Eggplant Moussaka

I used to work with a woman who had been a vegetarian all her life. Growing up her family had lots of rituals around food. One of them was having Eggplant Moussaka for Christmas dinner.

This is certainly a special treat meal, it’s too full of yummy richness (read fat) to eat regularly.

There is also a lot going on so it’s good to have a fun kitchen companion to help out.

It took us 2 hours from start to finish.

Did I mention it was extremely yummy?

Vegetarian Eggplant Moussaka

• 1 large eggplant, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 10 mushroons, thinly sliced
• 2 large potatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 (440gm) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup of red lentils, drained, juice reserved
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Topping

• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• black pepper to taste
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and set aside for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.

2. Preheat oven to 190C (375 degrees F)

3. While preparing the vegetables place a pot of water on the element to boil. When this comes to the boil add ½ cup of red lentil (will be about a cup when cooked). Boil for 10 minutes then remove from oven and set aside. Keep about ½ cup of the cooking water for later.

4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly brown eggplant and mushroom slices on both sides; drain. Adding more oil if necessary, brown potato slices; drain.

5. Saute onion and garlic until lightly browned. Pour in vinegar and reduce. Stir in tomatoes, lentils, 1/2 the juice from lentils, oregano and parsley. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes.

6. In a 9×13 inch casserole dish layer eggplant, mushroom, potatoes, onions and feta and tomato mixture.

7. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

8. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine butter, flour and milk. Bring to a slow boil, whisking constantly until thick and smoot. Remove from heat, cool for 5 minutes, and stir in beaten egg.

9. Pour sauce over vegetables and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for another 25 to 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Based on recipe found All recipes

What Kim Ate

What I Ate

The Food

• Porridge made by Thomas with almonds, dried apricots, sunflower seeds and raisins.
• Huevos Motulenos Whangamata Style.
• Seaweed rice crackers.
• Broccoli, Potato and Pumpkin Vindaloo .
• Walnuts, pecans and dates.

The calories

There is a total of 1408 calories in these photos which is 65% of the days calorie allowance (Allowance changes daily depending on amount of exercise).

What Kim Ate

What I Ate

The Food

A bit more bread centric than I’d like but we were making bread! The bread turned out ok but not good so we’ll have to try again. Maybe on another rainy day.

• Porridge made by Thomas with almonds, dried apricots, sunflower seeds and raisins.
• Mandarins.
• Frittata with red cabbage, broccoli and leeks made by Thomas. I’ve been trying to like cabbage but I don’t. It would have been much better without.
• Peanut butter on soya and linseed bread. I was waiting for the bread to rise and got hungry.
• Homemade bread. Much kneading required.

The Calories

There is a total of 1395 calories in these photos which is 70% of the days calorie allowance (Allowance changes daily depending on amount of exercise).

Self Saucing Chocolate Pudding

This is the perfect winter’s night indulgence. Thomas and I used to make it for dinner instead of dessert so we could eat more!

Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding

From the “Australian Women’s Weekly” magazine. Serves 6

• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup castor sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup milk
• 30g butter, melted
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/4 cup cocoa, extra
• 11/4 cups hot water
• icing sugar

Method

Sift flour, sugar and cocoa into a bowl (probably the one you’ll cook it in). Make a well in the centre of ingredients, gradually stir in the combined milk and butter. Beat until smooth. Pour cocoa mixture into a 4 cup capacity ovenproof dish. Combine brown sugar and sifted extra cocoa in a jug. Gradually stir in the hot water, stir until the mixture is smooth. Pour the sauce gently over the top of the pudding (it’s important to do this very gently), place dish on an oven tray. Bake in a moderate oven for about an hour or until the pudding is well risen and firm to the touch. Serve with ice-cream.

What I Ate

What I ate

The Food

• Porridge made by Thomas with almonds, dried apricots, sunflower seeds and raisins.
• Mandarins.
• Pizza with broccoli, pesto, cheddar, mozzarella, feta and oregano.
• Mandarins.
• Roasted pumpkin, potatoes and leek stuffing topped with feta.

It’s been a bit of a cheesy day today.

The Calories

There is a total of 1405 calories in these photos which is 65% of the days calorie allowance (Allowance changes daily depending on amount of exercise).

Broccoli, Leek and Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 1 heads of broccoli, cleaned and chopped
• 1 large leek, cleaned and sliced
• 4 Medium Potatoes, cubed.
• 5 cups of vegetable stock
• butter or olive oil
• garlic, rosemary and thyme to taste.
• 2 tablespons of cream cheese/sour cream

In a large soup pot saute the leeks in the butter or olive oil, seasoning with garlic and herbs.
Meanwhile, boil the vegetable stock. Then add broccoli, leeks and potatoes, bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes (until potato cubes are cooked).

Stir in cream cheese/sour cream just before serving.

note:

We had cream cheese in the house so we used that. Normally we’d use sour cream.

Cake! Candy!

I want to go to an adult candy shop.

Or help eat a cake that looks like and is the size of a car. More pictures

I also want to increase my live span (or health span which seems to be the current buzz term). The best bet for doing this appears to be calorie restriction.

I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

What the World Eats

There is a great series of photos by Peter Menzel, Faith D’Aluisio for their book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.

You can see 12 of them here

They are well worth a browse. I found it fascinating trying to guess the countries by the food and the people.

Herb and Mushroom Quiche

Self-crusting Herb and Mushroom Quiche

• 2 medium sized onions
• 2 tablespoons oil or butter
• 200g mushrooms
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• Black pepper to taste
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup sour cream
• ¾ cup milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup self-raising flour
• ½ cup grated tasty cheese

Slice onions finely. Sauté in the oil or butter, when soft add the mushrooms and cook until these soften too. Add the basil, thyme and black pepper, and then remove from the heat and leave to stand while preparing the egg mixture.

In a medium-sized bowl lightly beat together the eggs, sour cream, milk and salt. Sprinkle the flour over this mixture and stir just enough to combine, and then add the grated cheese, again stirring just enough to mix.

Butter a 25-30cm flan or pie dish. Tip in the onion and mushroom mixture, and spread it evenly over the bottom, then pour the batter evenly over this.

Bake at 220C foe 20-30 minutes, until light brown and firm in the centre. Cool for 10-15 minutes before turning out.

Serve with fresh tomatoes and a green salad.