Category Archives: Vegetarian

Day After Superbowl Cleansing Soup

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We are all human and bound to get carried away at times. During festivities and/or especially after watching a Superbowl game with friends having one too many drinks and eating a little too much can leave your body feeling just a bit tired and heavy.
It’s nice to be able to get your body back on track especially because it’s Monday and we need a lot of energy for this week ahead. Catering to your body and giving it a nice nutritious, light, warm meal can do wonders.

Help jumpstart your body into getting rid of toxins that you’ve accumulated during this time by feeding it a light meal allows your body to focus more on your body than on the digestion of what you are eating, hence using the extra energy in keeping you awake, or completing that workout that you are so dreading because you feel exhausted. We don’t realize how much energy our body uses for digestion and when you eat heavily it really takes a toll on your already tired body.
This is a nice light recipe that will really give your body all the nutrients it is now lacking.

It’s so good for you and simple; but most of all delicious. I topped it off with some steamed mushrooms and chilies (recipe below). Feel free to top off with what you like. I hope that you enjoy!

Ingredients: For the Soup

1 lb. of Spinach*, washed

1 Scallion, finely chopped

5 cups of Vegetable broth**

Handful Parsley, chopped

2 tbsp. of Ginger, fresh & grated

A pinch of Cayenne *optional

Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium pot add half a cup of broth, add your scallion and allow to get translucent. Add your ginger, then spinach, parsley then cayenne, salt and pepper mix and add remaining broth allow to cook for 15-20 min.
Turn heat off and with an immersion blender puree the soup. Serve warm.

*Spinach use whatever variety or array you like
**Make your own by boiling 5 cups of water and add a no MSG Veg bullion

Ingredients:  For Mushroom topping

2 cups of Porcini Mushrooms*, chopped

2 Chili Peppers *optional

Couple leaves of chopped parsley

1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

In a sauce pan add the olive oil with the chili pepper and the parsley, allow to simmer lightly and then add your mushrooms. Saute for about 5 minutes add your salt and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes and then top your delicious soup with this. YUM!

*Whatever mushroom is completely fine.

Cleansing soup

Gnudi – Spinach and Ricotta Delicate No-Carb Balls

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Have you ever just had a craving for something? I love all things cheesy and although I might not eat cheese everyday when I do I like it to be good quality cheese with a quality meal. Sometimes it’s just cheese and wine; here in Italy it’s so common to eat Parmigiano Reggiano in chunks with a nice glass of wine or for a snack.
However delicious; one of my favorite types of cheese is a good Pecorino aged at least 100 days but anyway I find it I like it. I find it so delicious and also easier to digest, maybe because it’s from sheep’s milk instead of cow. Whatever the reason I really enjoy it.

I was thinking the other night as I prepped my menu for the week as to what I would like to make for dinner and as seeing that it’s been cold, rainy, snowy the last week or so I thought of something warm, indulgent and possibly not too heavy because in the winter most dishes seem to be a little bit more heavy and a little too indulgent.
This recipe popped in my head and I thought ‘brilliant’, this it is: Gnudi which means ‘Nude’, they are in the family of Gnocchi but in a much lighter and delicate way because they have no-Carbs whatsoever they are not heavy or chewy, they melt in your mouth and feel like a little piece of heaven when you eat them.
Now, even though these don’t have a lot of ingredients and seem light they are still filling so I think that 4 or 5 balls per person is plenty. You can serve them with a light red sauce, mushroom sauce, bacon or whatever you like I choose a light sage and olive oil concoction, accompanied by a nice green salad. They are very simple and fast to make and make a great impression. Delizioso! I hope that you like as much as we did. Enjoy!

Ingredients: Makes about 15 large balls

1 kg. of frozen Spinach,  thawed, squeezed dry & chopped (get rid if the excess water)

300 gr. of Sheep Ricotta*

150 gr. of Pecorino, grated**

1 egg

Salt and Pepper to taste

For the sauce:

4 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive oil

5 leaves of Sage, fresh chopped or whole

Handful of Pecorino, grated

Preheat your oven at 350° (180°) degrees.

In a large bowl mix together spinach, ricotta, pecorino, the egg, salt and pepper.
Grab a baking dish and start making the balls placing down one by one, don’t worry if the are close to each other they won’t stick.

