Food Adventures at Home and Abroad

So, one of my goals for this blog is to keep a food journal of sorts while I am abroad. My peers at the institute will be from Israel (Israelis, Palestinians), Jordan, other Middle East states, the US, and possible Europe. I am hopeful that they will share their food customs and favorite dishes. Here in the US, my friends and I cook and eat together to de-stress and make some time for friendship. It'll be something I miss when I'm abroad, but I do hope to make some new food memories.

A meal last summer

I ditched my college's large food plan last semester, so I could save money and learn to cook for myself. Learning to cook has been frustrating at times, but really, it's been a very rewarding experience. Last semester, I was limited by a very small kitchen (no oven, 2 burners), which was challenging. But the situation made me expand my "taste" horizons, and I'm thankful for that. The past few weeks, I've been staying with some friends, many of whom are vegetarian. That led me to try eggplant (eggplant parmesan), and now, I'm hooked. I wanted to see what else I could do with eggplant.  Here's what I made today with the housemates:

Eggplant Burger 

Eggplant Burger w/ Mozzarella Cheese

The burgers reminded me a bit of baba ghanoush.  The Tolerant Vegan provided the recipe. My version was sans tahini, but it still turned out delicious. I added a few garnishes: fried onions, fresh mozzarella, frank's red hot sauce, sour cream, spinach. I also substituted pinto beans for cannelli beans. This was definitely a hit and something I want to share. I'd love to try this later with tahini.


If you'd like to make these, here is the reposted recipe from The Tolerant Vegan: 

Baked Eggplant Burger
Recipe found at:  http://thetolerantvegan.com/2011/08/baked-eggplant-burgers/
Makes 4 big burgers

Burger ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more to brush on eggplant before roasting
1 red onion, diced
1 14 ounce can cannellini beans
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 an eggplant (should equal about 1 cup)**I used half an eggplant and got about 8 burgers....
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
 1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup classic hummus (or your favorite flavor hummus)
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
tomato, sliced for topping (optional)
lettuce, for topping (optional)
I recommend either tahini sauce or hummus as the topping for this burger. I ate both versions and they were equally awesome. Here is the recipe for the tahini sauce in case you decide to go that route. It's the same sauce I used on the Baked Broccoli Burger.
Tahini Sauce ingredients:

1/3 cup sesame tahini
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
 

Directions:

To make the burgers, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Roast the eggplant by cutting it into 1/4" slices and brushing each side with olive oil.
Bake for 10 minutes on one side, then flip the slices and bake for another 5 minutes.
Once the eggplant is done and you remove it from the oven, turn the oven down to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
While the eggplant is roasting, place the diced red onion and 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the onion softens
Place the eggplant, onion, beans, bell pepper, parsley, pine nuts, garlic, sea salt and cumin into a large bowl.
Add the hummus and stir.
Place the mixture into a food processor and blend everything together. It should only take about 15 seconds.
Pour the mixture back into a bowl, stir in the breadcrumbs, and use your hands to make four large patties.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray the foil with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray.
Place the patties on the foil and bake for 45 minutes, turning once halfway through.
While the burgers are baking, make the tahini sauce by tossing all of the ingredients into a food processor and blending until fully combined.
Remove the burgers from the oven and eat!



Thanks for reading!

-S.