Adobo Eggplant Quesadillas & Nachos

I often get questions about how to cook eggplant. My favorite and most foolproof method for non-spongy eggplant is to grill it. (If you don’t have an outdoor grill, you can use a grill pan on your stove). I grill mine simply with olive oil, salt and pepper, and a squeeze of lemon or drizzle of balsamic; I then serve it with some arugula or sliced tomatoes.

But I’m in love with this recipe for grilled eggplant quesadillas that comes from my friend Erin (of Naturally Ella)’s new book The Easy Vegetarian Kitchen. The spices are so flavorful and the eggplant bulks up the quesadillas in a meaty-but-not-meaty sort of way.

I know that so many of you are fans of Erin’s as well, so I’m sure lots of you already have her book, but if you don’t, put it on your list. It’s a super handy vegetarian guide to cooking with what you might have available seasonally or on hand. There are 50 base recipes and 3 unique versions of each. So pretty much any vegetarian meal you might want to make, she has a recipe for. Everything is made with whole grains and with fresh seasonal produce in mind.

I modified her quesadilla recipe just a tad. I mixed her spice rub with olive oil and used it as more of a chile sauce to brush onto the eggplant after I grilled it. (This kept my grill pan a little cleaner). I served the remaining sauce on the side of the finished quesadillas…  Jack gave this meal two speechless thumbs up. Because that’s how he says “this one is really good” as he stuffs the next quesadilla wedge in his mouth.

I have an obsession with nachos. When they’re done right, I think they’re the perfect food: hot and crispy corn tortilla chips, melty cheese, and all the toppings. I like my nachos fully loaded – seasoned ground beef, avocados or guacamole, salsa, sour cream, green onions, cilantro – I want it all. Even though I’m obsessed with the perfect nacho, I’m so obsessed with nachos in general that I’ll take whatever I can get.

Truth: I’ve even been known to eat just tortilla chips with melted “cheese” on top. A couple of years ago, when Mike and I were in Madrid, I was overcome by an intense craving for nachos. Luckily, they had tortilla chips at the store right around the corner from the Airbnb we rented. There wasn’t any shredded cheese, but they did have some squares of unidentifiable queso and jars of “American” salsa. My need for melted cheese on tortilla chips was so great that I didn’t care that the whole thing was questionable. And hells yeah that plate of Spanish nachos hit the spot.

That memory kind of makes me miss Europe. It goes to show that it’s the random things in life that are completely memorable, like making microwave nachos in your European apartment. Yup, we could have gone out for cervezas (claras for me!) and jamon at midnight, but sometimes, it’s those down home things that really matter, especially when traveling.

Thursday Food Finds

Whoomp! It’s going to be weekend and I’m pretty excited! I’m heading to a DIY barbecue pizza party and I’m bringing tiny meatballs, roasted garlic, and caramelized onions. I can’t wait to see what other pizza toppings there are. Other than that, I don’t have too much planned for the weekend, just the usual errand-running and dinner party things with friends.

I’ve been busying eating all of the summertime fruits, including lychee. Lychee is one of my faves, but they’re not as sweet and juicy as I remember as a kid. And what’s up with lychee not being being as pinky-red as they used to be?

WEBSTUFF:
1. This absolutely freaks the shit out of me and it’s also a really good read.
2. I love eating out, but this seems a little bit crazy.
3. Boy oh boy, is working at Lululemon a head trip.
4. There are some hardcore toys in this article…

LINK LOVE
1. Speaking of lychee, Cynthia made this gorgeous lychee and white nectarine cobbler.
2. This is the pineapple cake of my dreams.
3. It’s Popsicle Week at Wit and Vinegar and it’s all of my icy dreams come true. (Check out my pop right here!)
4. This fried chicken sandwich…SO GOOD.
5. Give me all the grilled chicken.

I’VE GOT MY EYES ON YOU:
1. Did you guys buy anything on Prime Day? It was kind of a bust, but I did find this torch top for my Searzall.
2. I blazed through Luckiest Girl Alive (I felt neutral trending towards slightly bored by it) and have moved on to The Cage. It’s a YA novel (I LOVE reading YA) about humans in a….wait for it…zoo created by aliens. LOL. So far I like it though!


I’ve been buying my cold brew by the bottle, but when I started seeing homemade versions all over the internet (here, here, here, here), I was intrigued. But let’s back up – what is cold brew coffee you ask? (if you’re not asking you can scroll down and skip this paragraph). It’s regular coffee beans (get a good quality kind) that you soak overnight and then strain instead of brewing it in a coffee maker. The benefits are that it’s less acidic than regular coffee, so it’s a little healthier and easier on the tummy. Plus, you can store it in the fridge and it’ll last almost a week.

I usually drink mine Americano style, and Jack drinks his with chocolate almond milk. Today we’re meeting in the (lightly sweet) middle with iced almond milk lattes made with homemade cold brew iced cubes… because no one wants a watery coffee drink once the ice melts.

Healthy Green Juice Recipes

Summer has officially begun, and I don’t know about you – but I’m already eating more ice cream, popsicles and other “fun” summery foods. Not that I see anything wrong with an occasional indulgence – but I like to balance things out by adding a little more green wherever I can.

Today I’ve partnered with Evolution Fresh to come up with 3 healthy recipes to help you get more greens into your day. Their cold-pressed green juices are packed with kale, spinach, cucumber, lettuces and herbs, among other flavorful ingredients. Obviously the easiest way to get more green is to just drink the juice (and it’s delicious)… but I had fun thinking outside of the box (er, bottle) to create these simple summery recipes:

1. Make a sweet green lemony pesto:
Pesto is already pretty green, but this one uses green juice in place of most of the olive oil to make an overall lighter version. Sweet Greens and Lemon juice make it every bit as zesty delicious.

2. Cook rice with green juice instead of water or broth:
I have to say that I’m so in love with this trick. I used green juice in place of water or broth to cook my rice. It adds extra nutrition (over 1 pound of green vegetables’ worth!) but the flavor is very mild so you’re actually eating more greens than it feels like. Essential Greens with Lime is perfect for green cilantro rice – I like to serve this with tacos or grilled veggie kabobs. After the rice is done cooking, I season it with salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, a few squeezes of lime and chopped cilantro. Top your plate with a scoop of salsa.

THIS IS A QUICKIE! QUICK AND EASY RECIPES THAT I DON’T HAVE MUCH TO SAY ABOUT, ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT THEY TASTE AWESOME AND YOU SHOULD GIVE THEM A GO!

Guacamole is always a favorite around here. Give me a big bag of crispy, crunchy tortilla chips (even better if they’re homemade!) and a big bowl of guacamole and I’ll call it dinner. Guacamole, like so many other things in life, is way better when you make it at home. Forget about that weird bright green goopy stuff you see in plastic tubs at the store. That stuff, it’s just masquerading as guacamole. Make the real thing, you won’t regret it!

Really, it can be as simple as mashing up some avocado with lime juice, salt, and pepper. I like to add in a bunch of herbs for an extra bit of deliciousness. My favorite renditions are ones that have a little bit of an Asian flair going on: fish sauce, shallots, cilantro, mint, green onions, lime, Thai chili, and of course, lots of freshly cracked black pepper. Of course, you can do a straight up classic guacamole too. I’ve included both recipes here. Go forth and guacamole friends!