Now in a small sauce pan heat your olive oil and sage together until starts to sizzle and switch off. Drizzle the Olive oil mixture evenly over the balls, sprinkle the pecorino on top and bake for 20 minutes. Serve.

*Ricotta can also be from cow’s milk.

**You can use Parmigiano instead of Pecorino, I just wanted to use all sheep’s cheese.

Healthy Side Dish Alternatives for Christmas

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Christmas, Yet another holiday is among us and life is at its ultimate stress mode. There is so much to get done, so many things to decide and so little time to do it.
First of all I want to tell you the one secret, Breathe! No one is expecting you to perform the way you are expecting yourself to perform. You are your biggest judge, and Christmas is a time of Love, Forgiving and no Judging. So just breathe, it’s not like if you stress you are gonna get anything extra accomplished. It actually might just do the opposite.

I am one of those girls that like to occasionally spice up a Holiday Tradition; what I mean by this is sometimes I like to make roasted potatoes vs. mashed potatoes, or throw in a lasagna, or just make something different to add to the Turkey or Chicken and all the other standard side dishes that go along this festive late lunch/dinner.

Vegetables, yes I pretty much name this food group in every single one of my posts because I simply love them and can’t imagine my meals without them. So I have just a few simple and fast side dishes that will keep your dinner lighter but still delicious.

Lets start off with something I came up with that ended up being a success not to long ago when I had to bring something to a lunch. It can be served as an appetizer, finger food or main course if you’re going all vegetarian. Really simple.

Ricotta and Pesto Stuffed Artichoke Cap

Ricotta and Pesto Artichoke

Get your Artichoke cap*, scoop a 1/2 tbsp. of Pesto** and a dollop of Ricotta***, sprinkle some Pepper. Place in a baking tray drizzled with a little olive oil and  bake in the oven at 320° for 20 minutes.

*For the Artichoke: I found some frozen artichoke caps, I boiled them for 10 minutes and let them cool. You could try to do with fresh artichoke just remember to clean correctly and boil for approx. 20 minutes. You could also substitute with mushrooms caps.
**For the Pesto: I used a fresh store-bought version. I think in the USA you could probably find the Barilla version, if it’s to thick? Take it out if the container, put in a bowl add some olive oil mix until a little more creamy.
***For the Ricotta: Put the ricotta in a small bowl, add a drizzle of olive oil, some salt and 2 tbsp. of either Parmigiano or Pecorino. Incorporate all ingredients and that’s it.

Now for Side dishes I have a few delicious options:

Roasted Cauliflower

Roasted Cauliflower

Put your clean and chopped Cauliflower in a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper and bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes. It tastes so good you would’ve never thought that so little ingredients could make Cauliflower taste so darn good.

Roasted Cabbage with Pancetta

Roasted cabbage with Pancetta

Grab a head of cabbage and slice it in 4 or 8. Get out 4 or 8 big enough piece of aluminum foil to cover each piece of cabbage individually. Lay out 1 pc. of foil, place 1 slice of cabbage facing up, drizzle olive oil, sprinkle some salt and pepper, get about 1 tbsp. of diced pancetta and sprinkle on top. Cover the cabbage completely with the foil, to where no holes (like if you were to steam). Repeat the same steps with remaining cabbage. Place in the oven and bake at 380° for 25-30 minutes. Leave in foil so each person can open in their own plate.
Be careful when you open as steam may let out.

Artisanal Flat buns

You can also try out these Artisanal flat buns recipe here, so delicious and perfect to accompany your dinner, or for a sandwich with the leftover Turkey.

And last but not least I always prepare a salad, it’s fresh and perfect for accompanying a heavy meal. Here are some recipes:
My Light Grilled Corn and Mushroom Salad
Elegant Zucchini Ribbon Salad
Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad
No-Carb Grilled Veggie Stack

Well, I hope that I gave you some yummy and healthy ideas for this Holiday feast or for any other day. Happy Holidays!

Ciao

 

Delicately Pureed Artichoke Soup topped off with to die for Lentils

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It’s been a busy 4 days for all of us with Thanksgiving and all the additional get togethers. As much as I enjoy cooking and all the wonders that the Holidays bring, I inevitably need to be a little catered to after it’s all done. And by catered to, I mean I need to pamper myself!

