Vegetarian Thanksgiving (Tofurkey not included)

My parents came down to visit us last Thanksgiving, so we decided to cook them a feast, vegetarian style. We did have a few traditional turkey legs, but one of the main dishes was lasagna - only with zucchini slices instead of noodles! Low-carb! :) The original recipe came from a cookbook called Simply Delicious Vegetarian by Carla Bardi, and it was pretty tasty the first time we made it, but we decided to put our own (somewhat healthier) spin on it. This one takes a lot of prep time, but we think it's worth it!

Ingredients

4-5 large green zucchini, sliced length-wise (about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick)

1/2 - 1 cup mushrooms, chopped

1/2 - 1 cup asparagus, chopped

1/2 - 3/4 cups sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (soak in warm water for about an hour to soften)

grated Parmesan cheese

1 - 2 cups bread crumbs (we used finely crushed bran flakes instead)

skim milk, both powdered and regular

garlic, salt, pepper

shredded mozzarella cheese (low-fat or part-skim)

Prep the zucchini: It's best to slice the zucchini at least 4 hours ahead of time to help reduce the moisture in the slices. Lightly salt the slices and layer them in a colander, with paper towel between the layers of zucchini. Put something heavy on top (like a stack of bowls) to help press some of the water out of the slices. When you are ready to make the lasagna, broil the zucchini slices 5-7 minutes per side to further reduce moisture.

To make the filling: chop the mushrooms, asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes, and saute them, seasoning them with salt, pepper and garlic. Pour about 1/4 cup skim milk into the pan and stir. Alternately add Parmesan cheese and powdered skim milk to thicken the mixture, until it is almost like a bisque. If you add more milk than cheese, be sure to also add more spices. (Note: if you don't have, or can't find, powdered skim milk, you can use 2% or whole milk, and add more grated cheese than milk to the mixture.) You can experiment with different filling ingredients, like spinach. The original recipe called for carrots, shallots and celery - which we though was a little boring :)

Put it all together: Heat oven to 350F. Layer the bottom of a baking dish with the broiled zucchini slices, spread a thin layer of filling over the zucchini, sprinkle with a layer of bread crumbs, then sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top. Repeat this process until all the filling is used up. Make sure to leave enough zucchini for a top layer to cover the last of the filling (making an odd number of zucchini layers). Sprinkle the top layer of just zucchini with bread crumbs, and instead of using Parmesan cheese, top with shredded mozzarella. Bake 15-25 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and/or browning slightly at the edges. Let cool, then slice and enjoy!

~Karla

Savory Cornmeal Muffins

The weather has been awful for the past couple days so Purdue had cancelled classes. I didn’t dare to venture out in the freezing cold to go to the lab, and there is only so much work that I could do from home. After watching The Office on Netflix for about 4 hours, I had to do something productive! Baking seemed like a good way to kill time as it generally takes a while to bake something and there is also a lot of cleaning involved :). We’ve had a packet of cornmeal in our freezer for a while, so I thought of experimenting with it and cornmeal muffins with soup seemed perfect for a snow day. They turned out really good and I’ll definitely be making more of these in the future.

Recipe adapted from: http://www.cooksimple.com

Ingredients (for 12 muffins)

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup wheat flour

1 tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 egg (Didn’t have eggs, so I used Egg Beaters. Egg whites can be used as well.)

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

2 tbsp melted butter/margarine

~1.5 cups chopped vegetables (I used peas, carrots, green and red pepper and green beans. Any other vegetables can be used as well.)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix the dry ingredients (cornmeal, wheat flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and pepper) in a bowl. In another bowl, mix egg, milk, oil and butter and then slowly add the liquid to the dry ingredients. Stir until mixed. Add the chopped vegetables to the batter and mix well. Grease muffin tins and fill each cup ~3/4 full. Bake for ~25 minutes until golden brown.

That’s the generic recipe, but it is pretty versatile. You can add your favorite spices, herbs or cheese to the batter. Enjoy the warm muffins with soup, chili, or just some butter.

~Gayatri

Chocolate Cups

Recently I bought a Cusinart ice cream maker, which has become my favorite kitchen appliance. And if you like ice cream as much as I do, you’ve got to have one. The ice cream maker bowl is kept frozen until needed, so it does not require ice, and makes ice cream in 15-20 minutes. It’s also very easy to clean! So far I've only used it to make vanilla ice cream (will post the recipe soon), but it can be used for making healthier alternatives like frozen yogurts and sorbets too. I’ve already tried out two different ways of making ice cream (with and without eggs) and I’m planning to do a lot more experimenting with the taste and texture….so if you love ice cream, let me know what flavor you would like me to experiment with ;-).

Although this post is not about ice cream, here is a fun way of serving it. These chocolate cups can be used to serve ice cream, pudding or any other dessert that goes well with chocolate. (Recipe source: Crazy for Chocolate, published by Bay Books).

Ingredients:

Dark chocolate chips (1 packet of 12 oz. chocolate makes about 18 cups).

1. Melt the chocolate chips.

2. Cut squares of plastic wrap and spread about a tablespoon of melted chocolate on the plastic wrap using the back of a spoon to form a circle.

3. Carefully pick up the plastic wrap holding the ends and gently place over an inverted styrofoam cup (chocolate side up).

