Summer Eggplant

Oh Eggplant, where have you been all my life?

I don't know what's more embarrassing to admit; that I'm 30 years old, or that I'm 30 years old and have never had eggplant!

My mom never made eggplant when I was growing up.  Probably because her Mom Super Powers told her that her picky eaters wouldn't even want to try eggplant (she was probably right).  Then I married the biggest eggplant hater on the planet.  He hates eggplant for the opposite reason: his mom made it all the time.  And he never liked it.  But he had to eat it.  So that's how I ended up 30 years old and an eggplant virgin. But no more!

Angela grabbed a bunch of Jersey fresh eggplant at the local farmer's market last weekend.  What's a girl to do with an abundance of eggplant? Make sauce! She made the most delicious red sauce with eggplant...it was heavenly!  Joe was out of town and my mom came over for dinner, so the eggplant coast was clear. I took a bag of sauce out of the freezer, thawed it and tossed it with pasta.  We inhaled it! It was a quick, delicious and healthy dinner. Can't beat that!

If you're growing your own garden, you probably have a TON of eggplant by now and this is a great recipe to make in bulk and use them up.  If not, head on over to your local farmer's market and get some locally grown eggplant and whip up this sauce.  You'll be so glad you did!

Here's a note from Angela about our fresh Jersey produce and some great ways to use it up in your kitchen!

I am a Jersey girl all the way! I hate to pump my own gas, I spend my summers at the Jersey Shore and sitting in traffic is my normal! And even though some day I would like to leave this over populated state, I would hate to leave the freshness of summer fruit and veggies that come along with it! Jersey is known as the Garden State and it is for good reason. We have an amazing selection of fruits and vegetables in the summer. Even though I cannot wait until pumpkin season, enjoy summer a bit longer and try some of my summer sauces and drinks! They showcase some of our Jersey gems; tomatoes, eggplants and blueberries! Make up a few batches, freeze them, share them and get the taste of summer all year long.  And while you're busy in the kitchen, sip on my Jersey Berry Infused Water!

P.S.

What's growing in your garden?

Summer Red Sauce

1/2 lb of pasta
6 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup of good olive oil
Fresh basil diced (about 12 leaves)
Cherry tomatoes (1 1/2 lbs)
Salt and pepper to tastes
1 tsp sugar
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese

Cooking instructions:
Boil water and cook pasta as instructed. Set aside. Mince all your garlic and set half of the amount aside. Saute the remaining amount on medium low with about 4 Tbsp of olive oil until you start to smell it. Be sure not to burn it. After about 3 mins add your tomatoes, whole, to the pan. Cook until your tomatoes start to burst open, this will take about 10-12 mins. Add your remaining ingredients,  salt pepper to taste, sugar, cheese and the remaining minced garlic and olive oil. Add to your pasta,  enjoy! !!!

TO FREEZE:
Let cool. Add to freezer bags. Label and date. Keep in the freezer for up to six months.

TO EAT:
Thaw in the fridge overnight.  Add to a sauce pan. Reheat on med until warmed and add to your fresh cooked pasta.

Roasted Eggplant Pasta

1lb patsa
2 large eggplants
2Tbsp good olive oil
Salt
Pepper
*freezer friendly summer pasta sauce

Cooking instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil water and cook pasta as instructed. Wash and slice your eggplant into strips. Drizzle the eggplant with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 25 min. Cut into cubes and add to the summer pasta sauce. Add to your cooked pasta and enjoy.

TO FREEZE:
Let cool. Add to freezer bags. Label and date. Keep in the freezer for up to six months.

TO EAT:
Thaw in the fridge overnight.  Add to a sauce pan. Reheat on med until warmed and add to your fresh cooked pasta.

Blueberry Strawberry and Raspberry Infused Water

1 cup of blueberries
1 cup of strawberries
1 cup of raspberries
4-5 mint leaves
1 gallon of water

Instructions
Wash fruit. Cut the stems off of the strawberries. Take half of the amount of fruit and with a mortar and pestle crush the fruit. Add the crushed and whole fruit and mint to the water. Set in the fridge overnight. Drink the next day. Enjoy. 

~Freezing institutions.
Wash your fruit. Separate into freezer bags. Label, date and freeze fruit up to six months.

On a Mission: Meal Planning Day 4

Pasta pasta pasta! Per my hubby's request, I made a pasta dish last night. Pasta alla Norma is a spicy eggplant and tomato combination. I love anything with eggplant! I also love any pasta dish that involves veggies. I always decrease the amount of pasta and up my portion of veggies. Here are some of my pasta veggie secrets:

- In the last 2-3 minute of pasta cooking time, add in strands (made with a vegetable peeler) of zucchini and summer squash to your spaghetti.

- Make a sauce out of roasted, pureed butternut squash 

- Make a "no-cook" sauce out of tomatoes, roasted red peppers, garlic, basil, and olive oil. The warm pasta will heat the sauce and veggies, bringing out the flavors! Add in some shredded low-fat mozzarella for the ooey gooey factor.

Pasta alla Norma is a quick dish and can be made in ~30 minutes. You can double or triple everything and save the sauce in the freezer for a delicious lunch or light dinner anytime! It would be great with crumbled hot Italian turkey sausage. 

Pasta alla Norma

3/4lb rigatoni pasta 

1 medium eggplant sliced into rounds 

1 can plum tomatoes, crushed by hand or snipped with poultry shears 

3 cloves garlic, minced

1tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2tbsp crumbles goat cheese

1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced in strips

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.  Heat olive oil over medium heat in sauce pan. Add garlic and red pepper, stirring until fragrant. Add tomatoes, bring to a boil and continue to simmer ~20 minutes. Meanwhile, salt and pepper eggplant rounds. Heat a nonstick grill pan to medium high heat and grill eggplant rounds until soft and browned. Chop eggplant into bite size pieces and add to tomato sauce. Pour sauce over pasta and toss until well coated. Serve with fresh basil and goat cheese on top.

To freeze: 

Prepare sauce only with eggplant. Freeze in freezer safe plastic bags and lay flat to freeze. 

To eat:

Defrost sauce in refrigerator overnight. Reheat on stove top until boiling. Serve over rigatoni with basil and goat cheese. 

Enjoy!!

Stay tuned for my next meal planning in a mission recipe: chicken artichoke bake!