No-Fry Eggplant Parmesan

Summer is finally here! And after that winter. I could repost a picture to remind you of what we had around here, but I'll spare you the horror.

Oh, what the heck.

Anyway, it's over. I do think winter is like pregnancy. When it's done, you can't remember the pain. Not that I have experience being pregnant, but I have a vivid imagination. Vivid.

The eggplants are rolling in full steam. Many, many years ago, I started making this no-fry eggplant parm. I am usually one who will not turn on the oven in the summer, but I make an exception for this casserole--because the eggplants are so fresh. Besides, we'll never have winter again. I can't even remember what it was like.

Here's the deal:

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Curried Chickpea Burgers

Over the past few days, there's been a big storm brewing among food writers in the United States, mostly concerning plagiarism issues. Apparently, a magazine (both print and online) has been taking people's blog posts and previous magazine articles and "repurposing them" under the theory that if it's online, it's available for all takers.

This all brings up an interesting point about this blog. When I started it, I decided to write the recipes in narrative form--as you're about to see with this one, as you have seen with them all. I admit it's a pain--for you because you have to copy out what's in the post and for me because I have to write more.

That said, it puts a step between me and the copycats, between Bruce's recipes and those that would lift them willy-nilly without attributing them to us. I'm sorry if that causes you to do a little more work. But in these days of internet rights and loosey-goosey, Wild West writing practices on the web, I have to be as smart as I can.

Anyway, on to the recipe. A narrative one, of course. It's for a vegetarian burger, made with canned chickpeas and curry. We had these for lunch with a simple salad on the side. But you could easily put them in whole wheat pita pockets with some chopped lettuce and tomatoes, plus some tahini sauce or maybe some chutney--or just mustard. They're so easy--and so great. How about a fried egg on top?

Let's get to it.

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Roasted Aloo Matar Edamame

I was going to blog something else today. Um, cocoa brownies. Don't worry--they're on their way. But I got so excited about this recipe, I couldn't let it go.

We had a dinner party last night, an East Indian affair. Bruce charged me with the first course.

I waffled. I asked for advice on twitter. I hinted for help on facebook. It was disgraceful. But he was doing some major braise for the main course--with goat-cheese samosas as the intermediary course. Shoot. How was I going to come up with something for a first course?

I soon thought of aloo matar gobi, the potato-cauliflower-and-pea stew that's something of a staple. Yep, OK, that's a start. But I wanted to push it.

Boy, did I. Here's how. . . .

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Oven-Roasted Ratatouille

Happy New Year! At least here in the U. S. Yes, it's almost Rosh Hashanah. But today is the new year!

January 1st isn't, right? I mean, it's crammed at the end of the holidays, the last gasp of utter exhaustion. It's not really at any change of seasons. You don't really do anything different from 12/31 to 1/2.

But the day after Labor Day in the States? It's truly the new year. The kids go back to school--or are already there. Everyone bears down a bit more at work. Everyone's even at the office at the same time! The days are starting to turn shorter. Time itself just feels different.

I've always felt we in the U. S. should celebrate this day as the new year. It's time to start new projects, new ideas. It's time to get more serious about our reading. It's red wine, not white.

Best of all, you can have a new year and not even think about any darn resolutions. Except more real food, of course.

I love this recipe that Bruce made up for THE ULTIMATE COOK BOOK, our 500-recipe tome. Mostly because (yes, I admit it) I've never liked ratatouille. I don't know about you, but for me it's always too soft and squishy. I'm not much into soft food. Unless it's pudding. Then back up!

But by roasting the ingredients for the ratatouille, Bruce has turned it into more toothsome fare. Imagine: both roasted veggies AND ratatouille. Sold yet?

Shoot, I had it in omelets for a couple of days at lunch. And I also put it on stale bread, shaved Parmesan cheese on top, and broiled it for bruschetta.

So let's get to it. You'll end up with about 8 healthy side servings.

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Swiss Chard Frittata

Time is not my friend. No, not the changing seasons. Instead, I'm a week away from finishing our next book. Wait until you hear all about it: Lobsters Scream When You Boil Them and 100 Other Cooking Myths. Bruce and I actually wrote it together--although now I'm in the heavy-editing phase. And if I do say so myself, it's drop-dead hysterical.

It'll be out late next year, sometime after the first-ever, all-goat book. Whew. And we just finished a deal to write a our own cookbook under the COOKING LIGHT brand--a complete guide on how to be a "quick cook."

Plus, we're working on two chapters for a weight watchers book. Plus, we have a big article due to Cooking Light magazine in a couple of weeks.

