Grilled Teriyaki Eggplant

Marinade

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Sake
• 2 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 3 Tablespoon light brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoon rice vinegar 
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger root, freshly grated

Directions for Marinade

Combine all marinade ingredients in a small container. Mix well. Let stand while you prep the eggplants.

Eggplant

• 2 eggplants, (approx 1 pound each)
• Salt
• 2 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced
• 1/2 Red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 tbsp. sesame seeds

Directions for Eggplants

Peel eggplants and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Salt lightly and place in a colander for 30 minutes, then rinse and drain.

Prepare grill. Brush the eggplant slices generously on both sides with marinade. Grill slices until nicely browned and tender.

Cut into strips and place in a serving container. Stir in the scallions. Add enough additional marinade to moisten and flavor the eggplant to taste. Sprinkle with diced peppers and sesame seeds.

Roasted Garlic

People really enjoy this appetizer when dining at a restaurant but never realize how easy it is to make it. 

You'll Need

• Garlic bulbs (as many as you would like)
• Olive oil (at least one Tablespoon per bulb)
• Parsley to garnish
• Bread or crackers to spread garlic on to

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 F
• Take a whole garlic bulb and pull off the excess first outer layer and leave the garlic bulb in tact. Next cut off approximately ¼ of an inch of the garlic stem portions (the pointy ends). You now should have a whole bulb of garlic still in tact with the top stem cut off enough to see the actual garlic cloves. Next place the bulb in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Let the olive oil seep into the garlic cloves and then repeat. Next cover and bake for 45 to 1 hour or until garlic cloves become soft.
• Let cool a bit. Garnish with parsley. Then peel open and spread garlic on bread.

Lavender Lemonade

You’ll Need

• 3 Tablespoons dried lavender flowers
• 1 tray of ice cubes
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1/4 cup sugar (or less)
• The juice from 8 lemons
• 5 cups cold water (you may want to add more to adjust for personal taste)

Directions

• Place the ice cubes into a pitcher that can hold at least 2 quarts.
• Put the lavender into a bowl, and pour the boiling water over it. Allow it to steep for approximately ten minutes. Then strain out the lavender and discard.
• Mix in sugar (it is better to start at the lower end and then if you need more you can always add it) into the lavender mixture and then pour this mixture into the pitcher that contains the ice.
• Add the lemon juice to the pitcher. Then add the cold water and stir. Taste and adjust the sugar and water to your liking. Enjoy!!

Basil Pesto Sauce

Yields approximately 1 ½ cups

You’ll Need

• 1 cup packed basil leaves
• ½ cup toasted walnuts
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

DirectionsMix all in a blender or food processor until an even consistency is reached.

Tips

• You can add more garlic if you would like. You may want to mix it, have a taste and then decide.


• This pesto freezes wonderfully. Place the pesto in ice cube trays and once the pesto has solidified place the blocks in a plastic bag and use it in the future. The ice cube technique it nice because it freezes the pesto in handy portion sizes.


• The recipe can easily be doubled.


• You can try different nuts such as pine nuts or macadamias.


• You can try different herbs such as cilantro or parsley.


• Serve over top of pastas, grilled vegetables, and fish. Or turn a piece of French or Pita bread into a pesto pizza. The options are endless but all are delicious.


• Leave out the parmesan cheese for a vegan pesto sauce.

Nutrition Facts Per TablespoonCalories: 35
Protein: 0g
Carbohydrate: 0
Fiber: 0
Fat: 4g
Saturated Fat: 0
Cholesterol: 0
Sodium: 17mg (this will vary depending amount of salt added)

Angelic Deviled Eggs

We all know this appetizer is a party pleaser and it is a fairly simple one to make. Once you make these, you will never turn back. They're THAT good!!

You’ll need:

12 eggs

3 Tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp French's mustard
Salt & pepper to taste cayenne

Sliced olives

(optional ingrediets:)

Half-n-half (a petite splash), relish (a touch)

To Start:

Set the eggs in a pan of cold water, and then bring the water to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, set the timer. Here at home, the time to boil eggs is 13 minutes flat. Of course, if you're at a higher altitude, you'll have a longer boil time.

When the timer goes off, run cold water into the pan to cool the eggs. After about 2-3 minutes, take them out and peel the shells.

Next -- the yolks:

Getting them out of the egg without destroying the white takes just a bit of care. First cut them lengthwise before gently separating the yellow around the edges.

Now press gingerly on the underside of the egg half and turn it over to pop the yolk out. Put all yolks into a small bowl and add the mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper.

Tricks:

You can make these a bit more "devilish," like I like them, by throwing in a conservative sprinkle of cayenne.

But the thing that really makes them silky and "angelic" is by adding one Tbsp half-n-half to the mix. Another suggestion is to throw in one Tbsp relish.

Taste and correct the seasonings with each addition.

Finishing up:

When the mix makes you moan out loud, you know you've gotten it right! Now take a small spatula and refill the tiny cups in the egg whites, one at a time.

Finally sprinkle it over with just a bit of cayenne and top it with a slice of olive.

Eating Instructions:

As always, our recipes come with eating instructions. Guilt-free eating only comes when you take small bites, make it last, and control your portions.

So have a half, two at most, as one luscious part of a great meal with your family and friends! That way you get the taste, you get the superb health benefits of eggs, and you don't compromise your heart or pants sizes! Perfect.

Gingerbread

You’ll Need
½ cup molasses
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter
½ cup hot water
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons grated gingerroot
1 egg, beaten

Directions
Preheat the oven to 300.
Grease a 9 inch square pan
In a saucepan over low heat, heat the molasses, sugar and butter. Mix in the hot water and set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Stir in the gingerroot and the egg.
Mix the molasses mixture with the flour mixture and pour into greased pan.
Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Jazzed up Green Beans

A very easy, yet tasty complement to many meals.

 

You'll Need

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 16 ounces frozen, cut, green beans thawed and drained
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried mint leaves
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• ¼ cup walnuts, chopped
• 2 ounces feta cheese

Directions

• In a large skillet, heat the oil over a medium heat and saute the garlic for 1 minute.
• Add the beans, vinegar, mint, salt, and pepper.
• Cook, stirring, for 6-7 minutes.
• Spoon into a serving dish, sprinkle with walnuts and Feta cheese.