Mandy and Jace

I didn’t get to make this dish last night due to other plans but I did want to get the recipe out there. I got it from a website called a cozy kitchen.

Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree
from A cozy kitchen

1 medium eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, whole
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 pound rigatoni pasta
1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper. On the baking sheet, combine the eggplant, cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Smooth the vegetables out in an even layer on the baking sheet. Roast in the oven until the vegetables are tender and the eggplant is golden, about 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta into a large bowl and reserve 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid (optional).

Transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor. Add the torn mint leaves and the pine nuts and puree the vegetables. Transfer the pureed vegetables to the bowl with the pasta and add the parmesan. Stir to combine, adding the pasta cooking liquid (optional) 1/2 cup at a time until the pasta is saucy.

I still hope to cook it sometime so if anyone tries it let me know how it comes out.

This is a very easy recipe and is great for throwing everything in the crock pot in the morning and having it for lunch. You can use whatever veggies that you would like. I used corn and green beans but you can easily use carrots and peas or anything else. Whole wheat pasta would also be really good in it.

Vegetable Soup
2 cans whole kernel corn
2 cans green beans
2 cans pinto beans (ranch style taste’s better but has lard so not good for the Daniel fast)
2- 8oz cans tomato sauce

Pour all ingredients into either a pot or a crock pot and heat until hot. The longer you let it simmer the better your soup will be!

I wanted to post my meal plan a little bit early so that if anyone wants any of my recipes or tips for the Daniel fast they can get them before we start on Sunday.

Monday: teriyaki rice and veggies
Tuesday: Pasta with eggplant puree
Wednesday: veggie burritos
Thursday: salad
Friday: Whole wheat veggie pizza
Saturday: pinto beans and cornbread (cornbread for Jace)

I’ll post recipes as I cook them next week. I am very excited for this new adventure!

Happy eating!

Since there are several people in our church doing the Daniel fast next week I wanted to pull some recipes out of our archives that you can eat. We are doing this fast to deepen our relationship with God and to center ourselves around what God is going to do in the coming year in our lives and in our church. There are many variations of the fast and I don’t think there is any “right” way to do it. I will be eliminating meat, dairy, white flour and anything made with it, sugar and carbonated beverages. While this sounds terrible it isn’t all salads and fruit. Here are a couple of choices to pick from. You can also browse the vegan websites and books for some recipes also.

Here is my recipe for Guacamole. Since chips are out you can buy pita bread and cut it into chips and toast them in the oven to make them crispy. They are delicious!

Tyeriaki rice and veggies is a great choice because it taste’s so much better than just rice and veggies. Since we can’t do white rice you can either by brown rice if you have time and put the veggies in after about 40-45 minutes of cooking or you can buy minute brown rice and cook it in the microwave then saute it with your veggies.

If you are leaving dairy in your diet you can eat this zucchini carbonara recipe without the bacon.

These baked sweet potato fries would be good with a salad. Try your hardest to ignore the chicken that’s also in that post.

Well, the holidays are finally over and it is time to get back to our normal lives. I have to say I enjoyed the days off and all of the food but it’s nice to be back on a normal schedule. We are packing as much meat into this week because as of Sunday evening I, along with many people from my church, are going on a fast for 10 days. It’s called a Daniel Fast and it pretty much follows the guidelines of a vegan lifestyle with a couple of exceptions. So I won’t be eating meat, dairy, sugar, anything processed or made from white flour and no cokes. Some people are choosing to allow dairy into their diet but I feel like since I eat pretty healthy anyway I need more of a challenge. So all fruits, veggies and whole wheat for me. I am hoping to deepen my spiritual walk with God over those ten days, and begin my year right.

Here is my meat filled meal plan.

Monday: pork chops, mashed potatoes and corn on the cobb
Tuesday: made from scratch chicken pot pie
Wednesday: probably take out before church
Thursday: Mexican casserole (LeeAnn, I’m stealing your recipe)
Friday: date night!

Throughout the week I am going to be posting some of the Daniel Fast friendly recipes for all of you braving this with me. I think it will be a hard but great time of cleansing and deepening of our faith. I will also post some recipes from this week for all you meat eaters.

Happy eating!