Vegan Eggplant Lasagna

The other day, I talked about eating more vegetarian meals.  Although there are some meat dishes I really enjoy, for the most part, eating less meat hasn't required too much effort or restraint.   In contrast, becoming vegan would be a completely different story for me.  

The vegan salad I made tasted great -- but I don't think I would survive never having feta cheese in my salad again.  This eggplant lasagna was already really flavourful!  But, I missed having real cheese on top.  Daiya is a great substitute.  But it doesn't melt the way real cheese does.  

Okay -- enough knocking vegan food.  In fact, this dish was actually really good.  I made a vegan eggplant lasagna (no noodles).  Here's what I did:

First I peeled and sliced eggplant into rounds. Then I sprinkled salt on both sides of the eggplant to remove the bitterness.

After letting the eggplant sit for about an hour (maybe longer), I rinsed off the eggplant to remove the salt.

I looked all over the place for a soy-based ricotta or cottage cheese.  I should have started with Google because it turns out that it's really easy to just make a ricotta-like substitute by blending a firm tofu and adding some spices (e.g., oregano, basil, garlic powder).

For the first layer, I spread out a fair amount of crushed tomatoes

Then eggplant

Then more crushed tomatoes

Then I put a layer of cheese

Then, the tofu ricotta and a layer of spinach

sliced mushrooms

and canned San Marzano tomatoes

Next comes the last layer of eggplant

I put the last of my crushed tomatoes on top of the eggplant and finished it off with more Daiya cheese.

I let the lasagne cook at 350 for about an hour (partly to make sure that the eggplant was cooked through, partly because the cheese was slow to brown and partly because we were eating the salad and visiting with friends)

Like I said, the dish tasted good.  It was a bit messy plating it.

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Hopefully you're not pictured out because I also wanted to quickly share the appetizer.  At the end of the garden season last year, we had a bunch of cherry tomatoes to use up.  So, although I could probably just eat them standing over the counter, we decided to preserve them by oven roasting them with garlic and freezing them in ice cube trays.

I took a bunch of the cubes from the freezer and warmed them up,

The entire appetizer was motivated by wanting to try the Apple Cider Vinegar Pearls we recently got.  Gingras makes these caviar-like pearls that are little bursts of apple cider vinegar.



Overall, the appetizer was just okay.  I really like the crackers (I just randomly chose them while shopping).  I think the vinegar pearls didn't add much to the flavour of the tomato, which already have their own acidity.  I suspect they would be better with a cheese or meat topping.  They also didn't visibly stand out very much against the tomatoes. Thankfully, I still have 2 out of the 4 sachets of pearls left.  So, I'll keep experimenting with them.

Baby Food

Written several days ago:

Can I just take a moment to have a brief pity party?

After months of questions about when I would come to Winnipeg (the coldest city with a population over 500,000...also the city I grew up in), I finally caved.  R was planning to be out of town for work, so I decided to take E to go meet the rest of my side of the family.

Six days seemed like more than enough time to spend here in the winter.  Until...I got an ear infection that wouldn't go away.

Fast forward two and a half weeks and, we're still here.

Why do people subject themselves to this weather?!?  It was -27 Celsius for most of this week.  Not pleasant.  I spent last night with a large warmed up grain bag on me.

I finally got the okay to fly home.  But, since we're just a couple of days before Passover, I'm sticking around until after the first seder.

Written last week:

I'm back in Ottawa!  I still can't hear well out of one ear.  But, I'm happy to be home and happy that family got to spend a lot of time with E.

We spent the first seder in Winnipeg.  Thankfully, my dad (who usually likes to draw out the seder with "teachable moments") did the expedited version.   We all got a kick out of E finding the Afikoman.

One thing that really helped for our trip was having some homemade preserved apple sauce that I could use in a pinch.  I haven't been married to any one approach to feeding E solid food.  Sometimes I give her purees and sometimes I go with a more baby-led approach.  She loves putting inedible things in her mouth...but isn't much for actually putting the food in her mouth.  She'll usually have a couple of small bites of food and then lose interest.  

But, apple sauce seems to be one of her preferred foods.  

A couple of days before leaving, I made apple sauce out of a three pound bag of Granny Smith apples.

My goal was to freeze a ice cube tray's worth and can the rest.

I kept the ingredients simple -- the peeled and cored apples were boiled with about half a cup of water and a cinnamon stick.

After about 15 minutes on a light boil, it was pretty sauce-like already.  But I blended it with an immersion blender.

I got an ice cube tray

and six 125 ml. jars.

Next I'm going to make some pear sauce.

Below are some of the other purees I've made (carrots, leak and potato soup and squash soup):

Mandarin Vanilla Jam

I often find this time of year to be difficult.  The days are so short (it's pretty much dark by 4:30pm) and the weather alternates between rain, snow, freezing rain and cold (or a combination).  Possibly the hardest thing about this is that I know it's just the beginning.  It's not even winter yet, technically.  

