My View Monday – Warm Food, Warm Soul

11:29 am ByFiled UnderMy View Mondays

Ahhh, fall. My favorite time of year; cooler temps, sunny autumn days, changing leaves and weekends full of football. Of course, as the weather cools down my desire to cook heats up. man do I love warm comfort food! I truly believe a warm and full belly makes for a warm and full heart. Sappy, I know.

favorite irish recipesMmmmmm, all the fixings for cheddar scones and Shepherds Pie. While I have tried various recipes, Jody’s, from her new cookbook Favorite Irish Recipes, is our new family favorite. Tonight I am pairing it with cheddar scones. The easiest way to describe these beauties is tongasmic! But if you make them – BEWARE! Your family will fight over them. So try not to get caught eating the last one with your morning cup of java – not that I would know anything about that! And don’t even get me started on what happens when I make her brown bread – NOM!!

What did you view today?

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How Do You Cook A Jicama

6:03 pm ByFiled UnderMouthwatering Mondays

Let me introduce you to a jicama

Last week while I was at the grocery store I decided to try something new, so I bought a jicama. What is a jicama you ask? Some call it a Mexican potato. Others call it a Mexican Turnip. Me? I just like to say it and say it often – jicama (yick-a-ma). I have liked saying it so much that I have been making up crazy sayings with it all week. “Dude… You are such a jicama!” or “Can you believe that jicama??” The possibilities are endless!

Most people eat it raw either sliced or on top of salads. Instead of eating it raw I decided to serve it as a warm side dish. Curious how I served up? Want to impress others with your mad jicama cooking skills? Check out this super easy and super yummy recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 clove garlic

1/4 pound jicama (peeled and thinly sliced)

2 tablespoons red pepper, chopped ( I added more because I really like red peppers)

DIRECTIONS

Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Mix together garlic, peeled jicama and red peppers. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Once skillet is hot, add the jicama mixture and sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon paprika, 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Saute the entire mixture for 5 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Serve as a warm side dish or eat it as a main dish. Either way it is delicious!

Oh, and for the record: I did not see Hubby sneak back in to the kitchen and eat the rest out of the skillet leaving me none for lunch the next day. Nope. It didn’t happen.

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Oven Baked Eggplant

5:24 pm ByFiled UnderMouthwatering Mondays

I am entering week eight of Vegandom. Yes, that’s right, I said Vegandom. When I say it in my head I imagine it is coming out of a loud announcer with a deep voice, like Jan Gabriel….. but I digress. This week I will be participating in my uber sweet friend Rachel’s Mouthwater Monday. While my cooking skills are no where up to par with hers, I am going to join in every week with a little vegan twist. Plus, it will force me to try different recipes instead of getting stuck in the ‘same meal‘ rut. It’s a win win all around!

I had been scouring the interet for some new recipes when I came across this one. When I read that I had to “soak the eggplant in salt for 30 minutess”, I knew I had a winner. Hubby is addicted to salt – he salts everything. Look at how pretty and sparkly they look all salted up!

Salted to Perfection

Ok, now on to the recipe!

  • Slice eggplant about 1/4″ thick
  • Salt heavily and allow to stand for 30 minutes
  • Rinse well and drain.
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  • Spray cookie sheet with Pam
  • Lightly brush eggplant with olive oil
  • Place on cookie sheet and season with garlic salt, oregano and pepper
  • Sprinkle parmesan cheese over eggplant (ok, this is where I cheated)
  • Bake 15 minutes, flip, and bake 10-15 minutes longer or until brown
  • Serve atop organic whole wheat pasta and sauce

Delicious!

Now, I am aware that I added parmesan cheese, which in all honesty, makes it not completely vegan. I typically use a soy cheese substitute which melts really nicely on veggie burgers and pizza but was not sure how it would bake considering I had to bake the eggplant on each side. Next time I plan on cooking the eggplant without the parmesan and just add the soy cheese at the end.

What did you make this weekend?  Be sure to visit A Southern Fairytale to see what everyone else is making in the kitchen! Your taste buds will thank you for it!

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