EGGPLANT AND BLUEBERRIES

 

Eggplant and Blueberries

 

          While tomatoes may be considered the ultimate crop of August, eggplant and blueberries to me signify the bold success of nature in producing a uniquely tasty and intriguing fruit that is both healthy and colorful. Cookbooks consider eggplant a vegetable, but it really is a fruit that belongs to the botanical berry family.

          When nutritionists urge us to eat more colorful natural foods they tend to emphasize green, as well as red and yellow produce rich in vitamins and minerals. Both blueberries and eggplant belong to the fourth category, blue - due to a high level of anthocyanins rich in antioxidants and vitamins that provide a healthy diet.

          Living in Maine we are particularly lucky to have local wild blueberries this time of the year. A flat of them from Beth’s Farmers Market had me busy in the kitchen with a blueberry pie, jars of blueberry jam/syrup for the winter, a coffee cake for the freezer and my husband’s favorite blueberry pancakes. They were unbeatable as breakfast fresh fruit with milk.

                             Blueberry-Almond Coffeecake

          Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease well an 8 inch square baking dish. Have ½ cup butter at room temperature in a large bowl.

1)    Separate 2 egg whites in a small bowl and set the egg yolks aside. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer to soft peaks, stir in a scant ½ cup sugar and continue beating until egg whites form stiff peaks.

2)    Using the same beater, beat the butter in the large bowl until light and fluffy. Continue to beat in ½ cup sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. lemon extract and the 2 egg yolks. Remove beater and switch to a wooden spoon.

3)    In another bowl combine: 1 ½ cups flour, ¼ tsp. salt, 1 ½ tsp. baking powder.

4)    Now stir the flour into the butter mixture in alternate portions with 1/3 cup plus 1 tblsp. milk, starting and ending with flour. The batter will be thick.

5)    Toss 1 ½ cups fresh Maine blueberries with 1 tblsp. flour and carefully fold in the cake batter.

6)     Fold the whipped egg whites thoroughly in the batter and turn the batter in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with ½ cup slivered almonds and bake for 50 minutes.

7)    Cool in the pan and cut in squares to serve. Can be frozen.

Eggplant recipes abound from the Mediterranean region and many will tell you to peel and salt the eggplant slices to avoid bitterness, before cooking. Peeling and salting is not necessary with Japanese and lighter colored eggplant varieties. Many old and revered recipes entail frying eggplant slices, which unfortunately soak up a lot of oil, before using them in combination with other ingredients. This preparation can be significantly simplified and the caloric content reduced by broiling the eggplant slices before assembling the dish, since raw eggplant has only 20 calories per cup.

                   Greek Style Moussaka

This recipe is a much-simplified version of the original published by Craig Clairborne in his New York Times Cook Book.  The layer of potatoes were added after tasting a wonderful version of the dish in Crete. The potato and cheese modifications make this moussaka gluten free.

1)    Slice 2 firm thin skinned eggplants and 1 eight-inch zucchini in ½ inch slices. Layer slices on an oiled cookie sheet, lightly spray with oil, sprinkle with garlic salt and broil until browned, turn with a spatula and broil the other side. Remove from oven.

2)    Chop 2 large onions and cook the onions in 2 tblsp. butter until browned in a large pan about 10 minutes. Set aside.

3)    In the same pan brown 1 pound ground lamb or beef, drain the fat and return onions and meat to the pan. Over low heat stir in 2/3 cup red wine, 2 ½  tblsp. tomato paste, ½ tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. ground cumin, 1 tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper and ½ cup chopped parsley. Cook on medium heat until most of the liquid is absorbed.

4)    Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with a baking spray. Peel and slice a large potato in ¼ inch slices and place in a layer in the pan. Spread a couple of tablespoons of meat sauce on top and layer slices of broiled eggplant and zucchini. Repeat another layer of sauce, vegetables and sauce. Cover completely with slices of aged Provolone cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Can be reheated.

We love summer blue skies, the blue of water shimmering in the dusk and the ‘bluebird of happiness’ has been acclaimed for years. Anthocyanin and antioxidants may be the nutritionist catchwords for ‘blue food’, but another synonym is ‘plain delicious’.

