Aubergine slices with tofu and tomato sauce

   

     In one of the first vegetarian cooking classes I attended, I remember they told me that aubergines did not offer great nutritional values to the body. At that time I was very very disappointed, especially because I have always appreciated the flavor of aubergines. The fact is that I went on eating them over the years and today I'm glad  I did it because the information they gave me during  that class was not correct. In fact, aubergines have medicinal properties as they are very  digestive and they also help to reduce bad cholesterol (LDL).  Aubergines are also low in fat, rich in magnesium, fiber, vitamin B6 and vitamin K.

    With a huge basket of them, as well as tomatoes, this past week, here at home, we had a lot of gazpacho, paté and this delicious roasted auberginee-shaped lasagna.

Ingredients:

(serves 4)

 2 large aubergines + olive oil as needed

1 onion sliced ​​

2 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove 

250 gr grated tofu

10 mushrooms on slides

1 large grated carrot

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp oregano

salt to taste

For the sauce:

1 onion, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

2  garlic cloves 

650 gr tomato peeled and seeded

1 tsp coconut sugar (optional)

 salt to taste

Prepare the sauce:

Place the olive oil and the chopped onion in a pan. Brown until golden.

Add the garlic cloves and mix well.

Add the tomatoes and sugar. Wrap well and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.

Add salt and simmer at low heat for another 10 minutes.

Check the seasoning and use the food processor to obtain a creamy sauce.

Reserve.

Cut the eggplants into thin slices.

Rub each slice with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt.

Let them stand while you prepare the tofu.

Preheat oven to 200

Cut an onion into rings and sauté in olive oil.

Add the chopped garlic and let it simmer.

Add the tofu and season with salt. Wrap and cook on low heat for 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the mushrooms. Wrap again and cook  for 2 minutes.

Add the carrot, soy sauce and oregano. Wrap well. Check the seasoning and cook for 3 minutes on medium heat.

 On a baking tray, add a layer of tomato sauce and then start to spread the aubergine slices (remove excess salt from the slices if they have).

Spread  a layer of tofu evenly and go on using the aubergines and the the tofu until you use all the ingredients.

Pour  the rest of the tomato sauce and sprinkle with black sesame seeds.

Place in oven and bake for 45 min.

Serve with a green salad.

Bon appétit!

© veggie delicious food, September  2014

Raw yellow zucchini with natural flavors

  

    Nature is always surprising us with a great  variety of fruits and vegetables that allow us to eat rich, diverse and colorful food.

   I really like stuffing vegetables, especially round zucchinis and I have recently found, for the first time,  some gorgeous and fragrant yellow  big round zucchinis, for sale, which I bought.

   I thought the most natural  would be to eat them raw and I prepared a natural dish which I ate using the zucchini as a plate.  A simple recipe, taking almost no time to prepare, and full of natural flavors and bright colors  that  seduce just to look at it. I served it with a vegan mayonnaise sauce that I learned to prepare at  the event "Easter Princess", in a workshop given by Marta Varatojo, some months ago, here in Lisbon.

Ingredients:

(serves 2)

2  round or long zucchinis

1 long zucchini for the pasta

½ red pepper cut into small squares

3 yellow tomatoes

1 red tomato

6 strawberries

For the sauce:

300 ml of grapeseed oil

200 ml of soy milk

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp rice vinegar

1 full hand of basil  

1 bunch coriander

 salt to taste

Prepare the sauce by mixing grapeseed oil with soymilk.

Process until thick and add the remaining ingredients. Grind again and rectify the seasoning. Reserve.

Wash the zucchinis, cut the top of it to make a lid and with a spoon scoop the entire interior.

Grate the zucchinis or use the vegetable machine.

Cut the tomatoes into quarters and stuff the zucchini with the grated pieces of zucchini ,  the tomatoes, the red pepper and, on top, the strawberries.

Add the sauce to enrich the vegetables flavor.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bon appétit!

© veggie delicious food, September  2014

Small apple, banana and cinnamon cakes & Grapes smoothie

   

   After a short Summer break, the return  to blogging matches with the beginning of the school year for most kids, here in Lisbon, including my daughter.

  Entering  a new school where children have no friends awakens some excitement associated with nerves.

   With the return to school,  it also comes the concern with what snacks to take. Although seasonal fruits are the first choice, I sometimes prepare a sweet treat, which is also good if not eaten on a regular basis. And because the first day at a new school is always special, I thought it would be nice to take a sweet snack.

    It is precisely that what I’m blogging about -  apple, banana and cinnamon cakes and to go with  a grape smoothie.

Ingredients:

(it makes 12 small cakes)

200 gr flour

50 g whole spelt flour

180 gr demerara sugar

300g apples peeled and cut into slivers

1 + 1/2 smashed bananas

200 ml of warmed coconut oil

1 tbsp of cinnamon powder

1 tsp of baking powder

Preheat oven to 200

Mix the flours.

Add baking powder and cinnamon. Wrap with a spoon.

Add the demerara sugar, the bananas and finally the apples. Mix well.

Add the coconut oil and mix everything.

Put the mixture into shapes and bake for 20-25 minutes depending on the size of the shapes.

Grapes smoothie:

Select a good quality bunch of grapes and remove the pips.

Place in a blender and add 200 ml of vegetable milk. Grind and serve with the cakes.

Bon appétit!

© veggie delicious food, September  2014