For starters I always without fail need a date night alone with just my Husband; I’ll cook something that we both want, and he’ll light the candles, set the table, open a bottle of wine, set the tunes and the mood. We’ll sit and just talk about the passed events, what we want to do next and really just try to enjoy eachother as much as possible, afterall even though we were together it’s just not the same as being alone.

Then I like to get back to my routine of working out, getting the house back in order and cook a healthy delicious get back on track meal. It’s hard once you start eating sweets and this and that you crave it more, so I like cooking something that is not only healthy but looks amazing that you just want to gobble it up by looking at it. Obviously it also has to be kinda simple, after cooking such big gourmet meals for the Holidays you want something that doesn’t require so much time and effort.

I came up with this meal just because I had the ingredients and thought that I should try doing something with them that I had never done before. It’s so detoxifying, delicious and damn easy. Enjoy this feel good and amazing soup.

Ingredients:

For The Puree:

1 1/2lb. Bag of Frozen Artichokes, defrosted*

3qt. Stock Veggie of Chicken

2 drizzles of Extra Virgin Olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Lentils:

1 cup Dried lentils, your choice

1/2 small Onion

1/2 Carrot

1 celery stick

1 small Potato**

1/2 veggie bullion cube

Handful of Parsley, chopped

2-3 Sage leaves, Chopped

1 tbsp. Olive oil

2 1/2 cups of Water

 

In a medium pot add your Artichokes, Veggie stock, olive oil, salt and pepper. Set over medium flame cover and allow to boil.

In the meantime, chop up your onion, carrot and celery. Grab a small pot put over medium heat add the olive oil and once hot throw in the chopped onion, carrot and celery. Now, peel and cut your potato into small cubes, once the onions are translucent throw in your potatoes along with the bullion cube, stir until the bullion has dissolved, add your sage and then throw in the lentils along with the water followed by the parsley. Mix everything well; cover and allow to cook for 15 – 20 minutes. Lentil cooking time may vary so just keep an eye on them.

Now return to your Artichoke, should be ready and boiling. Turn heat of and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Now grab your Immersion blender and put in the pot and start blending until smooth.

Once your lentils are cooked turn off. Now start to serve first add your Artichoke puree and then in the center add your lentils. If you want you can top off with a drizzle of Extra Virgin olive oil, or not it’s up to you. Now enjoy and congratulate yourself for being an amazing cook.

* Pull the Artichokes out a couple of hours before cooking time. If you have fresh, cooked ones use those instead.

** you can leave the potato out if you wish

 

My Healthy Veggie Stir-fry for Meatless Monday

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Sometimes you just have to think outside the box and go back to things that you loved eating as a kid or at a friends house / restaurant but never made it yourself.

Stir-fry is something that I always find tastes delicious when you eat it at a Asian restaurant. It just seems that sometimes when you eat it at home it either lacks flavor or there is too much flavor or it’s mushy or it just doesn’t taste the same. I figured I would try this out as it would make a perfect meatless Monday meal. I mean Veggies with brown rice??? What more could you want.

Now, I have never in my life or as far as I can remember ever cooked a stir-fry so this was gonna be tricky. I know; I can make a lasagna from scratch but a stir-fry frightens me. Crazy.

Of course I know that you generally put broccoli and some other array of veggies. I also know that you use soy sauce but to be honest I try to use as little soy as possible; after all it is high in sodium and so unfriendly to the woman figure, it really has crazy day after bloating effects which cause so much discomfort, nothing like eating a healthy meal but having your pants fit you too tight because of the MSG you just inhaled. So, I kept a close watch on that one.

This was going to be a test of my culinary skills per se, because I wanted to see if I could achieve the deliciousness and still keep it healthy. The health benefits of this dish are many.
Broccoli is so good for you and high in so many great nutrients, it’s high in potassium, magnesium, calcium, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, which benefits anywhere from brain function to the common cold.
Ginger is another great natural remedy especially for this cold weather, it’s an anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, antiseptic, anti-viral, circulation-stimulating, detoxifying, digestive, lymph-cleansing and warming.
Mushrooms are another fantastic source of nutrients and amazing for the following niacin, selenium, riboflavin, vitamin D, potassium. They are low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol-free and extremely low in sodium.