4. Place the cup in the freezer for a couple minutes till the chocolate hardens. Remove from the freezer and carefully peel off the plastic wrap.

The chocolate cup is ready for serving your favorite dessert. The cups can be stored in an air-tight container in the freezer.

~Gayatri

Banana Split Bars

I've gotten pretty good at making banana-nut muffins and was looking for an interesting twist. I thought What do I like to eat with bananas? I’m a big fan of peanut-butter-banana sandwiches. What goes well with peanut butter? Chocolate. Hmm...I might be on to something...

Preemptive apologies go out to anyone who might be disappointed to discover that at no point does ice cream enter into the recipe, but it's the best name I can think of so far. You can certainly eat the bars with ice cream...but it's not used while making the treat. Actually, the only main ingredient common between the two is banana. Unless you consider toppings. Then peanut butter and chocolate totally count!

Ingredients:

6 oz. butter (I used margarine)

~1.5 cups sugar (Splenda)

2 eggs (you can use just egg whites with a little bit of milk, or egg substitute – I've done both with equal success)

~1.5-2 cups flour (I use superfine whole wheat flour)

~4-5 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

3 large or 4 small/med overripe bananas

~0.5-1 tbsp pure cocoa powder

dark chocolate chips/bittersweet baking morsels

Preheat oven to 375F. Mash the bananas and stir in the peanut butter. In a separate bowl, whip margarine and sugar until the mixture is smooth. Add eggs and mix well. Stir in the banana-peanut-butter mixture. Add cocoa powder and chocolate chips as desired and mix well. Slowly stir in the flour until the batter is sticky and somewhat thick, but not to the consistency of bread. Pour into a greased 8x8inch baking pan and bake 10-15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool, then cut and enjoy (with or without ice cream)!

~Karla

Yum-mus!

Last week we had a hummus party at the lab for a teammate’s birthday. He doesn’t eat the usual birthday sweets, so we had to be creative. Last year we got rice cakes for his birthday, but we didn’t want to repeat that. I knew he loves hummus but it looks too plain for a birthday treat, so I decided to make a few different varieties to add more color and flavor. I personally love cilantro hummus, and it also has a nice green color. I spiced it up a little with a jalapeno pepper. For another bright color, I decided to go with roasted-red pepper hummus. As there was no baking/cooking involved, this turned out to be a relatively effortless, but tasty snack.

Ingredients:
Plain hummus (3/4 cup)
10 oz. chick peas (~ 1 cup)
2.5 tbsp tahini (sesame paste) – If you’re not going to use this very often, instead of buying an entire jar, you can make it at home by grinding toasted sesame seeds with a little bit of oil.
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 to 1/3 cup water
salt & pepper

Roasted red-pepper hummus (~ 3/4 cup)
¾ cup plain hummus
1/4 cup roasted red peppers

Cilantro-Jalapeno hummus (~ 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper seeded and chopped

Add all the ingredients for the plain hummus except water in a food processor. Add a little bit of water at a time and grind, adding more water as required till you get a smooth paste.
For the roasted red pepper and cilantro-jalapeno hummus, add the respective ingredients to the plain hummus and grind the mixture until smooth. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
Garnish with paprika and serve with pita bread or assorted crudités.

~Gayatri

Cold Cucumber Soup

Hot summers generally don't call for soups, but here's a simple no-cook chilled soup recipe that you can relish on a summer afternoon. This refreshing cucumber soup is a great way to beat the summer heat and is also an easy to make starter for potluck dinners as it can be made ahead of time and served cold.

Ingredients

1 large cucumber, peeled and cubed

1 cup thick yogurt

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1-2 mint leaves

Salt and pepper

Save a small piece of cucumber to be added to the soup at the end. In a blender, puree rest of the cucumber with yogurt, lemon juice and mint leaves, until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Finely chop the small piece of cucumber and mix with the soup. Refrigerate for about an hour and serve cold. Although this basic recipe makes a delicious summer cooler, there are several variations that can be made to suit your taste. You can vary the quantity of mint leaves or lemon juice depending on how you like it. Basil leaves can be used instead of mint leaves. It also tastes good with a pinch of cumin powder. The recipe above makes 2-3 servings of soup.

~Gayatri

Leftover cake…What’s that???

I know there is no such thing as leftover cake….well usually :-) …But if you do happen to have any leftover cake or even cake crumbs when you level your cakes, there’s something really delicious that you can transform them into! Cake truffles are quick and easy to make, yet so yummy that they’re gone before you know it.

Ingredients

1 cup cake crumbs (any kind of cake will do)

1 tbsp heavy cream

1/4 cup melted chocolate (I used dark chocolate, but any kind will work….just go with what you like or have at home)

For coating

6 oz. (~3/4 cup) milk/dark chocolate

Mix the cake crumbs, cream and melted chocolate till it becomes smooth. Make balls with two teaspoons of mixture.

Melt chocolate for the coating. Cover a plate/cookie sheet with plastic wrap.

Dip the balls of cake mixture in melted chocolate and set aside on the prepared plate. Freeze the truffles for a few minutes for the chocolate shell to harden.

Remove from freezer and decorate with melted white chocolate, or dust with powdered cocoa or powdered sugar.

Store in refrigerator if you won’t be eating them the same day. Remove from refrigerator about 20 minutes before eating.

~Gayatri