Baba Ganouj Take 2

I think I first had Baba Ganouj when I lived in Boston in 2003 and tried Shwarma King. Growing up, I don't think there was anything like Shwarma. I am pretty sure I first had it in a wrap, probably with falafel. The first time I made it myself was for a Grad School International Food Potluck. Yes, the white girl from VT brought Baba ganouj. The recipe I used came from an Eating Well magazine, so I am pretty sure I picked that recipe because I had a free copy of Eating Well lying around and there was the recipe with very few ingredients. Score!

I made another batch of Baba Ganouj Tuesday night. I used eggplant that had been in my fridge for two days, much fresher than the batch I made the other day. This time I cut the eggplant in half, massaged the skin with Olive oil and put it cut side down on a baking sheet. I baked at 350 for 30minutes, cooled it on the counter then scooped out the filling. I ended up eating the skin, it was really tasty!

In the last 15minutes of cooking I tossed a few garlic pieces on the tray to bake. I used one of these in my dip.

I blended 1 tablespoon of Tahini with 1 TBS of lemon juice and 1 clove of the garlic with the eggplant with my hand mixer. Oh boy it was good. Nice a creamy and smooth. Good blend of flavors and not too much garlic this time!

This is tasting really good as a dressing for my tabouleh over romaine lettuce and stuffed in Joseph's low carb pita. I stretched it for lunch all week.

Baba Ganouj or is it Ganoush?

For Baba Ganouj I used
Two small eggplants from last week
1 tablespoon Tahini paste
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

I peeled the eggplant, cut into 1inch pieces, salted, then tossed in olive oil. I put this in the oven for 30minutes. Tried to toss them once while cooking (that was after 25minutes, would aim for 15minutes next time). I took them out and let them cool.

I put the eggplant into my hand mixer container. Then added the paste, lemon juice, garlic and Olive oil (1-2 tablespoons). Used my new found hand mixer to make it nice and smooth. I think there was too much garlic, but too late to take it out this time.

For lunch, I also made Tabouleh. I used a box of Near East Tabouleh mix. It was ready to expire! Probably would taste better using fresh ingredients. I mixed in one of my tomatoes, some olive oil and lemon juice. I think this will taste good with the eggplant spread on a pita with some romaine lettuce. I hope it does because this is my lunch plan for the week!

Beet hummus

First, the ratatouille is amazing. I just want to eat it all at once! I ate it for lunch today with a French roll, grilled chicken and an apple. I was hungry all afternoon, so maybe tomorrow I'll eat the lentils with my lunch too.

Tonight I made an easy omelet for supper and stirred in some ratatouille and parm cheese. So good!

With a full belly I made beet hummus.  I took out my Kitchen Aid Hand mixer. This was a gift from my aunt. I used it for the first time tonight, took off the plastic wrap and everything. The Kitchen Aid has more than one attachment, that's a plus! It was a little tiring to make hummus this way, by hand, but in all, probably easier than doing it with my bad food processor. I could also make it easier next time by cutting the beet pieces smaller I used this recipe:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/beet_hummus/

1/2 pound of beets is about 1 medium beet. I used all I had left, which was 1.5 beets (11ounces).  I added three TBS of Tahini sauce, 1/4 of fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1 garlic clove, 1 TBS of zest and 1 TBS of cumin. It tastes okay. I think there is too much cumin, and probably needs more lemon juice, which I don't have. All in all, worth bringing to work for lunch.

Mid-week cucumber and summer squash salad

Monday's work salad was dry without dressing, so for Tuesday's lunch I made an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing which paired well with the tomato, beets, lentils and lettuce. I can't tell if I am eating fewer calories with my homemade lunch or not. I know I have been starving after eating my salad and fruit, so started to eat pita chip crackers from Trader Joes.  I am certainly eating less added sugar by not eating the pineapple Chobani yogurt (the best flavor!), and yes, probably more controlled calories than the hot meals served in the cafeteria. I started eating more hot meals last August when the cafeteria rolled out the "green plate" entrées, which means they meet certain heart healthy guidelines for fat, salt and calorie content, although I am almost certain the portions used to make it a healthy plate are not the same portions served at the counter, but I digress.

Last night we made another salad. Recipe here: https://stillmansfarm.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/fresh-summer-squash-cucumber-and-fennel-salad/
And I have a mandolin! This is the second time I have used the mandolin. The first time I made a breakfast casserole for my brother and sister-in-law and I sliced the potatoes with it.

I used a large squash and large cucumber. I had to dirty two bowls, because the first one I used just wasn't big enough for "folding." I also didn't have time to let the salad marinate since as usual, I came home from the gym, curled up on the floor with a low blood sugar, then decided to take a shower before starting dinner, by that time I was starving, so wasn't going to wait 30minutes. We also didn't make anything else but chicken with everyday seasoning. The salad was very lemony. I am not a big fan of raw summer squash, but it tasted okay with the lemon and mint. Not sure I would make it again. I am going to try it again Thursday for lunch, maybe marinating the salad will help balance the flavors.

Tonight I ate lunch for dinner. For lunch I went with two friends to Legal Crossing in Downtown. That meal (Garlic shrimp over homemade pasta) and drink was exceptionally good. Because I was drunk from the "cold tea" which was Allagash White mixed with some hard liquor, I craved ice cream for dessert. Bert was available, so we stopped by Ben and Jerry's. I had Gilly's SNL ice cream which was delicious.

I don't know if we are going to make it through this box! Still remaining:
Radishes
2 zucchini
1 bunch arugula
1 bunch beet greens
1 bunch kale
Few leaves of lettuce

I am still making my way through the beets. Two cooked ones left.