Roasted Ratatouille

Ratatouille originated as a vegetable stew from Provence and Nice in France. A "classical" ratatouille has tomato as the main ingredient, with zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, onion, garlic, bay leave, thyme, basil, or mixed green herbs such as herbs de Provence. I opted out eggplant and used the leftover carrot, and red and yellow bell peppers instead.

Roasting really brings out the flavor of the vegetables. You can serve this as a side dish, or main with crusty bread, rice or noodles, or roasted potatoes.

I have adapted this dish based on a book called Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook by Robin Robertson.

Ingredients:
1/2 of each red bell pepper and yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 large carrot, cut into coin slices
1 small zucchini, cut into coin slices
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1/4 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoon thyme
3 tablespoon basil pesto (homemade or store bought)
2 tablespoon parsley, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Lightly grease baking tray.
   
2. Toss together all the ingredients, except zucchini and tomatoes, together in a medium bowl.

3. Pour over baking tray. Cover and bake for 20 minutes.

4. Remove cover, add zucchini, tomatoes and thyme. Bake uncover for another 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

5. Stir in basil pesto, sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve warm.

Lentil Lasagna

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The cheese sauce made of milk, cheddar, flour and bay leaves.

Lentil sauce: Green lentils, red/ yellow bell peppers, crushed tomatoes and bay leaves. Press it to the bottom of the pan. It looks quite like bolognese, doesn't it?


I cooked the pasta al dente. You can add one or two spoonful more of water to the lentil sauce if you prefer it to be well cooked and "soft".

This Lentil Lasagna would appease to both vegetarians and meat eaters alike. It owes its rich flavor to the herbs and spices. The green lentils also adds an interesting texture to the sauce. Not only can this dish be frozen and reheated, but also can be prepared a few days in advance.

I ran out of suitable baking dish for lasagna and had to make do with a pie dish. If you were like me, simply break the lasagna sheets into appropriate sizes and pieces to fit the dish.

I adjusted the volume and measurement of the ingredients to suit for two persons. Go here for the original.

Florentine eggs on Sourdough Muffins

In the cooking terminology, Florentine refers to foods cooked in the style of Florence, Italy - typically eggs, meat and fishes that contain spinach and creamy Mornay-style sauce. As the story goes, Catherine de Medici, an Italian wife of France's Henry II, introduced spinach to the Court of France n 1550. In honor to her Italian heritage, she decided to name any dishes containing spinach "Florentine". I was short of spinach leaves and so used tomato slices for half of the sliced muffins. I hope Catherine would approve.

You may consider this a cheating recipe that strays from the "traditional" way of making Hollandaise sauce. It sure safes time when you are either in a hurry or not in the mood for messing the sauce up. And hey! With a winning combo of sour cream, mayonnaise and mustard, you know this cheater rocks!

I did a revisit to a couple of my previous posting: Cinnful Apple Fruit Salad and Mulled Hot Chocolate.

This hot chocolate is so hard to disappoint; it's a no fail recipe. Adrian had it with a shot of espresso, which was not to my liking but approved by the coffee connoisseur himself. As for the salad, I thought it was strange that it wasn't as flavorful as the last time: apparently I left out the vanilla extract.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp Dijon mustard

4 Eggs, poached

2 sourdough muffins, split, toasted

1 cup Fresh baby spinach leaves, cooked

Dash of pepper

1. In a double boiler, mix sour cream, mayonnaise and mustard. Stir till warm. Set aside. You can also use microwave.

2. Meanwhile, spread about 2 tbsp sauce on each English muffin half. Top each with half of the cooked spinach leaves.

4. Place poached egg over spinach. Top each with half of the remaining sauce, sprinkle with pepper.

Roasted Beet with Orange and Walnut Dip

According to the Liver Detox book that I'm reading, beet root is good for toning and rebuilding the liver. Something I want to share with Nook. There has been ongoing investigation on the role of beet extract in protecting normal and diabetic livers, as well as they role on elevated cholesterol level in individual with cancer.

While the Romans used beet for fever and constipation, Roman soldiers famously coined 'take favours in the beetroot fields', as an euphemism for visiting the prostitute - beet root juice has been considered as aphrodisiac since the Roman times.

Beet root really is one of nature's many wonders - from treating indigestion to blood pressure and cancer - . Consumption of this purple vegetable also known to produce pink urine. We'll see.

So far I have successfully turned Adrian's dislike of olives and eggplants to the better. Tonight, it's a "I-hope-you-like-beet root-although-I-knew-you-don't" night. I saw the look on his face and it's understood when he said, though with a smile, "Don't take it personally if I don't eat much".

"You will like this" Says the cook.

Verdict: The cook is always right.

I like the nutty, creamy flavor the toasted walnut added to the dip. Adrian likes how the orange and garlic hinder the beet root-ty taste. I actually like beet root as it is, but it feels good when he says "OK. You are right. I like this".

