Eggplant Pizza with Tomato Sauce

Eggplant was abundant at my CSA this year.  Lucky for them because with the drought we've had, not much else was hearty enough to withstand it. 

Lucky for them, less lucky for me, since I don't love the stuff.  Ratatouille - meh.  Eggplant Parmesan - can't do bread crumbs.  Babaganoush - looks like a big pile of mush.  I can't just throw the things away and giving them away seemed kind of wasteful also.  Somewhere my brain recalled a video of someone making a Paleo pizza crust from eggplant.  I haven't had pizza in forever.  Pizza is delicious!  Yay brain!  Let's make PIZZA!

I won't try to fool you and say this pizza tastes just like delivery.  But if you have eggplant, this is a pretty good vehicle for using it up.  And eggplant is really healthy and has lots of fiber.   Mmmm... Fiber.  Just kidding.  But we all know we need it, especially after a lot of meat-gorging.

The recipe for the crust is simple, and I used one I found here:

INGREDIENTS

About a pound of eggplant, shredded

2 whole eggs, beaten

1 oz, weight (about 1/4 cup) grated parmesan cheese

1 Tbs golden flax meal

1/4 tsp salt

Coconut oil

Sauce, cheese, and toppings of your choice

Preheat oven to 450

Toss the eggplant shreds with the salt while you prepare the other ingredients. This will help draw out some moisture.

Squeeze out as much moisture as you can from the eggplant (either by hand or using the press method shown below).

Combine the drained eggplant shreds with the other ingredients.
Line a baking sheet or pizza pan with parchment paper. Lightly coat it with coconut oil. Press the eggplant mixture into a round shape about 1/4" thick.

 

  Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

 

Flip the crust half way through baking: coat a second piece of parchment with coconut oil and lay it on top of the pizza crust.  Put a second cookie sheet on top of the parchment and flip the whole works over (please PLEASE do not burn yourself.  If you are clumsy, please wait until the first cookie sheet has slightly cooled before attempting this maneuver).  Remove the first cookie sheet and peel the first piece of parchment off. 

Continue baking another 5 - 10 minutes or until golden brown, then top with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and whatever toppings you like.  I used Applegate Naturals Uncured Pepperoni.  I also highly recommend crumbled homemade sausage.


Pizza Sauce

6 oz. can tomato paste
1 teaspoon coconut sugar (optional)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

After topping, bake an additional 5 - 7 minutes, until the cheese has melted. 

This re-heats really well in a toaster oven, if you have leftovers.




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Potluck Cabbage Salad

This is an excellent salad to bring to a potluck.  No weird ingredients for skeptics to sneer at and nothing fussy.  Just toss all the ingredients together when it's gathering time.  This salad is best when it is freshly made.

Crunchy cabbage and almonds with a sweet/salty dressing and just a hint of smokiness from the bacon oil.

1 pound green and red cabbage, shredded
2 large or a couple of handfuls of baby carrots, shredded
    (or go the easy route and throw in a hand full of pre-shredded)
6 green onions and tops, diced
1/4 cup toasted, slivered almonds

To make ahead (because that's always more convenient!) shred the cabbage and carrots and toss with the green onions.  Keep the almonds separate until you are ready to serve so they don't absorb moisture.

Bacon dressing:
2 Tablespoons melted bacon oil
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons fine sea salt

Pour ingredients into a small jar with a lid and shake vigorously to combine.
Drizzle over mixed cabbage, carrots and onions and toss.  Then top with almonds.









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Classic Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

Next time you cook bacon, use the drippings to make this dressing.

1/2 cup bacon fat oil, melted
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 or 2 tablespoons honey
sea salt & black pepper

This dressing is meant to be hot to help lightly wilt the spinach.
Place all the ingredients in a glass jar with a lid and stir with a spoon.  Then drizzle the mixed dressing over:
Chopped baby spinach
Red Pepper
Red onion

Refrigerate unused dressing and use within two months.  Remove the jar lid to reheat in the microwave.

Wilted Mixed Greens with Bacon

Greens!  Greens!  Greens! 
Greens are packed with vitamins and minerals and when I cook up a big batch, they become convenience food.  I always get a bundle of mixed types of greens in my CSA pack, and usually never enough to make a meal of just one type.  All greens do NOT taste the same, and I prefer the taste of some over others.  If it weren't for my CSA, I would proabably not eat Rainbow Chard by choice.  It is lovely to look at, but I just simply don't enjoy the taste of the darn things.  Mixed with a variety of other greens, a bit of vinegar, some honey and hot pepper, and of course bacon, unappealing greens become a healthy and tasty balanced meal, or quick snack when I'm starving before dinner.


1 yellow onion, diced
6 strips thick-sliced bacon (nitrate & nitrite free)
1 pound mixed delicate greens -- choose Swiss Chard, Rainbow Chard, beet greens
1 or 2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup honey
Sea salt & black pepper

Slice raw bacon into matchsticks, or get yourself a kitchen shears and snip it!  This is the fastest way I know to cut bacon.  It also saves having to wash another cutting board.

Over medium-high heat, begin to cook bacon until some of the fat melts a bit, then add onion and 1/2 tablespoon salt and reduce heat to medium.  Saute until bacon is browned and onions are golden.

Remove stems from greens.  Dice stems and add to onions.  Increase heat to medium-high.  Coursely chop leaves and set aside.  Saute stem/onion mix until stems lose a bit of their crunch, about 3 minutes.

Add chicken broth, garlic, red pepper, black pepper, vinegar, and honey.  Taste the broth to see if it needs more salt.

When broth liquid is boiling, add chopped greens.  Gently turn leaves to wilt those near the top.  This should only take a few seconds.


This recipe also works for Mustard greens, Turnip greens, and Dandelion greens however, you may want to increase the amount of vinegar and honey in this recipe to help balance the bitter flavor.






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Country Pork Sausage

Packaged sausage is expensive and contains corn syrup, a lot of salt, and usually some mystery ingredients (DHA? natural flavorings?) as well as Modified Food Starch or dextrose, which are gluten ingredients.  I never knew I could make my own sausage, thinking there was some magic to it.  There is no magic and you can customize it to your own tastes.  You can add ingredients like sun dried tomatoes or dried apple pieces, if those are things that lure you to try the packaged stuff. 

Unlike baking which requires measuring exact amounts of ingredients to make chemical magic in the oven, when cooking, I rarely measure ingredients.  I dump in a little or a lot depending on my mood.  To test for flavor, I place a small ball of sausage on a paper plate and microwave for about 20 seconds.  Allow it to cool slightly before tasting.

Country Pork Sausage

1 Lb. organic ground pork
1/2 Tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)
2 Tablespoons honey (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl then press into a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Don't worry too much about the shape, just try to get everything to an equal thickness, about 1/4 inch thick for even cooking.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes, until the fat starts to pool around the edges.  Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before cutting into portions.

Place portions side by side (with a little room between) in a plastic zipper bag and freeze, laying on a flat surface.  This isn't always easy in my freezer, by the way.

I eat mine in the morning so I like it a little sweet and not too spicy.  If you like very spicy sausage, add more crushed red pepper.






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