So the above are the ingredients I used to make my veggie stir-fry accompanied of course by non other than delicious brown rice. I hope that you enjoy it as much as we did.

Ingredients

1 medium head of Broccoli

1/4 lb. Mushroom Pleurotos *

3 Celery stalks

2 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tbsp. fresh Ginger, Minced

3 drizzle count Extra Virgin Olive oil

4 drizzle count Soy Sauce**

Salt and Pepper to taste

Start  by slicing your broccoli into thin florets set aside on separate dish. Then move on to your mushrooms cut longwise and in-between thick and thin set aside on separate dish. Get your celery stalk and cut longwise as thinly as possible and 2 inches long set aside on separate dish. Move on to you ginger, chop up very thin and set aside. And now mince your garlic.

Heat a wok over medium heat, drizzle your olive oil and add the garlic and ginger at the same time. Allow your garlic to get golden and throw in your celery, mix well and then throw in your broccoli. Sprinkle some pepper and add 2 count drizzle of soy. Mix all the ingredients well allow to cook for another 3 minutes and then add your mushrooms. Mix again well with all the ingredients and then add the remaining 2 drizzles of soy. Allow to cook for about 10 minutes mixing ingredients in between. I like my veggies a bit crunchy but if you want to cook more feel free.
Serve over brown rice.

* Use whatever mushroom you like, shitake, portobello, porcini or champignon.

** If you can find Light soy, use that otherwise feel free to use the regular kind.

**If you feel like you need to, you can add a little water to help the cooking process.

 

My Gourmet Porcini with Quinoa Spaghetti

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Who said that healthy equals yuck? or boring? or even tasteless? Well they have it all wrong. I find that my healthy substitutions always end up turning out to be fantastic and to top it all off I can’t even tell the difference and neither can my Husband.

Ok, I’m all about forfeiting the ingredients that aren’t necessary. I mean think about it; do you have to use butter when you can use extra virgin olive oil and make it tastier but healthier?! What about white sugar when raw sugar or honey is so much yummier. Or how about white rice when brown rice is to die for. Or in this case what about white spaghetti when Quinoa is just perfect and earthy and couldn’t marry the ingredient of this dish any better, that ingredient being Porcini.

Do you ever find that you get inspired by one simple ingredient and then have to decide your whole meal around it. Well, I randomly get inspired by what I find in the produce section, I’ll often go to the farmers (they’re everywhere here in Italy), and see what they have and what inspires me for dinner.
I recently was driving with my Husband and on the side of the road was a tiny little truck selling nothing but Porcini mushrooms picked fresh in the morning. I had my Husband pull over got out of the car and waited my turn while some other customers got their Porcini’s and left. I then ended up picking out my Porcini; by pointing them out as you are never to touch the produce here in Italy. The farmer was very proud of his Porcini’s and was careful to tell me how to clean them once home. I already knew how but was happy to see how much he cared about it.

I had no idea what I would make with them so I opened the cupboard and remembered that I had purchased Quinoa spaghetti not to long ago and had yet to use them. I love Quinoa but this was my first time using spaghetti made out of Quinoa, so this was going to be a hit or miss dinner. After cleaning the Porcini, which took what seemed like forever because you have to use a damp rag (not to wet, just damp) and delicately wipe off the dirt, never ever ever wash your mushrooms, they are sponges and will not at all taste good if they are soggy; I made a delicious meal that took all about 15 minutes. I hadn’t thought of how well the Quinoa spaghetti would go with the Porcini’s but I was pleasantly surprised to see that Quinoa being so earthy in texture and flavor would go so well with something as natural and earthy as a Porcini. I hope that you enjoy!

Ingredients:

Serves 2

250 gr. Quinoa Spaghetti

2-3 large Porcini mushrooms

1 clove Garlic

1/4 cup White wine, make it the good kind after all this dish deserves it

Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive oil, count to 4

1 fresh Chili chopped, optional

Salt to taste

Parmigiano Reggiano, however much you like

Boil a pot of water.
In the meantime start slicing your Porcini you want them about a quarter inch in thickness and set aside. Now chop your garlic finely and set off to one side.

