Low Fat Eggplant Parmagian

Eggplant parmagian is one of my favorite dishes, but it's typically loaded with fat. I've spent the last couple of months working on a low fat eggplant parmagian, and I've finally come up with a version that is both tasty and healthy.

Like most of my successful creations, this dish came not from careful planning. Instead, it came from a lack of the correct ingredients. I'm really bad about "winging it" when I'm missing an item or two, and sometimes it works out great. (Sometimes it's a complete freakin' disaster, too, but that's beside the point.)

This version has just 275 calories and 8.5 grams of fat per serving... compare this to Olive Garden's lunch portion of eggplant parmagian, which weighs in at 793 calories and 39 grams of fat.

Add to that the fact that the low fat version is just as tasty (actually a lot better, I think), and I'm a very happy Veggie Guy.

I leave the skin on the eggplant. It gives the slices a slightly smoky flavor when they are baked directly on the oven rack. Feel free to remove the skin if you find this weird.

Oh yeah.. and if you haven't noticed, I use cayenne pepper in pretty much everything. You can omit this, but I think it gives it a distinctive Veggie Guy flair. (Don't worry, my wife thinks I'm delusional too.)

So here we go:

Low Fat Eggplant Parmagian

1 eggplant, sliced into 1/4" thick rounds (you don't have to take the skin off)
1/2 cup Veggie Shreds mozzarella style cheese
1 tsp vegan parmagian cheese, grated
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup marinara sauce or pizza sauce
1/4 tbsp dried sage
1/4 tbsp dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, ground
3 oz lemon juice
A few sprays of olive oil cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Place eggplant slices directly on the middle oven rack, bake for 6 minutes. Turn slices over, bake directly on rack for an additional 6 minutes.

Mix bread crumbs, parmagian cheese, sage, basil, and cayenne pepper in a flat bottomed dish (I use one of those entree-sized plastic storage containers).

Spray cooking spray on a 13 x 9 baking dish.

Coat eggplant slices with lemon juice. Dip in bread crumb mixture, covering both sides.

Place breaded eggplant slices in baking dish in a single layer. Pour marinara or pizza sauce over the slices and then sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.

Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 7 - 10 minutes or until cheese starts to bubble and brown.

I typically serve this with steamed asparagus and warm sourdough bread.

Note: This recipe fails my "30 minutes or less" test, but not by much. Most of it is baking time, though, so you can probably still get something else done while you're waiting.

Enjoy!

Lee, The Veggie Guy

Vegan Capellini Pomodoro

Sadly, I have no good story to go along with tonight's recipe. I wanted pasta, I was in a hurry, and Ragu just wasn't going to cut it. End of story.

So without further nonsense and/or fanfare, I give you: Vegan Capellini Pomodoro

1 lb. angel hair pasta (or penne regate, or farfalle, or whatever the hell shape of pasta strikes your fancy)
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 large roma tomatoes, diced
4 oz white or portabella mushrooms, sliced
1/4 large red bell pepper, diced
1 small red onion, sliced and quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp olive oil
6 oz vegetarian vegetable broth (we've been over this before, but it bears repeating: not all "vegetable broth" is vegetarian. Those sneaky bastids will add chicken stock to make processing easier.)
2 oz white cooking wine (mine says "chablis". Your mileage may vary.)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried sage

Now...

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, run cool water over the pasta, and set aside.

Steam asparagus in a vegetable steamer or over a large pot of boiling water. Asparagus this time of year tends to be a bit tough (ok, you can fence with it) so give it a good 20-25 minutes of steaming time while you're going through the rest of the steps.

Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil in a medium saucepan for 1 minute. Add broth, white cooking wine, tomatoes, sage, oregano, and red bell pepper, cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Add mushrooms, cook for an additional 2 minutes. Turn heat to low and cover. Let simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Add steamed asparagus to vegetable/broth mixture, let simmer for 2-3 minutes to allow flavors to combine.

Serve veggies over pasta.

Note: This recipe doesn't quite make my coveted "under 30 minutes" collection. I clocked the prep time tonight at 34 minutes. This might have been because I was tired/disorganized/drinking cheap beer. If you can do it in under 30, email me, and I'll take your word for it.

