Grilled Vegetarian Pizzas

One of my coworkers mentioned that they made eggplant Parmesan over the weekend. Immediately, I started craving eggplant. But here's the crazy thing, I don't even like eggplant! Then Joey got invited to a work dinner to celebrate the end of THE PROJECT tonight and so I had the opportunity to make some of the purple stuff and see whether or not I actually liked it.

Then I was looking at this new site KitchenDaily and I read a recipe about using pitas as the bread for pizzas and then also using the grill to make said pizzas! We have a grill AND pitas. Well actually I had to buy the pitas but whatever. I decided while in the store that a good pizza combo would be grilled eggplant, tomatoes, olive oil, shredded mozzarella, and goat cheese. It was pretty easy to make these and they were pretty good except that I may have cooked the pitas a little long because they were very crispy but I would make these again.

Grilled Vegetarian Pizza (2 pizzas)
2 Japanese eggplants (these are the small ones), sliced into coins about 1/4 inch thick
2 handfuls mozzarella cheese
Desired slices of goat cheese
1 plum tomato, sliced into coins
2 whole wheat pitas
olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions
1. Douse eggplant with oil, salt and pepper. Grill coins over regular heat (I've never used anything besides 400 on our grill) for about 3 minutes a side. These are hard to flip, be careful not to drop them in the grates
2. Remove eggplant from grill and set aside (keep warm)
3. Brush pita with oil on both sides. Grill for 30 seconds. Remove from grill and flip over so grilled side is up
4. Top with some of the mozzarella, eggplant, tomatoes, goat cheese, and more cheese
5. Place pitas on grill and grill about 3 minutes (covered) or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Broiled eggplant with crumbled feta

After using up my zuchinni and eggplant from the farm on a ratatouille dish that I threw together (literally), I wanted more! Today we went to the Farmer's Market and I bought some. This easy eggplant recipe was a hit with my family - it is pretty and delicious:

eggplant
olive oil
oregano
crumbled feta

Slice unpeeled eggplant into 1/4 inch slices. Place the slices on a paper towel and salt them. Let them drain for a half an hour. Transfer them to a baking pan and put olive oil on each side of the eggplant and sprinkle with oregano. Broil the eggplant and turn until it is tender. Add crumbled feta and broil again until the feta starts to brown.

First Hard Freeze

Fall's first hard freeze in our area of north central Indiana means that all remaining vegetables must be harvested and stored. Cheese sandwiches (usually sharp cheddar on wheat bread) with home grown tomatoes on top, broiled until the cheese is bubbly and the tomatoes hot and soft, are only a memory now.

The abundance of eggplant and zucchini in this year's garden

caused me to search past recipes for inspiration. My sister-in-law Gail's recipe filled the bill.

Gail's Greek Vegetable Skillet Serves 4

1 lb. ground beef

2 med. onions, thinly sliced

2 med. cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lb. muchrooms, sliced

3 med. tomatoes, cut in wedges

1 small eggplant, cubed or sliced depending on type

2 med. zucchini , cut in 1/4 in. slices

1 med. green pepper, chopped ,

1 T. salt, more or less

1 t. oregano, fresh or dried

1 c. cooked rice

1/4 c. chopped parsley

Brown meat, then onions, garlic, mushrooms and cook until tender. Add tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, green pepper, salt and oregano. Cover and simmer 25 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir in rice. Cover and cook 5-10 minutes more. Sprinkle with parsley.

Delicious!

Ratatouille

We've still been getting summer veggies from the CSA, which usually include eggplant, peppers, zucchini and tomatoes. What to do with these? Our friend Pam shared this delicious ratatouille recipe.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. eggplant, peeled if thick-skinned

1 green pepper (or 2)

2-3 large zucchinis

1/3 c. salad oil

1 c. sliced onion

1/3 c. tomato sauce

1/4 t. salt

1 t. thyme

1 clove garlic, minced

3 T. flour

28-oz can whole tomatoes, drained

1 lb jack cheese

Slice eggplant, zucchini, and pepper into thin, circular slices. Saute onion in a bit of oil until cooked but not brown. Add garlic for about 1 minute. Stir in oil, tomato sauce, salt, thyme, garlic, and flour and cook just a bit until it makes a thick sauce. Add drained tomatoes and cook until incorporated into the sauce. Break up the tomatoes while they are in the pan.

Layer in a 13x9 inch glass baking dish: first, 1/2 of the tomato sauce, then 1/2 of the eggplant to cover an entire layer, then 1/2 the zucchini to cover the entire layer, then 1/2 the pepper scattered around. Then put half the cheese and repeat with sauce, eggplant, zucchini, pepper, and cheese on top. You can sprinkle some Parmesan on top of the jack to add a little extra flavor as well.

Bake at 400 for 50 minutes. At 40 minutes, cover lightly with a sheet of foil to prevent burning. Enjoy with bread or served over rice. Makes about 4 servings.

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture after it was baked!