Hiatus

Moderately Mediterranean is going on hiatus while I'm in Peru. You can follow my food and other adventures at 38 Days in Peru.

Pineapple Salsa

I had purchased some fresh pineapple and realized I wasn't going to be able to eat it all before it started going bad. So, I decided to make some pineapple salsa, ostensibly to go on a salmon filet. However, it's great on cracker and tortilla chips as well. As with most of my "recipes," proportions are up to your taste and how much you want to make. I used approximately the same amount of the fruits and vegetables here unless otherwise noted.

Ingredients:

Fresh pineapple, diced (you may use canned as well)
Red onion, diced
Mini sweet peppers, diced
Roma tomato, diced (1/4 - 1/2 the proportion of the other ingredients)
Cilantro, chopped
Cumin, 1 tsp. or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. lime juice (or more if you'd like)

Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and let sit for a couple of hours in the fridge to allow the flavors to marry. Serve as desired.

Unfortunately, this doesn't last for more than a couple of days, so eat it up quickly!

Enjoy!

Aubergine Stew

Aubergine (aka eggplant) is mentioned multiple times in the Mediterranean Diet. The problem: I have never liked eggplant. It's always been very bitter to me. So, I did a little research and decided to try it again. This set of guidelines is for eggplant stew. Proportions are entirely up to your taste and how much you are making. I did mine in the multi-cooker, so all of the sauteing and cooking was done in the same pot. If you use a slow cooker, do the sauteing in another pan.

Ingredients:

Eggplant, peeled and cubed (I used one large)
Red onion, sliced or chopped
Minced garlic
Carrots, chopped
Celery, chopped
Mini sweet peppers, chopped
1/2 cup dried black-eye peas
1/2 cup dried green lentils
1/2 cup dried chickpeas
Fresh thyme, oregano, rosemary, and parsley, chopped
1-2 bay leaves
Salt (optional) and pepper to taste
Enough chicken stock, vegetable stock, and/or water to cover by an inch or so

Preparation:

Sprinkle the eggplant with a generous amount of salt and set in a colander in the sink or over a bowl, like you would cucumbers. Let drain for at least 30 minutes. THIS IS THE KEY STEP. It's the bitter juices that drain out. After draining, wash off all the salt with cold water and dry the eggplant on a paper towel.

While the eggplant is draining, chop the vegetables and herbs. 

Cooking:

Saute the onion in 2-3 Tbsp. of olive oil (or canola oil) for 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and saute for a few more minutes, making sure the garlic doesn't brown. Add the eggplant and saute for another 5-7 minutes. Add some salt (if used) and pepper at the very end of the sauteing. If cooked in a separate pan, add the sauteed vegetables to the slow cooker. Add the dried beans, then add the rest of the vegetables, and herbs and spices. Top with bay leaf. Add more pepper if desired. Add enough cooking liquid to cover by about 1 inch, being sure not to go over the maximum allowed by your cooker (mine is 2/3 full). Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

My stew was a bit thin, so I added about a tablespoon of garbanzo flour mixed with a little water and let is simmer for 30 minutes.

This freezes really well, and will keep for at least a week in the refrigerator. As an added enhancement, I put some reduced fat feta cheese on mine when I served it. You can use any dried beans you happen to have, and feel free to substitute dried herbs for fresh, keeping in mind you only need about half the amount of dried.

Unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures of it. I'll add some when I make it again. Enjoy!

New Kitchen Gadgets

I have a back-up of posts due to midterms, my Research Proposal, and revising manuscripts, so there is going to be a barrage of things coming out. First off, I bought some new toys for the kitchen. The first is an Infusé.

So far I've just made lime water and lemon-lime water. I want to try fresh berries once they are in season. It comes with a tea infuser as well, and a piece you can freeze then attach to keep stuff cold without watering it down. I may try making sangria with it at some point, too.

The next thing, and one I'm really excited about, is the Fagor LUX Multi-Cooker.

It's a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, and it steams, simmers, sautés, and browns. I made aubergine stew in it the other night (recipe to follow soon). I started off by sautéing the onions, garlic, and eggplant, added the rest of the ingredients and slow cooked it, then added some garbanzo flour and let it simmer to thicken...and I only had to clean one pot!

I've also ordered a few things from Twisted Chef: Poached egg cups, an avocado tool, and a greens stripper. They should be here next week. Right now I'm going to finish my lunch (leftover aubergine stew), work on a couple of recipes for y'all, and possibly make chicken stock (30 minutes in the multi-cooker!). Eat well!

Zucchini Pasta

I'd never heard of vegetable "pasta" before I ran across this recipe. It sounded really good so I decided to try it. One does not need a spiralizer to make veggie pasta. I went to Bed, Bath, & Beyond and go a julienne peeler and it worked perfectly.

The recipe I used is Running to the Kitchen's Zucchini Pasta with Avocado Cream Sauce. The only substitutions I made were 2% milk instead of almond or rice milk, and grape tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes. This was delicious all on its own, or it would be a perfect healthy summer side. Enjoy!

Greek Mac 'n Cheese

I meant to post this after I first made it, but forgot to take a picture. So, here's last night's dinner.

Starting from the top left: a pear, marinated grilled chicken strips, and the star of the show, Greek mac 'n cheese. Thanks once again to Allen of the Cole's Slaw blog for his mac 'n cheese recipe. I made the following substitutions:

Macaroni --> Brown rice macaroni
Butter --> EVOO
Sharp cheddar --> Reduced fat feta
Milk --> 2% milk
Added chopped kalamata olives

Needless to say, it is fabulous. If anyone tells you feta cheese doesn't melt, they just don't know how to do it.

Now to decide on what my next cooking adventure will be...

Lamb!

Lamb is one of the few red meats I'm "allowed" to have, and even that sparingly. I picked up some lamb meat for kabobs last week, and made them on Friday night. The first step was marinating the lamb. A friend of mine, Allen from the Cole's Slaw blog, gave me this recipe for a general meat marinade on the grill:

Marinade for the Grill

1/3 C vegetable oil (I substituted EVOO. Canola oil will work, too)
1/4 C Soy sauce (I substituted low-sodium tamari)
1/4 C Lemon juice
1 tbsp Mustard
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper

This is a really good base marinade. Since I was doing lamb, I added some chopped fresh rosemary. You can add or vary spices and herbs for the meat being cooked and/or to suit your tastes, or even add a splash of balsamic vinegar (suggestion from Allen). I marinated it for a few hours.

After marinating, I skewered the lamb on bamboo skewers (soak them in water for 1/2 hour before cooking so they don't catch fire), and interspersed some crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, red onion, sweet peppers, and pineapple. I grilled this on my stovetop grill, which I don't really recommend. I thought it would be a neat thing, but it doesn't cook very evenly and the smoke is horrible. If you are grilling them on a charcoal grill, cook over direct heat. 12 minutes total should do, turning them a few times. Don't overcook! Dry lamb is nasty. I also basted them with the marinade. Serve over brown rice. No need for other veggies unless you so desire. Enjoy!