Kimchee (Kimchi) and Quinoa

 Craving something easy, salty and spicy for lunch this afternoon, I reheated some leftover quinoa (from yesterday's stuffed eggplants) and topped it with a little Korean super food, Kimchee. It was little party in my mouth! Kimchee is another first food for me this year. Beware, if you don't like cabbage or spicy flavors, you probably won't like this pickled condiment (No one in my family likes this dish except me.) I've only tasted one brand, Banyan Foods Kim Chee, which is the one sold at our local grocery store, HEB. I'll definitely be whipping this one up for myself again soon.

Quinoa & Sundried Tomato Stuffed Eggplant

My husband's Japanese eggplants have been very productive this summer, so this is the second stuffed eggplant recipe I've prepared this year. It was so good! I really like using quinoa in this recipe since it's a complete protein. The recipe I got my inspiration from calls for goat cheese....even when I was a meat eater, I hated goat cheese. I prepared these without the cheese, but you could add a little Parmesan if you're not vegan.

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 small eggplants
• 2 cups cooked quinoa (I cook it in boxed organic vegetable broth for flavor.)
• 2 green onions, chopped thin
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c chopped sundried (in oil) tomatoes
• small bunch of flat leaf parsley and basil, chopped
• olive oil
• salt to taste
• a pinch of red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) Slice eggplant in half vertically. Place eggplant in colander and sprinkle with salt. Allow eggplant to sit in salt for about 20 minutes for a firmer texture. 

3) Meanwhile, chop the sundried tomatoes, onion, garlic, and herbs.

4) Rinse and dry eggplant.
5) Score eggplant 1/4" from the edge.
6) Scoop out eggplant with a teaspoon.
7) Chop eggplant into small cubes. Place in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil.
8) Add cook quinoa, tomatoes, onions, garlic, herbs to eggplant. Salt to taste and add a pinch of red pepper.
9) If you eat cheese, you may want to add about 1/4 c Parmesan to this mixture.
10) Lightly coat the back of each eggplant (skin) with olive oil and place on baking sheet.
11) Generously stuff each eggplant and drizzle with a little more olive oil if you want.
12) Bake for 30-35 minutes. 

Gluten Free Stovetop Mac and "Cheese"

My husband and I have been big meat eaters for 40+ years, but stopped eating meat back in February 2011. Since that time, hubby has lost 45 lbs. Weird, but I haven't lost a pound and remain between 128-130 lbs. which I guess isn't too bad for my height. I admit that there are certain dishes we really do miss....homemade mac n' cheese is one of those dishes. In previous years, I made decadent mac n' cheese with butter, white flour, breadcrumbs, milk, and cheese. I've seen quite a few vegan mac n' cheese recipes in vegan cookbooks that I've ordered and on food blogs, but haven't been brave enough to try one until tonight. Oh my gosh...I had no idea what I was missing. I combined some of the ingredients from Vegan on the Cheap and The Happy Herbivore cookbooks (Both of which I highly recommend.) I made my mac n' cheese gluten free since I'm experimenting with cutting out gluten for two weeks to see how it makes me feel.

1) Boil salted water, and cook 12 oz. brown rice spiral or elbow pasta according to directions. Be careful not to over cook. Drain and rinse with cold water. Return to the pot.
2) In the meantime, whisk together the following ingredients:

• 2 c non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond milk.)
• 1/2 c nutritional yeast
• 2 T yellow or white miso paste (I bought ours in the refrigerated section of Basic Foods.)
• 2 T arrowroot powder (You can use gluten free corn starch instead.)
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric 
• 1 tsp. mustard powder
• dash of red pepper and black (or white) pepper

3)  Heat sauce over medium. Stir frequently to avoid scorching on the bottom of your saucepan.
4) Pour sauce over drained pasta and toss.

I served this to my family with pan fried cabbage and tempeh "bacon" (recipe coming later), and there weren't any leftovers tonight.