The recipe for this Roasted Eggplant & Red Pepper Dip (or spread) comes from the beautiful blog The Cilantropist, and I am not surprised the author says it is one of her favorite foods to make in the summer.
I followed the recipe as written, except that I doubled the quantities of everything but the oil — I kept that at a third of a cup in the doubled recipe. I did have to puree the dip in two batches, as my Cuisinart couldn’t handle all of it at once. That gave me an opportunity to go a little heavier on the tomato paste in one batch, and lighter in the other — the one with less tomato paste was better, with more of the roasted eggplant flavor shining through.
I knew this spread would be a hit with my mother-in-law, who adores eggplant, but it went over well with all of the adults in my extended family. We ate outside on a hot night, smoothing this creamy, tangy spread over bagels. I served hard-boiled eggs and a salad made from romaine lettuce, marinated onions, feta, and sliced beets, too. It was indeed a perfect summer meal.
We received a big head of bok choi in our farm share a couple of weeks ago, and I usually just do a simple stir fry when I get this vegetable. It combines well with red pepper and onions; saute and add a splash of soy sauce and you’re done.
This time I went a bit further and made Stout Oak Farm’s Bok Choi & Sesame Noodles. I didn’t have any pea shoots, so I omitted them. I also used a smaller noodles-to-bok choi ratio than the recipe calls for, and subbed whole wheat spaghetti in place of the buckwheat noodles. I do like buckwheat soba and can get them at the Mrs. Green’s (a local Whole Foods-type store), but the spaghetti works just as well.
Whenever possible, I serve noodles separately from whatever is being mixed in to make the meal. So, a nice big bowl of the bok choi, and noodles on the side. This way my kids will at least eat the noodles, and might try the sauce, meatballs, or whatever else makes the pasta a complete dinner. They’re both much more willing to try green vegetables lately, but declined the bok choi at this dinner. Then, a couple of hours later when J. got home and was eating, A. decided the combined recipe did indeed look tasty. He got his own bowl and although he picked out most of the vegetables, he slurped up the sesame noodles and loved it. Since he eats my Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups greens and all, I’m pretty sure I could make this recipe again with spinach and have him eat the whole thing.
Roasted broccoli is delicious and homemade hummus is easy to make, so I knew this recipe for Roasted Broccoli Hummus — which uses white beans instead of chickpeas — would be a winner. It is.
I did not need to add any water to thin the dip. I also used a little more broccoli and garlic than the recipe suggests, because I really wanted to elevate the flavor beyond a white bean dip: I wanted it to scream “broccoli!” It did.
Make this dip as an appetizer or a snack to have with drinks; serve it with cut-up vegetables, whole wheat pita, or pretzels. It could make an easy summer lunch or dinner, slathered on a bagel or stuffed into a pita with lettuce and tomatoes. You can make a double batch of roasted broccoli, serving half as a side dish for dinner one night and using the rest the next day to make this dip.
There are lots of great food blogs I read that are focused on a specific food niche, and that have great recipes even though I don’t fall into the group of eaters they target. Gluten-Free Girl is one such blog. I don’t eat a gluten-free diet, but Shauna has some great vegetable-based recipes on our site that even a die-hard wheat eater would love. This recipe for Brussels Sprouts Salad originally comes from her site.
I adore Roasted Brussels Sprouts and make them often, but I’d never tried them raw. I cannot tell you how much I loved this salad. Shredding the Brussels sprouts make them feathery and light, even though my container had been kicking around in the fridge for a couple of weeks. I can only imagine how delicious it would be with CSA or farmer’s market sprouts. Add in the toasted walnut and Gruyere with a bit of vinaigrette, and you have a dish with enough protein to call a meal. I ate a huge plate of this stuff for lunch the day after I made it, and I liked the flavors even more. The Brussels sprouts easily stand up to a night in the dressing, and don’t wilt like other greens might. This is definitely a recipe to try this summer — I’ll be making it again.
1 10-oz. container of fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed
3-4 oz. shredded Gruyere cheese
1/2 c. chopped walnuts, toasted & cooled (otherwise they’ll melt the cheese)
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. whole grain mustard
1 tsp. honey
salt and pepper to taste
Using the slicing disc on your food processor, feed the whole Brussels sprouts into the machine until they are shredded. Switch to the shredding blade to prepare the Gruyere. Toss the sprouts, cheese, and toasted walnuts in a medium bowl and set aside.
To prepare the dressing, whisk vinegar, olive oil, mustard and honey together. Pour over the salad and toss. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more about me and CITK, and keep in touch:
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Moroccan Chicken Tajine: I recently had a chicken tajine dish at Fig & Olive in Scarsdale, and wanted to recreate something similar at home. This is an Ina Garten recipe, and she never fails me.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 
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