Eggplant Fries

by alphagalcooking

Before all the eggplant is gone from the local markets, I wanted to share this unusual recipe with you all. I was inspired to first make it years ago when I was trying to get my then much younger children to eat more veggies. In the spirit of Jessica Seinfeld (and her Deceptively Delicious cookbook), I thought if the eggplant was in “french fry” form, maybe my kids wouldn’t notice that they were actually eating EGGPLANT (gasp!). And for years as long as I didn’t tell them, they ate this happily with a side of homemade tomato sauce for dipping. Fast forward to now and my daughter absolutely LOVES eggplant. She specifically requested this while she was home from college this summer. We made it together and literally had to stop each other from eating them all so that we would have some for dinner. I’m sure from a health standpoint the frying cancels out some of the benefits of the eggplant, but it still counts as a vegetable at my house. Let me know what you think and if any of your picky eaters will try these “crazy fries”!

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1  medium eggplant or about one pound

2  teaspoons salt, divided

1  cup all-purpose flour

1  teaspoon baking powder

2  teaspoons Italian seasoning

1  teaspoon onion powder

1/8  teaspoon ground red pepper

1/8  teaspoon garlic powder

2/3  cup milk or whatever is safe for you to use (soy, almond, coconut, etc.)

1  tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil

2  large eggs, slightly beaten

Vegetable or olive oil

Tomato sauce for dipping

 

Peel the eggplant, if desired (I never do) and cut into finger sized strips.

(The original recipe says to sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt on the eggplant strips, let stand for 30 minutes, then rinse and pat dry. I NEVER do this. I don’t find eggplant to be bitter, especially in season, and I’m always in way too much of a hurry to add an extra 30 minutes to my meal prep. I’ve never had a bad batch or felt that this step was needed, but I wanted to share this tidbit since it is part of the original recipe.)

Combine the flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, baking powder, and next 7 ingredients in a pie plate; stir until blended and smooth.

Pour enough oil into a dutch oven or deep frying pan to generously cover the bottom of the pan. Heat on medium to medium high heat. Dip strips into the batter, coating well. Fry the eggplant 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain well on paper towels. Serve immediately with a side of spaghetti and tomato sauce for dipping.

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Adapted from Southern Living, 30 Years of Our Best Recipes, 2000

 

 

Zucchini-Honey Bread

by alphagalcooking

I absolutely love the resurgence of local farming and we are blessed to have a wonderful farmer’s market within minutes of our house. These days, I’m planning all my meals for the week around what’s available at the market, and there is simply nothing like the taste of truly fresh food. There has been an abundance of zucchini these past couple of weeks, so I knew it was time for this quick and easy family favorite. My boys love this so much that I had to divide the leftovers into plastic bags with everyone’s name on them so that there would be some left for breakfast the next day! They seriously LOVE it! So while the zucchini is plentiful and local, I plan to shred some extra and freeze it in 2 cup portions so that we can have a little taste of summer in the cool winter months. Hope you all are finding the farmer’s markets in your area and supporting your local farmers. I am very grateful for their time, effort, and passion for farming and real, unprocessed food. 

3  cups flour

1  teaspoon baking powder

1  teaspoon baking soda

1  teaspoon salt

1  tablespoon ground cinnamon

1  cup chopped pecans (if desired and safe for your family)

2  cups shredded zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)

2  large eggs, lightly beaten

1  cup sugar (The original recipe calls for 1 and 1/2 cups sugar, but that is way too much for my taste, so I reduce it to either 3/4 or 1 cup)

3/4  cup honey

1  cup vegetable oil

2  teaspoons vanilla extract

 

Combine the dry ingredients (first 6) in a large bowl, stirring well. In another bowl, combine the zucchini and remaining 5 ingredients, stirring well. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured loaf pans (I use Baker’s Joy). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes to clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely or serve warm. Also freezes well and is perfect for a snack or breakfast on the road.

 

Adapted from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook, 1999

 

Baked Beans Quintet

by alphagalcooking

For those in the USA, Happy Independence Day weekend! Our AG friendly menu for this outdoor holiday includes turkey burgers, fresh fruit, salad, baked beans, and a red, white, and blue dessert. Growing up in New England, Boston baked beans were a tradition and also a production! Not knowing any other way, I made my baked beans from scratch in the first few years I was married. I soon discovered, however, that opening a can of “vegetarian” baked beans made for a much quicker and easier side dish, especially on busy nights with kids. I loved finding this recipe because it has some of the same ingredients as my traditional Boston baked beans, with all the ease of simply opening a can. I have adapted it to be AG friendly and hope you will try it for your cookout or barbecue this weekend or over the summer!

( I sincerely apologize for the lousy quality of this picture. I have been planning to post this recipe since I started blogging and this was taken about 3 cameras ago! It was a good photo at the time, but looks terrible now in comparison to what my newer camera will do. Hopefully, you get the idea of what it should look like and will just trust me that it’s delicious!!)

 

6  slices turkey bacon

1  cup chopped onion

1  clove garlic, minced

1  15-oz can butter beans, drained

1  15-oz can lima beans, drained

1  16-oz can VEGETARIAN baked beans

1  15-oz can red kidney beans, drained

1  15-oz can garbanzo beans, drained

3/4  cup ketchup

1/2  cup molasses

1/3  cup firmly packed brown sugar

1  1/2  tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1  tablespoon prepared yellow mustard

1/2  teaspoon pepper

 

Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon, crumble, and set aside. In the same pan, cook the onion and garlic until tender (add a little olive oil or butter if the onion is sticking to the pan); DRAIN.

Combine bacon, onion mixture, and all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Spoon into a lightly greased  2  1/2 quart bean pot or baking dish. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until beans are tender. Make sure to check the garbanzo beans for doneness, they tend to need some extra time. Serves lots and is fabulous leftover as well.

 

Adapted from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook, 1999