Spinach wraps

Now, if you've read the previous post, you might have surmised that I had a batch of baby spinach to use up. You'd be right. Hey, we (I) here at The Veggie Guy don't believe in waste, or in having stuff turn into bags of runny brown goo at the back of the fridge.

So... I made spinach wraps tonight. Pretty easy stuff, and you can substitute pretty much whatever you don't like.

So here goes:

2 large whole wheat or sprouted grain tortillas
1 handful fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1 cup roma tomatos, diced
1 avocado, mashed
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp chopped fresh basil or 1/4 tsp dried basil
4 oz white button mushrooms
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, finely diced
2 oz canned artichoke hearts (packed in water, not oil)

Heat oil in a medium pan. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute on medium heat. Add mushrooms and balsamic vinegar, cook for 3 minutes while stirring. Remove from heat.

Mix cayenne pepper and basil into mashed avocado.

Spread 1/2 avocado mixture on each tortilla. Add spinach, onion, tomatos, and artichoke hearts in layers on each tortilla. Place 1/2 mushroom/galrlic mixture on top. Roll tortillas into wraps.

Serve with fresh veggies or pita chips and hummus.

Quick Spinach Quesadillas

Those of you who have been watching the news probably know that we had a "blizzard" here in Ohio this weekend. I'm not sure I'd use the word "blizzard" - to me, it was just an inconvenient amount of driveway shoveling. But I guess if the media wants to make a big deal about it, so be it.

Anyway, some friends got snowed in on Saturday. Carnivores. Hard core. Anyway, rather than venture out in the snow, I opted to make these quick spinach quesadillas for everyone. I think some of the people were more than a little put off by the sight of something green and leafy, but hey... when you're in a vegetarian's home, you will eventually encounter food that isn't fried, loaded with fat, or meat-laden.

Anyway, I liked these things because they were quick to put together (about 15 minutes, give or take), and made from ingredients I already had on hand. So if you're running short on time, give these easy spinach quesadillas a try.

10 burrito sized flour tortillas
1 8 oz package shredded Veggie Shreds "cheese"
1 jar picante sauce or salsa
fresh baby spinach
4 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 medium white or yellow onion, diced
low fat sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place one tortilla on cutting board, sprinkle thin layer of cheese on top. Add onions, baby spinach, muchrooms, and picante sauce. Sprinkle on another layer of cheese, and place another tortilla on top. Repeat with remainder of tortillas.

Place on baking sheet or directly on oven rack, bake for 6-7 minutes. Place quesadillas on cutting board, cut into quarters.

Serve with sour cream if desired.

Arroz con Vegetales - Mexican Rice with Vegetables

I'm leaving for Las Vegas in a couple of days... as much as I love Vegas, being a vegetarian there is a bit of a challenge. People come to Vegas for (among other things) the plethora of fine steakhouses, so there's really not much left for the vegetarians. Alas.

Anyway, I decided to make one of my favorite Mexican dishes while I'm packing, since I figure it will be a while before I get a really satisfying meal.

This recipe is a little tough to squeeze in under the half hour mark, but it's well worth the effort. You can cut some time by using a packaged Mexican seasoning mix, but to be honest, it's just not quite the same.

Arroz con Vegetales - Mexican Rice with Vegetables

Serves 4

1 cup uncooked white rice
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 zucchini squash, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 poblano pepper, cut into 1/2 inch x 1 inch pieces
1 can yellow corn
4 cups cut broccoli florets
1 onion, chopped
8 oz white mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 oz Veggie Shreds cheddar "cheese"
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp Tabasco sauce or other hot sauce
8 flour tortillas, fajita size
1/2 cup water

Cook rice in a rice cooker according to directions (my rice cooker instructions say to add 1 cup of water to the rice, 1 1/2 cups water to reservoir, and cook for 24 minutes).

While rice is cooking:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove tortillas from package, wrap completely with foil. Set aside.

Heat oil in large skillet. Add onions and garlic, saute for one minute.

Add red bell pepper, zucchini squash, yellow squash, poblano pepper. Saute for 3 minutes.

Add remainder of vegetables. Saute for an additional 4-5 minutes.

Add cumin, water, Tabasco, and cayenne pepper. Turn down heat and simmer for 3 minutes.

