What I Ate Wednesday

The next installment of What I Ate Wednesday has arrived. This time with a recipe for Eggplant Caponata (see end of post)!

We buy kale every week for smoothies and salads. Last week we still had an abundance and made kale chips. We hand tore them, tossed them with a bit of oil, salt & pepper and then threw them in a 400 degree oven until they looked crispy. Delicious!

I had the good fortune last week to go to lunch with some of my colleagues as part of a day long meeting. I was nervous because their restaurant of choice, Grills in Cocoa Beach, FL, didn't have any strictly vegan dishes on the menu. Fortunately, their servers and chefs were knowledgeable and willing to make me this plate of coconut rice, black beans and sauteed vegetables. Don't be afraid to ask!

Raw bell pepper stuffed with sweet pea hummus, roasted asparagus & delicata squash, raw zucchini & carrots on top of mixed greens. 

Cool thing about living in Florida: local corn in November! That was the star, but the salad with leftover squash and hummus was excellent too. 

I got a spiralizer from my lovely Carly for my birthday. Here's my first batch of rawsta using the new toy. Mixed with hummus as the sauce. 

Every now and then we do a Mediterranean tapas night. This plate has roasted acorn squash, grape leaves, falafel, hummus, roasted red pepper, cucumbers & eggplant caponata. See below for the recipe!

Taco salad. Lettuce tip: mix the chopped romaine with half a lime's worth of juice, scallions, cilantro, salt & pepper before adding toppings. That lettuce blend is delicious on its own or on top of tostadas or other similar dishes. 

Eggplant Caponata
1 medium white onion, sliced
1 large eggplant, sliced & pre-roasted or grilled
5 roma tomatoes, roasted
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 c kalamata olives, chopped
1/3 cup raisins or golden raisins, soaked in hot water
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Balsamic vinegar
Salt & pepper
Crushed red pepper

Saute onions in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and saute for 2 more minutes. Add eggplant, tomatoes, olives & raisins to pan. Stir to combine. Season with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and several splashes of each vinegar.

Cook for a few more minutes until mixture looks like caponata. Serve warm or cold.