Mandarins are one of the few redeeming things about this time of year.  We've already gone through about four 5 kg boxes.  One of those went to making mandarin jam.  I have been wanting to make mandarin jam for a couple of years now.  Last year, the time got away from me and before I knew it, the grocery store stopped carrying mandarins.  

After spending some time scouring the internet for recipes, I came across this post.  I made a variation of the recipe, using more oranges and adding two vanilla beans.

Mandarin Vanilla Jam

 

1 kilo (generous 2 lbs) mandarins, any variety: clementines, tangerines, satsumas, etc., preferably organic

500 grams (2 1/2 cups) sugar, or more to taste

juice of 2-3 lemons

2 sticks of vanilla, split down the middle

Wash 2-3 of your mandarins and zest them, carefully avoiding the white pith underneath. You should have about a tablespoon. Peel all of your fruit, removing as much of the pith and filaments as possible. Working over a bowl to catch the juices, cut each mandarin in half around its equator, and pick out any seeds (I didn't bother doing this since they didn't have seeds). Place the halves along with any juice they've expelled in a food processor and process for about a minute (careful not to fill too much because the juice will leak out the top), until you have a more or less smooth puree.

Combine the mandarin puree, tablespoon of zest, sugar and lemon juice in a large, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat so it continues to boil gently. Allow the mixture to cook, stirring occasionally, until it sets, about 25-30 minutes (I left it on closer to 45 minutes and still found that it wasn't that thick -- possible because I used more oranges. 

To test the set, place a small saucer in the freezer for a couple of minutes, then drizzle a teaspoon of hot jam on it. Allow to cool, then run your finger through it. If it holds the trough, it's set. Also taste for sweetness at this point - if you think it could use more, add a bit more sugar and cook another minute or two; do the same with lemon juice if the acidity needs some perking up.

Pour into hot, sterilized jars, seal tightly and turn upside down until cool. Or use your tried-and-true canning method. Or simply keep in a closed container in the fridge for up to a month.

Verdict:  So far, so good.  It's a lighter flavour than my berry jams.  For example, I tried the mandarin jam with peanut butter and the flavour didn't come through very much.  I'm going to try it as a topping on ice cream or with pancakes.  But, I'm quite happy that it turned out!

 

Raspberry Banana Muffins

Apparently I'm supposed to be relaxing...but I just can't bare the thought of missing out on local, seasonal produce.  Already, the main strawberry season is over! I'm thinking I need to take advantage of everbearing strawberry farms, like this one:

 

Longo's is a grocery chain in Toronto. Does anyone know where I can buy everbearing strawberries in Ottawa? I have a dismal track record with growing them in my backyard. But, I am happy to report that IT'S RASPBERRY SEASON!

I had intentions of going raspberry picking last weekend, but I had to come to terms with reality that picking in 40 degree weather (about 105 F) is just not realistic when you're 9 months pregnant. So, R kindly went to the Byward market and picked up a flat of raspberries. Of course, it wasn't completely altruistic, seeing as raspberries are one of his favourite fruits. He quickly put in a request for raspberry jam.

After making the jam, I still had at least half a flat of raspberries, so I searched around for a muffin recipe to add to our collection in the freezer. I've been on a freezing food kick lately (in preparation for having less time to cook once the baby arrives).

R was skeptical that I'd be able to fit anything else in the freezer. I told him -- when there's a will, there's a way! Now, I just need to work on his will to find things in the freezer.

I found this recipe at Daily Unadventures in Cooking.

Raspberry Banana Muffins 
(makes 12)

Ingredients

1/4 cup soft butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 banana, mashed
2 cups all purpose flour (or 1 cup all purpose, and 3/4 cups whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 cups raspberries

Preheat oven to 350F.

Using an electric mixer or a wooden spoon and a bunch of elbow grease, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla and banana and beat until well combined.

Stir together flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl. Add milk and stir until just combined. Fold in raspberries. Line a muffin tin with muffin papers and divide the mixture amongst the tins. Bake for 25 minutes.

Verdict: The muffins turned out really well.  Of course, the raspberries fall apart as soon as you mix them in, but with some light mixing, I was able to save larger chunks of raspberries.  The tartness of the raspberries really comes through when you're eating the muffins.  I didn't find there to be much of a banana taste. But, I'm used to a banana recipe that includes 4 bananas in 12 muffins.  So, it's really comparable.  I also like how there isn't a tonne of sugar in the recipe.

Strawberry Sauce

A couple of weeks ago, R and I picked about 4 litres of strawberries.  My trusty kitchen stool came in handy for picking since getting up and down is a bit challenging at this point in the pregnancy.  After freezing 3 large freezer bags full, eating a bunch and making some sugar-free jam, I had about 6-7 cups of strawberries left.  

I knew I wanted to make a preserve out of it, but I didn't want to make more jam and also didn't want something that had mounds of sugar.  So, I was really happy to find this recipe on fellow Ottawan's food blog, If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On.  

This recipe comes from Pat Crocker's Preserving book.

