Eggplant Parmesan on the Barbecue

Here is a great interpretation of a baked classic, redone for the bbq, making use of in season veggies. Fun, quick and pretty daggon nutritious. Got big eaters? Throw on a piece of meat to go with it for a heartier meal.




Grilled Eggplant Parmesan- Serves 4 -6

Ingredients:

• 1 Eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices
• 1 Zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices
• 2 large tomatoes, sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices
• Handful of fresh basil and oregano leaves
• 1/2 cup each, shredded mozzarella and parmesan
• salt and pepper

(I had some leftover polenta so I baked it in a pan and then grilled it to make another layer. You can buy polenta in the tube, slice it and grill it if you like or you can leave it out. You can also slice up tofu, grill it and add it as another layer to bump up the nutrients and add a layer of creamy goodness!)

Instructions:

1. Heat your grill to high.
2. Grill your eggplant and zucchini until tender.
3. Grill your tomato until heated, about 1 minute per side (too long and you'll have mush!)
4. Assemble your parmesan but layering eggplant, cheese, herbs, tomato, zucchini and repeat. End with cheese and herbs.

Enjoy!

Polenta (and can you really do that with tofu?!)

I just had a thought.... is it wrong to wrap tofu in bacon? I was just thinking about what to have tomorrow and remembered I picked up some bacon on sale "buy one get one free" at the Sobey's. I went for the toilet paper sale but that's another story. I buy it(bacon) on sale and separate it into 2 pieces per package and freeze it. Then I just the right portion for chowders, making fresh bacon bits or even for the occasional breakfast. Don't ask me why wrapping tofu with it came to mind. I think it would freak out some earth muffin vegetarian vibe out there in the universe resulting in some sort of plague against meat. So maybe not.

On another note, I made polenta for the first time. EASY!! And really tasty. I kept it super simple. This is great in place of potatoes, rice, couscous, noodles, etc. And you can change the flavorings to suit your meal or your own taste buds!

Italian Polenta
Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 1/3 cup water
• 3 ounces grated parmesan
• 5 big leaves of basil, chopped
• Salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Put 1 cup water and cornmeal in a bowl and let soak.
2. Put the rest of the water in a pot and bring to a boil
3. Add the cornmeal mixture to the boiling water and reduce to low.
4. Simmer until thickened, it will happen quickly, just a couple of minutes
5. Stir in the cheese until blended
6. Stir in the basil
7. Taste and add salt to taste
8. Serve!

(I do have some great recipes for the freezer for veggies coming into harvest this time of year. I swear I'll get them up soon...)

Thai Coconut Curry Seafood Chowder

I'm waiting for the fog to lift around here. It's been hanging around for well over a week now. I can't find the BBQ through the fog.... In the meantime I've been having a little fun with some ethnic foods. I love seafood chowder and this dish was a refreshing variation. The Thai ingredients can be found at larger grocery stores. I used haddock but you can use any white fish and/or shrimp, scallops, mussels... you get the idea. This recipe is so quick and tasty that you'll turn to it again and again~

Thai Coconut Curry Seafood Chowder

Serves 6 - 4 points per serving

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 lb haddock fillets, cut into cubes
• 1 cup snow peas, sliced
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 4 oz rice noodles
• 1 tbsp red curry paste
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
• 1 14 oz can light coconut milk
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

1. Heat the chicken broth in a sauce pan to a boil over medium high heat
2. Toss in the fish and veggies
3. Reduce the heat to medium, simmer for about 3 minutes until the fish is almost cooked through
4. Add in the noodles
5. Stir in the curry paste, lemon juice, fish sauce and coconut milk and heat through
6. Stir in the cilantro and serve.

Enjoy!