While vegetables simmer, place tortillas in the oven for 3 minutes.

Mix cilantro into cooked rice.

Place 1/4 of cooked rice on each serving plate, cover with 1/4 of shredded cheese. Spoon vegetables over rice and cheese.

Serve with warm tortillas and chips and guacamole or salsa. Upon serving, spoon vegetable, rice, and cheese mixture into tortillas.

Urad Dal

Dal is one of the staples of Indian cuisine, and comes in many forms. The term "dal" refers to a paste-like dish made from various types of beans. Dal is also sometimes used to refer to the beans themselves, although "gram" is the appropriate term for beans when used in Indian cuisine.

Urad gram is black lentil beans, which are also sometimes sold as "white lentils" when the black husks have been removed. Urad dal is made from the white lentil variety - these can occasionally be found in American supermarkets, but are more commonly found at Indian specialty grocers.

Here is an easy recipe for urad dal. Most of the spices used in this dish are readily available in supermarkets, except for garam masala, which can be ordered online or purchased from an Indian grocer.

1cup basmati rice
1 cup dried white lentils
1 tsp grated ginger
1 medium white onion, finely diced
2 fresh jalapeno or green chili peppers, finely chopped
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp ground hot red chilis (I have used ground cayenne pepper, with good success)
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice

Cook basmati rice in a rice cooker or large saucepan according to directions.

Rinse the white lentils and soak in water for 15 minutes. Boil in 5 cups of water until lentils are soft (about 10 minutes). Drain and set aside.

Add oil to a large pan and heat for a few minutes. Add ground cloves and coriander seeds, heat for 30 seconds or until coriander seeds begin to pop. Add onions, garlic, ginger, and jalapenos, heat for another 30 seconds. add ground red chili, turmeric, cloves and stir for 15 seconds.

Add cooked white lentils, lemon juice, and garam masala, heat for 2-3 minutes while stirring frequently.

Serve with basmati rice.

Super Easy Taquitos

Here's one of our household favorites - partially because my wife loves Mexican-ish food, and partially because it's a quick and easy solution for dinner. These taquitos can be assembled in about 10 minutes, and ready to serve in another 15. Yay for me for serving up yet another recipe that beats the 1/2 hour threshold. But you know me... that's just how I roll.

Note: This is one of the few recipes here that is not vegan. You can make it almost vegan by using Veggie Shreds ("almost" because Veggie Shreds contain casein, an animal product). Barring that, I'm not sure what you would do.

Anyway, here's how Super Easy Taquitos happen:

8 corn tortillas, taco size (I dunno - 8 inches in diameter?)
1 can vegetarian refried beans (don't assume all refried beans are vegetarian. Some contain lard and/or bits of Marlon Brando)
1 jar taco sauce
4 oz Veggie Shreds cheddar "cheese"
1 medium white or yellow onion, diced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Spoon 2 tbsp refried beans into each tortilla, about 1/3 of the way from one edge. Spread chopped onion over refried beans. Pour 1 tsp of taco sauce over beans/onions. Fold edge of each tortilla closest to the beans over the filling, and continue rolling until you reach the opposite edge.

Place the taquitos in a large casserole dish or rectangular glass 13" x 9" baking dish, allowing the taquitos to touch. Pour taco sauce over the top of the taquitos, then sprinkle the remainder of the onions over the taco sauce. Sprinkle cheese over the top.

Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese melts.

Serve with chips and guacamole or salsa.

Fried Rice with Bean Curd

When it comes to cheap and easy vegetarian recipes, you can't do much better than fried rice. It's quick, simple, and versatile - you can add just about anything you want to a batch of fried rice, and it will be quite tasty.

Here's a tip for making fried rice - whenever you are making a rice based dish, cook an extra 1 1/2 cups of rice - this will make an extra 3 cups when cooked. Put the extra cooked rice in a plastic food storage bag and throw it in the freezer. That way, you'll always have a base for a fried rice meal - this can be wonderful for those nights when you just don't have much time to cook.

