Of Eggplant and Oranges

Roasted Eggplant Tofu Sandwiches with Spinach and Mushrooms

This recipe is an adaption of both an eggplant casserole recipe I have and Eggplant Rolatini from Veganomicon. It is Eat to Live friendly and comes together easily, of course! A favorite when I'm craving Italian food.

1 large eggplant, stem and navel ends trimmed
3 cups no/low-sodium pasta sauce
1 pound low fat, firm or extra firm tofu
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 pound bag frozen, chopped, organic spinach, thawed and drained
1 pint mushrooms, washed and sliced, sauteed until tender in a small amount of water

Optional: pine nuts or faux parmesan (ground toasted sesame seeds+nutritional yeast)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash eggplant and slice it stem to navel into slices about 1/4" thick. Place the 6 middle slices (which should be the full length of the eggplant) on silicone baking mats on cookie sheets or jelly roll pans. Bake until tender, about 20 minutes. While the eggplant slices are baking, mash tofu with a potato masher then mash in lemon juice, garlic, nutritional yeast, and basil until it reaches the consistency of ricotta cheese. Set aside. In the bottom of a 9 X 13 glass casserole dish pour half of the pasta sauce. When the egglpant slices are done, remove three of them from the baking sheets and place side by side on top of the sauce in the casserole dish. Place 1/3 of tofu mixture on top of each slice and then layer on 1/3 of the spinach on top of that, followed by half of the mushroom slices. Cover each "sandwich" with the remaining eggplant slices. If you have any remaining eggplant slices that you baked, you can wrap up a spoonful of the tofu mixture and spinach and bake it in a small casserole along with the large casserole dish (see second photo below). Pour on remaining pasta sauce and top with the remaining mushrooms. Bake for about 20 minutes. Serve topped with toasted pine nuts or faux parmesan when done.


Orange & Goji Berry Salad with Broccoli Slaw and Sunflower Seeds

This has become my favorite winter salad. It's crunchy and tangy- a favorite combination for me.

1 navel orange, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup broccoli slaw
1 Tbs Goji berries*
1/2 ounce (2 Tbs) raw, hulled sunflower seeds
1/2 ounce raw unhulled sesame seeds

Toss together and enjoy.

*For added flavor sensation, soak goji berries in orange juice the night before.