Coconut Vegetable Curry

Do you ever find yourself feeling sentimental?

 

I was talking to a friend of mine and she mentioned how she is really starting to feel sentimental about high school and our high school teachers. It was weird to me to think about, because I hated high school, but I also did really like a few of the teachers I had. The math department, in particular, was fantastic. But after our talk, I realized that I couldn't really recall very many moments where I have truly felt sentimental. That could partly be because I am young-- not a lot of experience in sentimentality yet. But I also think that I tend to focus so much on the task at hand that I sometimes ignore the better parts of my past. Yeah, high school had its awful moments, but my experience there helped me into Colorado State University. I find that I miss my college professors (particularly my SOC teacher, who I will have next semester again-- yay!!) much more, maybe because they teach the topics that contribute to my current and future life goals. 

Speaking of sentimentality: this is a recipe that appeared on my old blog, but that I remember fondly. I'm kind of in love with eggplant at the moment, so when I was looking for what to make I saw this recipe and flipped. It's super simple to make, but there are a plethora of flavors in this guy. Eggplant is cooked in a rich coconut red curry sauce until tender, then mixed in with hearty bella mushrooms, bright lemongrass, and sweet bell pepper. There are some hints of ginger, sesame, and curry powder, and an added health bonus of serving it over brown rice.

I hope everyone has a good week. I'm off to a two-day hike up in the granite hills of CA, and I'm so excited! All my gear is packed and we are about to take off (I'm going with my father, since I only have a few weeks left with him here in CA. Then I'm off to school again! So excited!). Pictures to come, eventually! 

Coconut Red Curry with Vegetables

Serves 4             Serving Size: 1/2c. rice plus 1/4 of curry mixture

Ingredients:

• 1tbl olive oil
• 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1" cubes
• 8 oz slices bella mushrooms
• 1 yellow (not bell) pepper, minced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 2c. light coconut milk
• 2tbl red curry paste
• 1 stick lemongrass, cut into 4 pieces
• 1/4tsp curry powder
• 1/4tsp ground ginger
• 2tbl toasted sesame seed
• 1/4tsp salt
• 1/4tsp pepper
• 2c. cooked brown rice

Instructions:

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the eggplant to the pan; cook for 5 minutes on medium. Add the mushrooms, peppers, coconut milk, curry paste, and lemongrass to the pan. Bring to a simmer, then turn to low and cook for 20 minutes, or until eggplant and mushrooms are tender. 
2. Take the lemongrass out of the pan; add the curry powder, ginger, sesame seed, salt, and pepper.
3. To serve, ladle 1/2c. rice into each of four bowls. Divide curry evenly among the dishes.

Nutrition Information:
Sodium: 356mg
Total Fat: 12g
     Saturated: 7g
     Monounsaturated: 3g
     Trans: 0g
Sugar: 7g
Protein: 8g
Calories: 299

Grilled Vegetable Quesadillas

There is nothing that makes me happier than grilled vegetables.

And cheese.

(We can't ever forget the cheese. Literally the only reason I'm not vegan.)

My father just bought a new grill which means we have been grilling everything that we can like obnoxious grilling pricks. It's made for some... interesting outcomes (such as when we tried to grill some melon and failed miserably), but occasionally we luck out. I've always just made quesadillas in the pan, but I figured why not try it out on the grill?

 So. Good.

These guys are packed with a ton of vegetables and just enough cheese to get that gooey deliciousness and that cool when-I-pull-this-apart-it-is-all-stringy-and-awesome feeling that are pretty much essential for quesadillas, in my humble opinion. Cheese, guys. We have some eggplant in there, squash, onion, and for just a little kick I decided to add some green chile.


Did I mention cheese?

Grilled Vegetable Quesadillas 
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/3 inch rounds
• 1/4c. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/3 inch slabs (lengthwise)
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds 
• Cooking Spray
• 1/4tsp salt
• 1/2tsp pepper
• 8 whole wheat tortillas, 8" diameter 
• 1/2c. diced canned (or fresh and sauteed, if preferred) green chiles
• 1c. (4oz) reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
• salsa, to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat your grill to medium heat.
2. In a ziplock bag, place eggplant and oil together and seal. Flip the bag and massage the eggplant a bit to evenly coat and distribute the oil. Let sit for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, spray other vegetables with cooking spray.
3. Grill the vegetables for the following total times each, flipping them halfway through:
   Eggplant: 15-20 minutes
   Squash: 5 minutes
   Onion: 5 minutes
   Or until tender, for all.
   Remove from heat, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut into small, bite-sized squares. Mix in green chile.
4. To assemble tortillas: evenly divide the vegetables among the 8 tortillas, placing them on the bottom half of each tortilla. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons cheese, and then fold the top half of the tortilla over.
   
5. Grill for 3 minutes on each side, remove from heat, and serve.

Nutrition Information*
Sodium: 697mg
Total Fat: 29g
      Saturated: 6g
      Poly: 5g
      Mono: 17g
      Trans: 0g
Sugar: 7g
Protein: 18g
Calories: 527

*This will vary largely depending on what kind of tortilla brand you use. I use Ole brand.