Once you water is boiling throw in a large sprinkle of salt followed by your Spaghetti, follow cooking time on the package stirring occasionally.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat drizzle your olive oil and add your garlic. Once your garlic is golden throw in your Porcini along with the chili. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated. Throw in your wine and allow it to reduce about 8 minutes and sprinkle in your salt. Continue to cook at low heat.

Your spaghetti should be cooked, strain and add to the saucepan with the mushroom and incorporate fully. Turn off and serve, sprinkle over your parmigiano. Finito

 

 

 

 

 

Spinach and Pecorino Torta Salata “Quiche”

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Meatless Monday is back, Yay!

So, I’ve been pretty much trying to find different ways of incorporating more vegetables in winter dishes without it being boring. We all know that I am a salad lover, I could eat salad always; but with that being said I do also realize that it does get tough in the winter when it’s cold outside to come home and have something cold like a salad vs. maybe some steamed or roasted veggies. I wanted to figure out a way that I could have a salad and something warm at the same time and came up with this delish recipe.

It’s so yum you won’t even want to stop eating it and save the leftovers for tomorrow but you must, take it for lunch and have something different and healthy.
My husband did and was so happy that he had a warm lunch considering that it was raining all day. It’s a light and simple dish, hassle free. I accompanied this with a nice baby leaf salad that had Julienne beets in it. I felt that it balanced out the meal and was a perfect way of getting a double dose of vegetables in for the day.

Alright, so I made this with what I had in the house. You know that sometimes you just have to open up that fridge and see what is in there that needs to be used up. I hate throwing out 1 zucchini, or a few mushrooms, or whatever it might be just because it’s not part of the menu, I make it a part of the menu and see with what I can come up with that compliments the ingredients I have at hand, it’s part of the challenge and so satisfying when something delicious comes out of the oven.

Ingredients:

1 Puff pastry, store-bought frozen (take out of freezer 30 min before starting to cook)

1 medium bag Spinach, frozen

1 Zucchini

1 Handful Mushrooms, chopped

5 Egg Whites, keep only 2 yolks

1 Garlic clove

1 Handful Spicy Pecorino, grated *

Salt and Pepper to taste

Drizzle Extra Virgin Olive oil

Pull out Puff Pastry from freezer and set aside to defrost.
Preheat your oven at 350° (180°F). Grab your Spinach out of the freezer and place in a medium sauce pan at medium heat, cover and let defrost for about 8-10 min. Once the spinach is defrosted place in a colander and allow to drain all the excess water.

Get your zucchini and slice it into small cubes. Mince your garlic. In your medium saucepan that you already used for the spinach, place over medium flame and drizzle some olive oil, add the garlic followed by the zucchini and the chopped mushrooms add some salt and pepper. Allow to cook for about 6-8 minutes. Don’t cook fully because they will cook in the oven later.

In a pie dish or in my case I used my cast iron pan place parchment paper. Grab your dough and lay it out making sure that it comes up the edges of the pan. If it’s not big enough roll it out…don’t worry about it being to thin, it’s not. Get a fork and stab lightly over puff pastry and set aside.

By now your spinach should be cooled down, either press down with fork to strain out remaining water or get small handfuls and squish out any water.
Grab a medium bowl and add your eggs, remember only 2 yolks, add some salt and pepper and whisk, now you may add your spinach, zucchini and mushrooms, incorporate all ingredients evenly and pour over the puff pastry.
Lay out evenly and place in the oven to bake for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile grate your cheese. If the puff pastry has already turned golden and your ingredients seem firm (cooked), grab the pan out of the oven sprinkle cheese on top, place back in oven for another 5 minutes or until cheese is fully melted. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and serve.

* I had some delicious Pecorino leftover from a snack of cheese, bread and wine. But use whatever you like. Any yummy cheese will do.

 

 

My Easy, Quick, No-Carb Veggie Stack…It’s that Good

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So today’s post is about finding time to eat healthy always, no excuses whatsoever. Sometimes I think that people feel that when you have to eat healthy you really need time for it, although I can understand completely I also think that it takes time to cook a meal even if it’s not considered “healthy”.

