Chicken and Eggplant Soup

1 eggplant
Salt & pepper
Paper towels
Extra virgin olive oil

Prepare oven to about 425°
Cut the eggplant into cubes and sprinkle on salt while on paper towels. After about 15 minutes, use more paper towels to dab on the top to remove moisture from the eggplant. On baking sheet, add pepper and EVOO and toss gently for all to be evenly coated. Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes. Let cool, turn off oven.

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One pound of chicken breast strips
Salt & pepper
Italian seasonings
Extra virgin olive oil

Heat saute pan medium high heat, cook the seasoned chicken until cooked through, flipping mid-way with golden brown crust. Remove from heat and let rest. Chopped the chicken to very little sizes (or shred with fork).

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About 2 stalks of celery, halved and sliced
About 2 sticks of carrots, halved and sliced
One onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
About 1/2 of pound of little potatoes, quater
Italian seasonings
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

In a steep pan or pot on medium high heat, EVOO until hot. Add onion and garlic for 3 minutes before adding celery, carrots, potatoes, seasonings. Cover and stir occasionally.

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Take cooled roasted eggplant in the blender with chicken broth (about 6-8 cups) and blend until you see no more eggplant chunks. Using a large bowl with a strainer, pour the eggplant chicken broth in and stir around the strainer to help the liquid go through while catching any seeds from the eggplant.
Pour the eggplant chicken broth into the vegetables and let cook covered and  for occasionally stir 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through. Add in the chopped shredded chicken and stir until heated through. Serve.

Some Combinations

Sandwiches

*Apricot jam/jelly and Sunflower Butter

*Grilled Pepper Jack cheese and Apricot jam/jelly 

Cookies

*Almond Butter and dried cherries

*Cashew Butter and dried apricots with apricot jelly center

Toast toppings

*Apricot jelly\jam and strawberries

Salads

*Dragon fruit, avocado, grapes with EVOO, S&P, and lemon juice

*Beets, peaches, arugula, toasted pine nuts, goat cheese, coconut oil, agave nectar, S&P, and champagne vinegar

Don't Knock It Until You Try It

Gruyere cheese, bacon, and shaved brussel sprouts (cook in microwave with little bacon fat, salt, and pepper) grilled cheese sandwich

Eggplant & Goat Cheese Pasta

Very simple recipe....

Ingredients:
-2 eggplants, cut in half, salted to drain out the bitterness on paper towels
-about 8 oz of goat cheese, room temperature
-4 cloves of garlic
-short pasta
-handful of walnuts
-a couple of pinches of chopped parsley

Method:
Roast eggplants and garlic (still in their skins) after seasoning with salt, pepper and EVOO in a 400° oven for about 40 minutes. While they cool down enough to touch, put goat cheese and about 2 cups of pasta water in the blender. Peel the garlic out of their skins and scoop the eggplants out from their skins into the blender. Puree until mixed well. Add in walnuts and parsley and puree until well mixed. Season to taste. Add more pasta water if thick. After you drain the pasta, put it back in the pasta pot and add in the sauce to stir all together. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Corn Risotto

Recipe coming soon

Thanksgiving Roasted Veggies

Ingredients
3 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed (I bought already cut squash at my grocery store, about 3 boxes)
4 parsnips, peeled and chopped about the size of the baby carrots
A medium package of baby carrots
6 turnips, peeled and cubed
A few sprigs of sage
A few sprigs of rosemary
about a cup of extra virgin olive oil
nutmeg (optional)
salt and pepper

Method
Chop up sage and rosemary and put in Cuisinart with a cup of EVOO, S&P (about a pinch or 2) and pulse until well combined. Put into a mason jar to set aside for the entire night.
The next day....
Preheat oven to 450°
(You can also prep the butternut squash, parsnips and turnips the day before as the herb oil) Chop into cubes of the veggies and with a little bit of the rosemary/sage (herb) oil with salt and pepper in a mixing bowl to coat the veggies- all together or separate- evenly. You can sprinkle a little bit of nutmeg with the butternut squash. Lay evenly on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil (I used 4 baking sheets- it's a lot of veggies).
Roast for 30-35 minutes.
In the same mixing bowl, use the remaining herb oil (add more EVOO if necessary) and add in the roasted veggies. Stir well and put in serving dish. Serve.

Sausage & Quinoa Dish

Quinoa- use its package cooking instructions. I used chicken broth

Saute Sausage to fully cooked, before taking it out on a plate. Save about 2 tablespoons of the extra virgin oil and rendered fat from the sausage while discarding (or saving) the rest. Saute sliced onion until it starts to caramelized and add chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Add cannellini beans until lightly browned and add washed/chopped kale. Seasoning salt, pepper, and a little bit of nutmeg. Once the kale wilted, add about a cup of chicken broth and let it reduce to vaporization, bring back the sausage and add the cooked quinoa, mixing well before serving. Perfect for lunch and dinner.