Needless to say, I'm frazzled. Which is one of the many reasons a meal like this is so great.

Eggs are fantastic. Don't you love them?

One of my favorite dinners? Scrambled eggs, a vinegary salad of crunchy greens, a couple of pieces of whole-grain toast, and a glass (or two!) of red wine. Now that's living!

This week, Bruce whipped up a frittata one evening when we'd both been crazed with other things. It sure it the spot! The whole technique is found in COOKING KNOW-HOW, our technique guide to a host of dishes (available here). But I thought I'd share this one here. It was a keeper. It'll make four servings.

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Fennel and Carrot Slaw

Are your forearms getting a bit flabby? Any of the church-lady wave happening? I've got the cure.

Slaw. You bet. Because the only way to make it is to squeeze those veggies of any excess moisture. In fact, you have to work those forearms to make sure you don't end up with a watery slaw. Nothing's worse. (Well, OK, we can all probably think of a few things worse. Don't tempt me to start a list!)

Besides giving his forearms a Popeye workout, Bruce takes care of that watery blech by basically curing the fennel. It's a two-step process that yields the very best slaw.

So let's get to it:

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White Bean, Pecan, and Sage Burgers

You may already know this, but I can't stand veggie burgers.

Well, I can't stand the ones you get at most stores. I find them irritatingly coarse, not satisfying at all, and ridiculously overpriced. Plus, I find the nutrition content deplorable, the chemical signature outrageous.

As you can see, I'm pretty passionate about it all. Because veggie burgers of all sorts are a go-to meal around here. Because they're relatively easy to make. And because they're so darn delicious.

Bean burgers may be my favorite of all. The "batter" can be made in advance and saved back in the fridge for a couple days. Or you can fry them up and save them back for lunch in the days ahead. They're great cold with a salad alongside. Or reheated on a baking sheet in a preheated 350F oven for 10 minutes or so.

Bruce's recipe is genius. It's found in toto in COOKING KNOW-HOW, our step-by-step tome explaining the science and art behind sixty-nine dishes. But lacking all that know-how, here's one way to make them.

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Quinoa Tabbouleh

When I planted my kitchen garden this spring, I decided, sort on a whim, to put in a few Brussels sprouts plants. I've never grown them and I thought it'd be a blast to see what would happen.

Lo and behold, I've got a parsley 9-1-1! The poor plants are being overrun. And some other herbs, too. There's also oregano under those big leaves.

I need to use up that parsley before it gets run out of Dodge. And I have a feeling most people who buy a bunch of parsley at the store have the same feeling: what am I going to do now with all this?

So it's back to our regularly scheduled program: fridge salads. Today's whole grain version is a whimsical one from Bruce. It's like a traditional tabbouleh but with red quinoa instead of bulgur wheat. Honestly, it's a lighter treat on a hot summer day. This salad has been a staple around our house for the last week as the temperature has skyrocketed into the 90s.

So here we go.

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Roasted Pepper and Shiitake Salad

Those bell peppers aren't the only thing burning up around here. Apparently, we missed spring in New England. It's going up into the 90s today--and it's only late May!

I fear this heat wave might mean a bad summer ahead. Who knows? The weather here is nuts: rain, snow, sleet, beating sun, heat, humidity. And that's on a Monday. Is it any wonder this place bred Puritans and other scolds?

Ah, well. In celebration of bad weather (!), I thought I'd offer some more of those luscious, make-ahead salads. We keep them in the fridge all week so we can have heaping spoonfuls of this and that for lunch every day.

The point is this: a wide variety in what you eat means you can eat less and be satisfied more quickly. Eating bored--whether you're bored or you're bored with your food--can be a recipe for weight-management disaster, as research shows. (It's pretty well documented in our new book, REAL FOOD HAS CURVES.)

So the salad.

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Smoky Baba Ganoush

To go with this celebratory week of healthy salads, here's a smoky, silky, creamy spread.

Except I don't spread it. I just eat it with a spoon.

In doing lots of reading for REAL FOOD HAS CURVES, our seven-step plan to get off processed food, I came across research which proved that varied textures on a plate aid in increased satiety--and thus in eating less and being satisfied more quickly, the keys to losing or maintaining weight.

Since it's crucial that a plate of food have a range of textures, the chew-heavy salads this week benefit from something creamy on the side.

Baba ganoush to the rescue! It's an eggplant spread, made with sesame seeds or tahini (that is, sesame seed paste). It's usually got lemon juice and a few spices in the mix--but Bruce's version makes some interesting morphs to this Middle Eastern comfort food. His is smoky and quite tasty. Here's how he does it:

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