dinner and dessert for mommy <3

So I told my mom that I would cook for her last night because she always comes home so tired. But in order to cook something...I had to plan a menu! and it was:
Eggplant Rollatini with homemade roasted tomato sauce and Strawberry Scones for dessert (and breakfast!)

I began this cooking adventure busing and barting to Berkeley to go and buy groceries. I had lunch at Cafe Intermezzo with my sister and we had a massive veggie delight salad. Then we walked to Berkeley Bowl (top chef season 1 shopped there haha) to get ingredients for the roasted tomato sauce:
Ingredients:
-3 lbs of tomatoes (I used large ones and roma ones)
-1 medium onion
-2 large carrots
-4 cloves of garlic
-olive oil
-salt and pepper
-thyme, basil, rosemary

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Cut tomatos in 1/2 (remove the stems), slice the onion and chop the carrots into bite size pieces. Smash and mince the garlic.
3. Toss the vegetables together with olive oil to coat and season with salt and pepper and herbs.
4. Lay the mixtue onto a large flat baking pan with tomatos face down. Bake until the veggies are tender (45-60 min).
5. When tender, remove the skins from the tomatoes and put the mixture (juices and all) into a blender. Pulse until desired texture.

Then I placed the sauce into a pot, and tasted it...reseasoned it. I also added eggplant, zucchini, and mushrooms for an extra chunky sauce. and then I moved to work on the eggplant rollatini:
Ingredients
-large eggplant
-1/2 cup of part-skim ricotta cheese
-1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
-1 egg
-1 clove of minced garlic
-salt, pepper

Procedure:

1. Slice eggplant length-wise so that they are about 1/4 inch thick
2. Season w/ salt and pepper then steam them until they are pliable...pat dry
3. In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta and parmesan cheeses, egg, garlic and salt and pepper
4. In a baking dish, cover the bottom of the dish with the sauce.
5. Place a spoonful of the cheese mixture onto the eggplant slices and roll them up. Place the rolled eggplant onto the sauce in the baking dish, seam side down.
6. Continue until no more eggplant slices! Then top the eggplants with some more sauce.
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

MEANWHILE, I made spagetthi noodles to eat with the sauce and the rollatini. It was good :D But i wasn't able to take any pics b/c my hands were occupado. haha
and now...for dessert! Strawberry Scones:

or maybe another time!

...read on!...

blueberry muffins

Ok, so muffins are usually notorious for being extremely delicious but also extremely fatty. BUT! with this recipe you can have the best of both worlds :D

This recipe also came with an adventure! So Melody didn't go to school today so I had to entertain her. We went on a walk and after our walk...we baked! Except we didn't have muffin holders so we made a loaf of blueberry bread instead.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of flour


• 1 teaspoon of baking soda


• 2 teaspoons of baking powder


• a pinch of salt


• 3/4 cup of sugar


• 1/4 cup of vegetable oil


• 1 egg


• 4/3 cup of blueberry flavored yogurt (2 6-oz containers...we used yoplait)


• 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans or chocolate chips or all of those!

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F


2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.


3. In another large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, egg, and yogurt.


4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.


5. Fold mixture 10 times. AND ONLY 10 TIMES!!


6. Add the nuts/chocolate chips/both to the mixture and fold 3 more times. It'll look like flour-y mush but that's correct! RESIST THE URGE TO MIX ANYMORE!


7. Pour batter 2/3 full into greased muffin pans.


8. Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown on top and until it aces the toothpick test.

FOR BREAD....

1. Steps 1-6 are the same.


2. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan


3. Bake for 45 minutes.

it looks like this: and it tastes moist and yummy and blueberry :D

...read on!...

blueberry brownies

This recipe is just as rich and delicious as regular brownies, but it's extremely low in fat (no butter or eggs) so you can eat it with even more enjoyment!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of flour
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons of corn starch
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• 2/3 cup (a 6 oz container) of blueberry flavored yogurt
• OPTIONAL: chopped walnuts and chocolate chips....quantity to your desire :D

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl (sugar counts as a "dry ingredient" in this recipe)
3. Make a little well and pour the yogurt in it.
4. Mix together with a fork (or your hands). At this point, you may also add the walnuts and chocolate chips. It will be EXTREMELY thick.
5. Pour batter into a 8x8 baking pan and spread evenly.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes (until you can stick in a toothpick and only have a couple of crumbs on it)
7. Set out to cool, cut, and EAT!!!!

You can substitute the blueberry-flavored yogurt with any fruit flavored kind you like. Another variety to try is making it with vanilla yogurt and adding crushed oreos. it's really good because it comes out chewy. :D

...read on!...