Mint Almond Flax Encrusted Pan-fried Eggplant Slices

Essentially a breaded eggplant recipe, much like for Eggplant Parmesan. But, rather than breadcrumbs, this recipe uses Almond, Flax meal and a bit of TVP for the crumb coating; and instead of egg for binding, buttermilk is used.

Ingredients
One small globe eggplant, sliced thin
Canola oil for shallow pan frying
½ cup buttermilk (more as needed) - in a shallow dish ready for dipping

Crumb coating:
¼ cup Almonds
3 Tbsp Flax meal
¼ cup TVP
8 to 10 Fresh mint leaves
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
salt to taste

Dusting:
½ cup brown rice flour (more as needed) in a large flat plate

Preparation

1. Salt the eggplant slices, allow to sweat on a towel, rinse, pat dry, keep handy
2. Combine the ingredients for crumb coating and grind to a fine powder
3. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a cast iron skillet
4. Dust an eggplant slice in flour, dip in buttermilk, then press down on the crumb coating till a layer adheres
5. Shallow pan fry the slices in a bit of oil, one or two at a time, flipping to cook both side, till the crumb crisps up and eggplant is cooked
6. Serve warm with Mint-Fennel Pesto or Tangy Tuscan dressing or Basil-garlic tomato sauce.

Easy Spinach Casserole

This is an easy, no-fuss mid-week dinner, hot and fresh from the oven, that can be enjoyed on its own, or served with some breads - maybe olive ciabatta or French bread, or even naan or roti.

Ingredients
1 pkg (about 14oz-16oz) frozen cut spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 can cream of celery soup, undiluted
1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp garam masala paste

cooking oil spray
salt to taste

Optional: roasted red peppers, marinated onions and ginger

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F
2. Combine the cream of celery, vinegar, red pepper flakes and garam masala paste, stir well, then add the spinach and mix well
3. Spray an oven-proof casserole dish or a pan with some cooking spray, pour the mixture into it and bake in 375°F oven for about 25-30 minutes, till bubbly and spinach is cooked to your liking, checking to make sure the top doesn't get too dry

Moo-less Dark Chocolate Pie

Now, technically, I'd like to call it Silken Soy Dark Chocolate with Agave Nectar and Splenda™ Filling on a Chocolate Wafer Crust. And that says it all, there is the recipe!

I've started loving silken soy tofu nowadays and find ways to use it more in my dishes. I used to buy it before, let it sit in the fridge for weeks, and dump it in the compost when it went past its prime, untasted, mostly for want of inspiration...

A web search will produce quite a good set of results for 'moo-less chocolate pie' and this recipe is an adaptation of one of the classic moo-less chocolate pie recipes I found (and didn't bookmark).

I am partial to dark chocolate. Milk chocolate is too sweet and cloying for my tastes. And D likes dark chocolate a lot too (72% or higher). So, this is a slight variation of the original moo-less chocolate pie recipe - a version I like to think is slightly "healthier" so I can eat that large slice without feeling terribly guilty :)

I went easy on the sugar and used dark unsweetened chocolate (bittersweet) along with some dark lightly sweetened chocolate (72%) for this recipe, some Splenda™ and some agave nectar.

Ingredients
1 block silken tofu
4 Tbsp Kahlúa or Toussaint or other coffee liquer (optional)
4 Tbsp Splenda™
4 Tbsp light brown sugar
6 Tbsp Agave nectar
1 cup bittersweet chocolate
1½ cups sweetened dark chocolate
1 prepared chocolate wafer crust (or Graham cracker crust if preferred)

Preparation

1. Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler - simply boil water in a large pot and put the chocolate in a smaller pot that fits inside this larger pot and stir till it melts, adding 1-2 Tbsp of water as needed, not too much though
2. Add the liqueur and the rest of the ingredients (not the crust) and blend/whip on medium speed till very smooth
3. Pour into the crust and refrigerate for about 4 hours till firm enough for your tastes; I leave it in the freezer for an hour before serving so it is easier to slice and serve