. Yet, many see the term “home garden” and feel it is a project only done with success by those with tons of experience or someone to teach them step by step in person. Gardening is an art form, and should be treated as such! The canvas the colors and the medium are all about your preferences and your enjoyment! Any art project can seem daunting if you feel it has to be perfect or it should be done a certain way.

The truth is that gardens are a direct reflection of you – a personal statement about what you love to eat, what you enjoy planting, and how much you want to develop that relationship with your diet and your connection with its process.

There are thousands of plants we can choose from and hundreds of ways to practice the art of gardening. I want to share a few ideas on how to get started simply, easily and without stress. Your spot, plot , or plan should feel positive, should be fun, and most of all, it should help you bring about good lessons to help create more of what you want!

Fresh veggies are about the most favorite things in my life- be it a cherry tomato, a clipping of basil, or a handful of arugula -nothing brings me more joy than walking out the door at the end of the day and bringing in a part of my meal that’s fresh and homegrown by ME!! Let’s begin by picking a few things that grow well in most every part of the country(watch your temps to see what works best for you). These four are a great beginning for the home gardener:

Cherry tomatoes
Radishes
Greens (pick a variety you love!) and
At least two herbs–I love thyme and sage

Just be sure to use good soil – possibly a mix of gardening soil and peat – available at all garden stores – rather than potting soil or top soil which can make the process more difficult. Remember, a good rule of thumb is that less is more! Now, you are on your way to success.

The road to beginner’s success is to use raised beds or container gardening. I have a few tips to get you started:

Start small: 4’x 6’ is way better than 40 x 60 I can promise you!
With just a few clay pots, you’re ready to begin. Add a few rocks in the bottom of the pots for good draining. I even love using wine corks–they are the bomb for this!
Most greens are best planted from starts you can get at most any garden center.
Radishes are always planted by seed and are the fastest to grow -yea they will be here in 28 days just in time to keep you from giving up!
Tomatoes can take the longest – so this is the time to learn about nature and her plan – patience and acceptance are the most promising lessons that come from gardening.
Another rule of thumb that will help is to plant the seed as deep as the seed is big and you will be fine – and don’t forget to water the soil well prior to planting anything!

Make sure you put your home garden in a place you have to trip over to get into your car! This way you will keep an eye on it and remember it needs care just like YOU. Begin with plants you love to eat; why grow a ton of squash if you don’t really enjoy it? I try to grow what I love, what is hard to find in the organic section, and what is best cut fresh – like butter lettuce!!! Remember this is an act of love- make it your canvas, make it fun, make it your meditation on what fuels your body. Food is a gift and if we treat it as such we are satiated with much more than just taste or even flavor. This is love – from our garden to our heart! What better way to say “I love you” to your body, health, and planet than to have a home garden! Ready set – BEGIN! I can’t wait to hear about your first sprout and how big your smile was!

Be well, eat well,

-Susan Huff

Susan Huff is an organic gardener, a chef and a slow food follower. For thirty years, Susan has been gardening and educating communities to design and create their own gardens.

In addition to her gardening pursuits, Susan has created three cafes, appeared in multiple television spots, and published several articles in Florida Gardening Magazine.