she's a VEGAN-izer.

So I have these 2 incredible friends (Sarah and Ryan Patterson) who have recently decided to go Vegan. I myself am too much in love with Milk, eggs, meat, butter, seafood, etc. to ever go vegan. So because of my lack of ever wanting to be vegan I have never ever made a Vegan meal in my life. Well Sarah & Ryan were in town and I decided to make us a Vegan meal. I was very weary of the idea, I was even trying to come up with some backup meal (you know when you burn dinner you order pizza...?) but pizza has cheese and that is not vegan. so I couldn't even think of a backup meal... so this dinner had to be good!

I went to Kroger and bought a bunch of veggies. I mean things I have never bought, cooked, or even thought of making. Afterwards I looked online for eggplant ideas. I have cooked eggplant before and knew that about "sweating" them but the dishes I have made before were vegetarian, not vegan. The recipes online called for items I have never heard of, time constraints that I didn't have, and to be honest, I wanted to use what I already had... so long story short, I just decided to just throw something together. Then I tried to find vegan stuffed mushrooms. I actually found a recipe online that looked easy, had great reviews, and I had all the items required. (That recipe is at: http://www.veganpiggy.com/2010/05/vegan-stuffed-mushrooms.html) and my side dish I had already thought up. It was time to get busy in the kitchen!

So my menu ended up being Baked eggplant with spinach, tomato sauce, topped with sprouts; stuffed mushrooms; and a vegetable medley side dish. When I make this next comment I am not trying to be cocky whatsoever about my cooking skills but DANG! if being vegan taste like this then sign me up! haha Seriously... this meal was stellar. It was so good in fact that I made it again for lunch and have even considered trying to go vegan just because its a healthier choice. have I officially gone mad??

Stuffed Mushrooms:
the recipe is under the link above. but since I didn't use all 1.5lbs I will go ahead and list my recipe. besides, who knows if that recipe will somehow get lost in the future. and this recipe is one you def don't want to lose!

6 baby portobello mushrooms (2 for each person, although they were so good that I probably should have made more!)
bread crumbs (I used whole wheat ones... and I didn't measure... I just kind of added what I felt looked good)
extra virgin olive oil (again, sorry, I just don't measure things)
I took my red onion, chopped up about 1/5 of it
I used more garlic since I LOVE garlic... I actually used 3 cloves (1 pressed, 1 chopped, 1 sliced)
sea salt (didn't measure just sprinkled it)
dried parsley (not fresh only because I didn't have it and again, not exact measure)
dried basil (no exact measure again)
(on the parsley and basil I just sprinkle what I think looks good... you will see on most of my recipes I just don't measure things... I apologize if it is an inconvenience)

Preheat oven 375 F.

Remove stems from mushroom caps and chop them up and set aside.
Sautee chopped up red onion and garlic with olive oil on medium heat for a few minutes.
Add chopped mushroom stems, salt, basil, parsley, and bread crumbs and stir together in the skillet for about 2-3 minutes.
(be sure not to add too much bread crumbs or they will be dry... add slowly and discreetly)
Bake for 30-45 minutes, keep on eye that they don't get too brown. Crispy on top is good!


BAKED EGGPLANT:

1 medium eggplant (sliced lengthway 1/4 inch and then "sweated" them for an hour- sweated will be described later)
2 tomatoes sliced 1/5 inch- you can slice them however large or small you want
1/2 bundle of fresh spinach sauteed with sprinkle of salt (very lite on the salt!!)
1- 8oz can of Hunt's tomato sauce
dried basil (just a few sprinkles)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp of Nature's Seasoning (the measurement is an educated guess of what I think I used)
spicy sprouts
bread crumbs
extra olive oil (or water)

Preheat oven 375 F

On medium heat stir together your 8oz can of tomato sauce, basil, bay leaf, and nature's seasoning for 5 minutes.
Lower the heat to Lo and let it simmer while you work on other parts of your menu.

I took my already "sweated" eggplants and patted them dry with a paper towel.
I used extra virgin olive oil and dipped them in that and then dipped them in the bread crumbs.
I placed them on a non-stick cooking tray and placed them in the oven for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes take out the eggplant and add your tomato, spinach, a spoonful of tomato sauce (you don't need too much), and top with some spicy sprouts.

Place in the oven for 30-45 minutes.

WHAT IS "SWEATING" AN EGGPLANT?

After cutting up your eggplant place each slice on a paper towel and add sea salt to both sides. Let this sit for about an hour. You will notice it to sweat (i.e. a watery discharge will appear). This makes the eggplant taste less bitter and your meal will be even more fantastic. About 1/2way through I flip them over onto new paper towels.
You can see how other people do it online by googling it.



VEGETABLE MEDLEY:

1 squash (sliced)
1 zucchini (sliced)
1/2 head of broccoli crowns
extra virgin olive oil (or water)
7spice seasoning (sprinkle in a nice amount, not too little, not too much) -sorry for no exact measurement
(I added asparagus the next day.... just 4 of them... you can use whatever veggies you prefer)

On lo-med heat stir in all of the ingredients.
I place a lid on top and watch it to stir it around.
This should be made last and at the very end. Shouldn't need to be cooked for more than 7 minutes. tops.

ENJOY THE MEAL!

Let me know what you think!!!