FEEDS: 3-4

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 1/3 C. flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 C. seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/3 C Panko
• 1 eggplant, medium size
• canola oil
• 2 C. tomato sauce
• mozzarella cheese
• grated parmesan cheese

LET'S COOK

Place the flour in a pie plate and season with some salt and pepper. Whip the two eggs with a pinch of salt, pepper and about a tablespoon of water in a bowl. Mix the seasoned breadcrumbs and the Panko in yet another pie plate.

Slice the eggplant into 1/4” discs. Drop each one in the seasoned flour first and coat well. Next, dip each slice into the egg wash, then into the breadcrumb mix and coat well on all sides. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a sauté pan over a medium high burner. Fry the breaded eggplant discs in the hot oil until golden brown on both sides.

Arrange the cooked eggplant on an ovenproof tray. Top each one with the tomato sauce, a slice of the mozzarella cheese and a sprinkling of the grated Parmesan. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for about 10-12 minutes, and then slide under a broiler for a minute or so, just to brown off the cheese. Serve at once.

MORE IDEAS:

Panko is Japanese breadcrumbs. If you can’t find it, use all seasoned breadcrumbs. I like to jazz up my tomato sauce with some sautéed onions, garlic and fresh herbs like Italian parsley, oregano and basil.

You might say tomatoes are cross dressers. While each and every one of us think of them as a vegetable, in fact, they're a fruit. But, a while back in our history, tomatoes were officially called a vegetable by governmental forces to divert taxes and other legalities. But, that's a story for another day.

The mighty tomato has been through some very intriguing changes, tribulations and trials of merchandising. No one will dispute the perfection of a fresh tomato, plucked from the vine in ones' own garden, swept away to the kitchen, sliced, lovingly placed on fresh bread slathered in mayonnaise and then consumed with great ceremony. That's an experience from the Gods. Unfortunately, not everyone can boost such an experience.

Back in the day, tomatoes out-of -season was only available as a cardboard-like rendition of the real thing. Tubes of hard, orange-red globes merely resembled tomatoes. Their flavor and texture was non-organic. They were window dressings. Today, tomatoes available in supermarkets, in and out of season, smell and look like the real thing. Purchased on the vine, they offer taste and texture to rival the real thing from your backyard plot. Then there are grape tomatoes, which are sweet as honey, yellow tomatoes that delight the eyes and the palate and the newly discovered trend of heirloom seeds has produced an array of tomatoes that offer unique shapes and colors. Any dish can be enhanced with tomatoes, whether stewed, diced, flavored or pureed out of a can or, fresh from your source, sliced and incorporated into a menu.

For me, fresh tomatoes, warm from a sunny garden plot offer perfection when sliced and arranged between alternating slices of fresh mozzarella, red onion, basil leaves and a final drizzle of a simple vinaigrette dressing. A chunk of fresh Italian bread is mandatory to sop up the plate juices. Ahhh, life’s' simple pleasures.

FEEDS: 4

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tomato, diced

LET'S COOK

Mix the mustard, garlic and parsley in a bowl. Trim the tenderloins from the chicken breasts and freeze them for a stir-fry later on. Mix the 4 chicken breasts into the mustard mix and coat them liberally. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Overnight is best.

When it time to cook dinner, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish. Scrape any remaining mustard sauce from the bowl and evenly distribute it over the 4 pieces of chicken.

Next, evenly divide the diced tomato over the chicken. Slide the dish into the oven and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Serve without hesitation.

MORE IDEAS:

This is a great dish for a party. If there are any leftovers, slice the chicken and place on a bed of mixed greens tossed with oil and vinegar.

FEEDS: 2

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 1/4 C. olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• 2 T. fresh lemon juice
• 3 T. white wine, Chenin Blanc is great
• Juice of two 6 1/2 oz. cans minced clams
• Few grinds of black pepper
• 1 T. dry basil
• 1 T. dry parsley
• Clams from drained cans above
• 1 T. butter
• ½ lb. pasta
• 1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese

LET'S COOK

Begin by putting a pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta. Next, pour the olive oil into a medium size sauté pan over a medium high burner. When the oil’s hot, add the sliced garlic and sizzle for about 20-30 seconds. Next, add the lemon juice, white wine, clam juice, pepper, basil and parsley, bring to a boil and let it reduce on a low burner.

Drop the pasta into the boiling water, stir it up and let it cook. When the pasta is still just a little firm, drop the clams and butter into the sauce. Drain the pasta and then drop it into the clams and sauce. Stir it all up and allow simmering over a low burner for a couple of minutes. Fold in the grated cheese and serve.

MORE IDEAS:

Bear in mind that you’re going to finish cooking the pasta in the sauce in the sauté pan. That way, the pasta absorbs the flavors of the sauce. Also pay attention to the fact that a smaller pasta shape will insure that you get some pasta and clams on your fork with each mouthful.