You can use the dip as sandwich spread, mix it into hummus for a gorgeous light pink colored dip, or simply serve as a platter with vegetable crudites, melba toast, loves, crackers and apple wedges.

I served it with strips of red and yellow capsicums, and toasted bread with spread of feta. I suspect cream cheese, tahini and yogurt would work just as well. I thought we were not going to finish the dip but I somehow discovered that the dip works as dressing for the Warm Spinach Goat Cheese Salad. They look pretty together =)

Ingredients:
makes about 1 1/2 cups

2-3 medium beets
3/4 scant cup walnuts
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp orange juice
salt, pepper
1/2 tsp orange zest

1. Wash and dry the beets. Wrap them in foil,place in a baking dish and bake in a 200C oven for 1 hour or till the beets are fork tender. Let the beets cool a little and peel the skin.
2. Toast walnuts in a pan over medium heat till they are light brown.
   
3. Place the roasted beets, toasted walnuts and all other ingredients, except orange zest in a blender. Puree till smooth.
   
4. Adjust vinegar, sugar, and salt to taste. Transfer the dip to a bowl and mix in orange zest. Serve chilled with pita bread and vegetable crudites.

Warm Spinach Goat Cheese Salad

A tasteful that's easily adaptable based on what's on hand and what's in season and what you like. The essentials are simply the lentils (preferably 'meaty' lentils such as French green lentils, or black lentils.) and the vinegar-brightened vegetables. And how I love savoring the melty goat cheese with the crisp vegetables! The Roasted Beet with Orange and Walnut Dip also worked wonderfully as dressing for this salad. They make a pretty pair =)

Ingredients:
(serves 2)
3 cups salted water
1/4 cup green lentils

1 small onion, minced
1/2 carrot, cubed
vegetables (capsicum, celery, etc) cubed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 ounces spinach, tough stems removed, cut into narrow strips
2 ounces goat cheese, broken into pieces
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Bring water to a boil. Add the lentils and cook til done, about 30 minutes.
2. Sautee onion with a pinch of salt over medium heat. Add vegetables. Stir to coat til crisp-tender. Stir in the vinegar.
3. Combine hot lentils, vegetables, spinach and goat cheese until spinach 'cooks' from heat of lentils. Season to taste. Serve at once.

Vegetable Casserole

I've been into making breakfast casserole lately. It's easy and delicious. You can use just about any vegetables you have in the fridge. For instance, I put some frozen vegetables I had left from the Baked Stuffed Bell Pepper for yesterday morning, and a combo of zucchini, tomato and mushroom this morning. They both turned out equally delicious.

I don't have a standard measurement, it goes something like this:

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/4 cup of milk
pinch of salt and pepper
cheddar cheese, cubed or grated
gruyere cheese, grated
chopped herbs (thyme, parsley, basil, tarragon, etc)
Mixed vegetables (broccoli, zucchini, tomato, capsicum, mushroom, etc)

Mix and stir all the ingredients together in a big bowl. Pour over a greased casserole. Bake at 175C for 30 minutes or until the top turns golden brown.

Blueberry Oatmeal Crumbs

I love crumbs. i love the crunchy texture that comes with every bite. I knew I have to make something now that the cheap local frozen blueberry are back in the shelf. I fell in love with this recipe the moment my eyes set on its picture.

I don't usually mix my platter. I prefer to eat my meal in a specific "order"- whatever that means. But not this morning. I have so much faith and expectation for this recipe I made exemption for this crumbs - again, whatever that means. And as Adrian was savoring the Vegetable Casserole, I pressured him to dip into the crumbs - a behavior that would normally make me frown. "OMG! It's so good it puts the casserole to shame by one point!" And henceforth he couldn't decide which one to go in his mouth first: the savory or the sweet? The cheesy vegetable or crunchy blueberry oatmeal?

Good thing I baked a big tray of it - we still get to keep some while I share the rest with my friends. I'm pretty sure everyone approves :)

Ingredients:
For the Filling -
3 Cups frozen blueberry
1/2 brown sugar
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (from 1 orange)
2 tablespoons corn flour
2 tablespoons water

For Crust and Topping -
2 1/2 rolled oat
1 1/4 all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
zest from 1 orange
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter, cubed

1. In a saucepan, heat together orange juice, brown sugar and blueberry over medium heat to boiling; about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
   
2. Mix together corn flour and water. Stir into the blueberry mixture and return to boiling. Stir until the mixture thicken. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, cover and keep in refrigeration for at least 1 hour. I kept it for overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 175C. Lightly grease a 8" square baking pan.
   
4. In a large bowl, mix together oatmeal, flour, sugar, zest and salt. Add butter cubes, using fingers, mix ingredients together until it resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Layer 1/2 the crumbs to the bottom of the baking pan. Take the blueberry mixture from the refrigerator and pour it over the crust. Top the blueberry filling with the other 1/2 of crumbs. Pressing lightly to adhere.
6. Bake at 175C for 45 minutes. Remove and cool completely before cutting into squares.