 (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

 

The Versatile Bean

           A bright green basket full of string beans clearly signifies that summer gardens are at their peak. Like peas, it is one of the most common vegetables on an American dinner plate and many a Thanksgiving table would look bereft without them. But garden fresh they make an excellent snack raw with or without a dip.

          String beans are but one form of this edible plant. New England baked beans are familiar to us in any season and beans have been an important source of protein world- wide in history. They were cultivated in Europe more than 4000 years ago and archeological digs have found them in Peru from around the same time. The tombs of ancient Egyptian kings held them as necessary accompaniment to afterlife.

          In more modern times we favor beans in our diet for their versatile shapes and flavors in their roles in soups, salads, side dishes and even pickles. Here are a few recipes that have featured in my kitchen these past weeks.

                             Easy Pickled Dilly Beans

           Have ready 2 clean pint canning jars with fresh lids.  Pick or purchase 1 ½ pound very fresh string beans. Most beans these days do not have strings, so you only need to wash and cut off the ends.

1)    Bring water to boiling in a wide pot. Add beans in 3 successive  batches and cook uncovered for 3 minutes. Remove with tongs each batch to ice water for rapid cooling.

2)    Drain and partially dry by wrapping in a paper towel.

3)    In each of 2 pint jars place: 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp. dill seed, 1 tsp. mustard seed and ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes. Lay each jar on it’s side.

4)    Trim the cooked beans to fit upright in the pint jar and pack them tightly in the jars. Use trimmed ends for soups or salads.

5)    In a small pot bring to boil: 1 ½ cups white vinegar, 1 ½ cups water and 1 ½ tblsp. salt. Pour over the beans in upright jars to within ½ inch of the rim. Immediately cover with the cap tightly.

6)    When cool, tighten the cap again and it will have pulled a vacuum in the jar. Store in refrigerator for at least 2 weeks for flavors to blend. The jars under vacuum will keep refrigerated for months.

Bean salads, featuring white or black beans or even lentils provided substantial additions to our summer menus during the recent hot spell in Maine. While it is possible to make these recipes with canned beans, for a superior texture of such salads it is preferable to soak dry beans overnight and cook them in salted water for 1 hour, before draining and tossing with the dressing, which is absorbed by the warm beans.

                   White Bean, Chorizo and Sundried Tomato Salad

Soak and cook ¾ cups Cannelini, small white beans favored in Italian cooking, or Flageolets verts, French immature white beans.

1)    Cook beans well covered with water and: 3 large sage leaves (or ½ tsp. dried sage), ½ tsp. tarragon, 1 tsp. salt, 1 sprig lemon thyme and 1 tblsp. dried minced onion.

2)    Drain beans, remove herbs and immediately toss with dressing: 2 tblsp. red wine vinegar, 2 tblsp. light olive oil, ½ tsp. dry mustard, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes, 1/3 cup julienned sundried tomatoes.

3)    When cooled, stir in 2 chopped scallions with the green parts and 4 oz. ready to eat chorizo diced in small pieces.

4)    Chill and serve on lettuce and basil leaves.

 Contrasting colors always lend eye appeal to cold salads. The barley and lentil salad could also made with black beans, which require soaking and cooking twice as long as lentils.

                   Beluga Lentil and Barley Salad

Set to cook in 2 pots: one for barley and one for lentils

1)    ¾ cup well rinsed barley well covered with salted water

2)     ¾ cup Beluga (black) lentils, 1 tblsp. dried minced onion, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. thyme.

3)    Cook both for 25 minutes, drain and toss together.

4)    Toss with dressing:  juice of ½ lemon, 2 tblsp. white wine vinegar, ½ tsp. dry mustard, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, 3 tbslp. grapeseed oil.

5)    When cool, toss with: ¼ cup chopped parsley, 1 tblsp. chopped dill weed, 3 chopped scallions, 1 seeded and diced green pepper, ¾ cup halved grape tomatoes.

6)    Chill and serve with hard-boiled egg wedges.

 The basic flavor of beans melds easily with other flavors. So, each dried bean salad can be an exploration of new flavor combinations depending on your own spirit of adventure and current ingredients in your own kitchen. Happy and delicious exploring!

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)