FEEDS: 4-6

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 10 carrots, medium size (apx. 2 lb.)
• 2 parsnips, medium size
• 1 red onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 T. canola oil
• pinch of salt
• 5-6 grinds of black pepper
• 1 t. dried thyme
• 4 C. vegetable or chicken broth

LET'S COOK

Peel the carrots and the parsnips and cut into 1 inch thick discs. Place in a baking dish along with the red onion which you've peeled and chopped, the garlic you've sliced, the oil, salt, pepper and the thyme.

Toss it all up and roast for an hour and 15 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven.  Stir the veggies up every once in a while.

When the time has elapsed, place the vegetables in a blender with the broth of your choice and blend to a smooth consistency

Pour into a soup pot and gently heat to a boil.

Serve with a slice of warm whole wheat bread and perhaps a chunk of cheese on the side.

MORE IDEAS:

This formula produces a thick and hearty soup with great vegetable flavors.

If you'd prefer a thinner soup, simply add 1 or 2 additional cups of the broth.

Consider using this soup as a sauce under steamed broccoli on a dinner plate.

FEEDS: 4-6

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 2-3 slices bacon, sliced into small pieces when it’s raw
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• Black pepper
• ½ C. barley
• ½ C. lentils
• 1 small can tomato juice (5.5 oz.)
• 2 ¼ C. chicken broth (apx.)

LET’S COOK:

Drop the sliced bacon into a pot of appropriate size over a medium high burner. Move it around and cook just until the bacon begins to crisp up.

Slide in the onion, stir it into the bacon and cook a minute or two more. Now add the carrots, celery and the garlic and stir it all together. Also add the barley and lentils and season with the black pepper to taste.

Pour the tomato juice into a large cup measure, and then fill to the 2 ½ C. level with the chicken broth. Pour the liquid into the pot, stir it up, bring to a boil, cover the pan, lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Then, stir up the ingredients gently, cover the pan, turn off the burner and allow it to sit for an additional 10 minutes.

Serve with a generous sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley or chives.

MORE IDEAS:

If you’d like more color in this dish, when you check it after the first 30 minutes of cooking time, stir in a ¼ C. of frozen peas and corn, cover and then let it sit the 10 minutes suggested.

FEEDS: 4

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 3 T. olive oil
• 3 C. sliced red cabbage
• salt and pepper
• 3 T. water
• 2-3 T. maple syrup

LET'S COOK

Heat the oil in a sauté pan over a medium high burner.

Drop in the cabbage, season with some salt and pepper and begin to cook, stirring every minute or so.

After sautéing for 3-4 minutes, add the water, stir it all around and cook an additional 10 minutes or so.

When the cabbage takes on a uniform deep purple color, add the maple syrup, stir it in and continue cooking for another 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Bear in mind that the longer you cook the cabbage, the softer it will become.

Serve with pork chops, grilled chicken or even a fish sauté.

MORE IDEAS:

Please, use real maple syrup. As an alternative to the syrup, you could use 3 T. of red currant jelly in this recipe.

FEEDS: 2

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 3 T. flour
• Salt and pepper
• 2 Tilapia filets
• 2-3 T. olive oil
• 1/3 C. frozen corn
• 2 T. capers
• 1/3 C. white wine such as Vouvray, Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay
• 1 fresh tomato, diced

LET'S COOK

Mix the flour with a pinch of salt and pepper in a shallow bowl.

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan of appropriate size over a medium high burner.

Dust both sides of the Tilapia in the seasoned flour, then, slide the fish into the pan with the hot oil. Cook the fish filets on both sides to a nice golden brown.

Remove the cooked fish to serving plates and keep warm in a very low oven.

Leave the pan on the burner and add the corn and the capers. Move the two items around a bit in the pan, and then pour in the white wine.

Allow reducing for a minute or so, and then add the tomato. Combine the ingredients well, cook an additional minute of so, then spoon the sauce over the two fish filets and serve without hesitation.

MORE IDEAS:

This recipe works with filet of sole, haddock and even halibut. Instead of the frozen corn, peas can be used.

FEEDS: 2

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 2 straight sided, clear, rocks-type glasses
• blueberries
• apples
• strawberry yogurt
• great granola
• strawberries
• kiwi fruit
• bananas
• mint leaves, fresh
• blackberries

LET'S COOK

Begin by preparing all your fruits by peeling, removing any seeds or pits and then cutting all fruit into bite size pieces for ease of eating. To actually make the parfait, start with some of the blueberries in the bottom of each glass. On that, place some diced apple.

Now, spoon in some yogurt, then a layer of granola, some sliced strawberries, kiwi, more yogurt, bananas, granola and a final dollop of the yogurt.

Place a small stack of the fresh mint leaves on a cutting board and slice them into fine strips. This cut is called a chiffonnade. Scatter some of the freshly cut mint on top of the parfaits and garnish with a couple of the blackberries. Serve as soon as possible.

MORE IDEAS:

You can use any combination of fresh fruits in this dish. Just keep in mind that whatever fruit you use, it should all be peeled, pitted, seeded and then cut into pieces that are easy to manage with a spoon for eating. And, use any flavor of yogurt that appeals to your palate. You can make these an hour in advance of service time.