Strawberry Sauce

4 cups mashed or blendered strawberries that are well-ripe-to-overripe
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 packed brown sugar
grated rind and juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon fancy molasses
1 tablespoon raspberry wine vinegar (can use balsamic vinegar)

Prepare your jars in a hot water bath to sanitize them (picture below is after I raised the jars from the hot water).

Hull and clean strawberries

You'll want about 6 cups worth of strawberries..

To get 4 cups of crushed strawberries

I basically put all of the ingredients in around the same time.  But opted to add the sugars first and add the other components when it that came to a boil.

Let boil for about 10-15 minutes (length of boiling will determine thickness of sauce and amount of sauce that you're left with).

Jar sauce (as per normal preserving instructions) and boil in a hot water bath for 10-15 minutes.  Let jars cool overnight and check seal.   

I'm also adding this recipe to recipes.ca, a new cooking community that celebrates Canadian food writers, culinary professionals, and of course, Canadian cuisine. 

Rhubarb and Saskatoon Jam

You really know you're from the prairies of Canada when you walk into a market in Ontario and you're the only one who knows what a Saskatoon berry is.  A rare find, the vendor laughed at my excitement and said "you're from the prairies aren't you".  Busted!

The size of a blueberry, with a more tart and less juicy consistency, Saskatoons are considered a "superfruit"; high in antioxidants and fibre, they help fight cancers and extremely good for the heart.    Saskatoons were and still are used by the first nations people; especially delicious in a sauce with game. The shrub this exceptional berry grows on looks like this:

I could have made a pie; that would have been delicious but after one meal, that's it, all gone.  I decided to make some jam and make my treasured berries last as long as possible.  When I heard that adding rhubarb stretches the quantity, well, let's just say the kitchen became my playground.

This recipe is adapted from The Alberta Farm Fresh Producers Association

1 large navel orange, finely chopped

3 1/2 cups diced rhubarb

3 cups sugar 

4 1/2 cups saskatoons

Juice of 1 lemon

Combine orange, rhubarb and sugar in a Dutch oven. 

Bring to boil, stirring constantly    

Add saskatoons and lemon juice. Boil, stirring frequently until thick, about 15 minutes. Pour into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. 

Wipe jar rims thoroughly. 

Seal and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

*NOTE:  I wanted a smoother jam so I used my immersion blender before I filled the jars.  Some would say to mash the berries before adding them to the boiling pot.

Yield: 7 cups (250 ml mason jars)

Although not at all related to the preparation of jam, my foodie travels brought me to this rare site.  How many outdoor ovens do you get to see?

Pickled Sugar Snap Peas

Speaking to my friend, I was asking about recipes that could work for an every night or entertainment table.  I love foods with colour and texture and love love integrating something new.  My friend shared with me that she saw something really interesting and that she would send me the recipe.

I couldn't imagine pickling sugar snap peas but I did and I love them and as long as I can find sweet peas I'll be making sure I have these in the house.

Adapted from The Joy of Pickling via Epicurious

1 1/4 cups white distilled vinegar
1 1/4 cups cold water
1 tablespoon kosher or pickling salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pound sugar snap peas, stems trimmed and strings removed
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 or 2 small dried chile peppers, slit lengthwise or a couple pinches dried red pepper flakes


In a nonreactive saucepan, heat the vinegar with the salt and sugar until they are dissolved. Remove from the heat, and add the cold water. (This gives you a leg up on getting the liquid to cooling the liquid.)
When the vinegar mixture is cool, pack the sugar snaps, garlic and chile peppers or flakes into a 1-quart jar or bowl, and pour the brine over it. Cover with a non-reactive cap, or plastic wrap.
The original recipe suggests you store the jar in the refrigerator for two weeks before eating the pickled peas.  They have a pickled taste after 24 hours and I'd be curious to know if they lasted the 2 weeks in the fridge at your place.  


This recipe took no time at all to prep and no processing. 

Banana Jam

My Wednesday/Sunday outdoor market has a few new vendors, one of which is a lady who makes preserves.  She loves to chat and is really proud of her product sampling her wares each week.  One could have a full meal just on samples at the market.

I tried her banana jam and knew I'd be making it very soon.  She used crystallized sugar in her jam and that wasn't really appealing to me and it was uber sweet so off I went to make my own banana jam.
I found a recipe at  All Recipes.  With a little bit of adaptation I made it my own.  Think peanut butter and banana jam.  Unless you have an allergy to nuts I can't even imagine you not loving this recipe.

3 cups sugar (I used 2 cups and would still reduce to 1.5 cups)
1 cup water
6 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp ground cloves
3 1/2 cup mashed bananas
6 - 125  ml jars

Combine the sugar and water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low boil for 10 minutes
Stir in lemon juice and cloves.
Add mashed bananas and reduce heat to a simmer, stirring frequently for approximately 45 minutes (should be thick)
Divide among the jars and refrigerate.

Notes:
1.  I wanted a smooth jam so used my immersion blender to get out the banana lumps.  Worked perfectly.
2.  I used 250 ml jars and got 2 1/2 jars of jam
3.  The jam isn't processed so don't have the expectation that it'll last a year.  Everything I've read says 2--3 weeks so small batches are in order.