Here's just one of the endless variations of fried rice that you can throw together in under 15 minutes:

3 cups cooked rice
2 tbsp sesame oil or olive oil
1 carrot, cut into 1/2 inch strips
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp hot chili sauce
8 oz tofu (bean curd), cut into 1/4" x 1/2 inch pieces

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok. Add cooked rice, stir fry for 2 minutes. Add tofu and soy sauce, stir fry for another 2 minutes. Add remainder of ingredients, stir fry for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Serve with spring rolls or vegan hot and sour soup.

Vegetables with Korean Style Noodles (Chap Chae)

I have a Korean acquaintance who was recently telling me that he wanted to eat more vegetarian meals, but that traditional Korean cuisine was tough to make vegetarian.

"Nonsense", I said. "Any cuisine can be made vegetarian." Yerp. If you can make German vegetarian dishes (and I've done it), you can do anything, right?

Ok, ok... I found out it's a little tough. Korean vegetarian cuisine is indeed a bit sparce. But I love a good challenge, and I'll be posting Korean vegetarian recipes over the coming weeks, as I find good Korean dishes that work well with meat substitutes (or just without meat, period).

Here's my first offering in the Korean vegetarian recipes category - Vegetables with Korean Style Noodles:

6 oz bean thread noodles (also called glass noodles or mung bean noo)
1/4 cup rice wine
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp hot Korean style chili paste
4 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 large onion, sliced
2 large carrots, cut into 2 inch strips
8 oz shiitake or white mushrooms, sliced

Soak noodles in warm water for 10 minutes to soften, then cook in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cool water.

Combine sesame soy sauce or tamari, rice wine, garlic, sugar, and chili paste.

Cook onion, carrots, mushrooms, and spinach in a medium pan with sesame oil until tender. Pour soy sauce mixture over vegetables, lower temperature and simmer for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve vegetables over bean thread noodles.

Notes:

I've found a few recipes for chap chae that call for 1/2 cup or more of tamari or soy sauce. I cut the soy sauce in half and used rice wine to make up the liquid - this takes out quite a bit of sodium. If you wanted to cut out even more sodium, you could use 1/2 cup of rice wine while cooking, and then sprinkle tamari over the vegetables just before serving.

I'm often guilty of placing healthy and quick cooking over authenticity - I try to come up with recipes that are as authentic as possible, while making them healthier and easier to make than the original recipes. That said, I'm told that the authentic Korean version of this recipe would call for dang myun, which is a noodle made with sweet potato starch.

Look, I'm just some hippie from Ohio. Maybe you can find dang myun in your neck of the woods, but I certainly can't come up with it here.

Mediterranean Veggie Wraps

It's been a crazy couple of days. One of my books, How to Sell Your Art, Handmade Crafts, Photographs, and Music Online went to final layout, so it's been a flurry of activity around here... tweaking my bio, trying to get a good headshot for the book, answering emails from the publisher, and so on. Anyway, my eating habits haven't been as..., well, thoughtful as I would have liked. A take out felafel here, a veggie burger there... kind of the vegetarian's version of living on junk food.

Anyway, tonight, I finally had a little bit of time to unwind and be a person again, so I decided to treat my body to something a bit lighter than the questionable fare I've been asking it to live off of lately. I made these delicious Mediterranean veggie wraps with some roasted red pepper hummus. It feels good to be human again.

2 large tortillas
1 medium eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds
sea salt (or table salt)
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 large cucumber, diced
1 Roma tomato, diced
Sun dried tomato pesto
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil

Salt the eggplant slices on both sides and let sit for 5 minutes. Pat dry on both sides (the salting takes out the excess moisture and bitterness). Brush with olive oil on one side. Place directly on oven rack, oiled side down, and bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Oil tops of eggplant slices, turn over, let bake for an additional 8 minutes.

Between oiling and turning the eggplant slices, start assembling the wraps. Spread 1 tsp of the pesto on each tortilla; add diced tomato, cucumber, and red pepper.

When the eggplant slices are done, place them on a cutting board and cut into 1/2 inch squares. Place eggplant squares on top of the veggies. Sprinkle balsamic vinegar on top and roll the tortillas into wraps.

I imagine there are quite a few variations of this you could make - these just happened to be items I already had on hand.

These wraps are pretty easy to make - I think if I had planned it a little better (and if my five-year-old daughter wasn't trying to help me with the dicing), I could have probably done these in 20 minutes. As it were, I probably put closer to a half hour into them.

Enjoy!