We as a whole have to get into the mentality that our body is truly a Temple, it needs clean, healthy and most of all homemade foods to feel energized, peaceful, strong and to look it’s best. Lately I, although seem to have a ton of time feel like I am constantly pressed for time, and although it’s delicious and easy to come home and throw some salad, and other veggies in a bowl and mix it up and voilà dinner is served; I also feel like I would like to serve something a little different but that also looks as though I put time and effort in it. Ha! That must be the little cook in me….always trying to achieve perfection.

I’ve mentioned previously how much I love to grill, it’s low fat and quick. So, I decided that I would make grilled Veggies and kinda give them a sort of lasagna layering. You can grill whatever veggies you like it’s really up to what you have in the fridge and what you enjoy most that can be put on a grill….Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Onions, Radicchio, Endive, Potatoes, Asparagus. But remember if you’re in a rush don’t stress out use what you have, it’s going to be delicious. Trust me.

Ingredients:

2-3 Zucchini

1 large Eggplant

4 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tbsp. Vinegar (any flavor you prefer)

1/2 Garlic Clove, minced

6 Parsley stems, chopped

1 Chili chopped, optional

Salt and Pepper to taste

Turn on your grill at medium setting and let heat. In the meantime slice your eggplant and zucchini 1/2 inch thick longwise. Once grill is warm put your veggies on top allowing to cook for about 5-8 minutes.
Chop Parsley, Garlic and Chilli and mix in a small bowl with Olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Put aside.

You may flip over your veggies now and allow to cook another 5 minutes allowing to reach grill marks.
Remove from heat. Get your plates and drizzle a little of your Olive oil mixture on the bottom and layer some eggplant drizzle again and layer some zucchini, drizzle again and  layer eggplant, continue this until you’ve atleast achieved 4 layers and top off with a drizzle. Do the same with other dish and serve.

Now you’ve cooked up a delicious, healthy, quick meal and you still managed everything else. You can do all sorts of variations, sprinkle pine nuts on top, feta grape tomatoes…you choose. This is what I had and it was perfect. Enjoy.

An Amazing Low Calorie Stuffed Egglpant for Meatless Monday

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Love, Love, Love the thought of Meatless Mondays. I’m a huge fan of anything vegetable and it’s just nice to see that you don’t always need meat at every meal. It helps me really put my brain to work and see how many meat dishes I can convert into meatless dishes and/or simply come up with.
To some the word meatless or vegetable is such a turn off, but really to me it makes me happy and also gives me the opportunity to start my week off clean and more healthy. I don’t believe in ‘as long as it’s vegetable it’s healthy’. For me you can’t steam broccoli and then add 1/2 a pound of butter, or flour, or all those heavy sauces and consider it healthy; at that point just eat a burger and your probably more healthy and it’s less caloric.

To me meatless resonates with clean, lean, purifying, nutritious and most of all beneficial. So, I think of dishes that I can put together that are all the above mentioned. It’s not that I am eating meatless because meat is bad and so on, so on. But because I truly enjoy vegetables and healthy grains and actually making things that derive soley from the earth. Or atleast most of it.

The Recipe that follows is so simple and really delicious. I love eggplant, it’s a great substitute for meat because it’s a really filling vegetable. I love eggplant Parmiggiana I have a lo-cal recipe here. This time I kept the eggplant whole and stuffed it with mushrooms…Delicious. I hope that you like it and remember that you can always make your on twist, add another vegetable, or you can stuff it with Quinoa, Cous-cous, Rice, even Meat.
This is my meatless delicious version. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

2 medium Eggplants

1/2 lb. Sliced mushrooms

1 small can diced Tomatoes

1 clove Garlic, chopped finely

3 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Chili Flakes (optional)

Parchment Paper

Preheat your oven at 180° C (350°F).
Slice your eggplant in half and with a spoon scoop out the center leaving about 1-2 in. around the border. Put the eggplant aside and begin to slice into small cubes what you scooped out of the eggplant.

In a large saucepan heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil and add your finely chopped garlic clove, once golden color add your mushrooms and chopped eggplant. Allow to cook for 5-8 minutes until you see the eggplant and mushrooms start to shrink a little, now add your can of diced tomatoes, salt and pepper and chili flakes and allow to simmer for another 8 minutes.

In the meantime, drizzle remainder of olive oil inside the whole eggplants and sprinkle some salt as well. By now you can turn off your eggplant and mushroom sauce and scoop the mixture inside of the eggplants. Face both halves together to look like a whole eggplant and wrap in parchment paper, put in a baking tray, do the same with the other eggplant and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Be careful when you unwrap the eggplant as steam might escape. There might be sauce at the bottom of the parchment so grab the whole thing put on plates and push the eggplant off the parchment and eat. YUM.

*Optional you could grate Parmigiano and put over the top if you wish….My husband did.

Tuscany: Food, Wine and “Le Terme”…Need I say more!

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Wine tasting in the Banfi Castle, a Fiorentina steak in Montalcino, a fountain/cascade bath in Saturnia and more typical things to discover about Tuscany.
Let me bring Tuscany to you and discover some of the most delicious food, recipes and of course; wine (if you’re a wino like myself you will truly appreciate), and a few other surprises I discovered and wanted to share with all mythineaters.

It all starts in Montalcino the home of “Brunello di Montalcino” a luscious, deep red wine that has to be aged at least 5 years (or 6 years if it’s a Riserva) by Italian law and only made with Sangiovese grapes from the Montalcino vineyards.  If you like it just a little younger there is “Rosso di Montalcino” also luscious and deep red but more subtle, it only has to be aged about a year, still made with Sangiovese grapes from the Montalcino vineyards. Both amazing. The process is quite long, so there are about 2 weeks a year to be exact when the grapes are picked, generally the last week in September and the 1st week in October, then they are selected carefully, placed in these huge tins for fermentation, then moved into wood barrels and for the remainder of the aging they get placed in the bottle and when ready labeled and off to be sold. There are about 300 “Cantine” that you could visit, with some of the most famous in the world known as Banfi, Biondi Santi Franco, Brunelli, Campana, Colombaiolo, Il Poggiolo, Belpoggio, Barbi and Poggio Antico just to name a few.

                                    

The wine is paired beautifully with the Bistecca Fiorentina which is a loin cut from the male cow raised only in the Tuscany-Umbria region called Chianina . The bone has a “T” shape know as a T-bone steak in the USA, the smallest you could order is about 1 lb and 9 oz. and 2.3 inches thick. They cook it rare about 3-5 minutes per side (and don’t try to ask well cooked or they will give you a dirty look).  You salt it only at the end when you serve it; we accompanied the steak with some stewed veggies. It really was delicious and melted in our mouth.

               

Another famous dish around here is the “Ribollita” which means re-boiled, because every time you re-heat it, it tastes better. It’s derived from back in the day when the farmers only cooked on Fridays, so they used to get vegetables and old bread, cook it in a huge pot and then reheat it the rest of the week. The two most important ingredients are black cabbage and beans. You top it off with some Extra virgin Olive oil and Bread.

Then you have a lot of boar, that’s the meat they use for their Ragu sauce served with Papardelle.  I had Bresaola made from the Chianina cow served with rucola; and of course I had a delicious fresh Porcini soup. Crostini with Pesto, Patè or Pecorino toscano. And something very simple yet amazing, Ricotta Balls with just a bit of olive oil and Parsley.

                       

After all this delicious food there is of course endless desserts, but myself not being a sweet tooth decided that I would opt for the more simple cookies, afterall this is what Tuscany is known for. You’ve all heard about the world-famous Cantucci aka Biscotti in the USA. Then there is one that I particularly love called Brutti ma Buoni which means ‘Ugly but Good’ (in this case Delicious). It’s simply made with ground Hazelnuts, egg whites, sugar and powdered sugar.

  

Yes, I ate and drank all of this and still managed to go to Saturnia a town about 60 km south-west of Montalcino known for their Terme, which is pretty much a natural Cascade of Sulfur water that is at a normal temp. of 99,5 degrees Farenheit. It’s extremely therapeutic and highly recommended for the skin, bones and any circulatory issues one could have not to mention the relaxing benefits you get from the water. It is the most unique waterfall cascade/spring that I have ever laid my eyes on, supposedly the sulfur causes coves and that is how all theses little pockets are created. I loved every second of it and needed some detox relax after all that drinking.

    

Ciao, Hope you enjoyed Tuscany as much as I did.