Garlic-Alfredo Eggplant Parm, Chickpea Rissoles, Caulif-Rice Stir Fry and more!

Garlic Alfredo Eggplant Parmesan
Not yo Mama's Eggplant Parm! This version features a very garlicky Alfredo sauce instead of the usual tomato-based sauce.

1 jar Alfredo Sauce
5 cloves Garlic
1-2 Eggplant -- enough for 2 layers in a 9x12 baking pan
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 cup shredded Mozzarella or other white cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (tube stuff is fine here)
6-8 leaves fresh Basil, cut julienne
EVOO for drizzling
Oregano, Sage and Rosemary to taste

Empty the Alfredo sauce into a bowl, add 1/2 cup water to the jar and shake vigorously to release the sauce stuck to the inside of the jar.  Add the shaken water to the bowl of sauce and stir.  Use a garlic press to crush the garlic into the Alfredo, and stir to combine.

Slice the eggplant 3/4" thick.  Lay the rounds out on a baking sheet and drizzle them with EVOO.  Sprinkle with the spices. 

Broil up close for 5 minutes. 

Flip the slices over and repeat the oiling and spicing.  Broil for another 5 minutes.  You don't want the eggplant to be mushy- done.

Lay the first layer of eggplant on a couple spoonsful of the garlic-Alfredo schmeared on the bottom of the baking pan.  Top with half the panko, half the cheese, then half the remaining Alfredo.  Repeat the layering with the remaining eggplant, sauce, cheeses, and then sprinkle the sliced basil on top of it all.

Bake at 400F for 45 minutes or until you get a nice browned crust.  Serve with crusty bread.

Chickpea Rissoles (Patties)
This is basically the Black Bean Rissole recipe I wrote about back in January, but using Garbanzos instead of Black Beans, and a different spice profile to go with the nuttiness of the Garbanzos.

2 cups of cooked Garbanzos/Chickpeas, rinsed an drained
1/2 Sweet Onion (Vidalia, Maui, etc.) diced
2 cloves Garlic
3 Tbsp minced Parsley
1 Egg, beaten
1/2 cup Panko or other bread crumbs
Seasoning  -- I used 2 tsp Oregano and 1 tsp each Rosemary and Sage

Put half of the beans in a food processor along with the onion, garlic, egg, parsley and pepper flakes.  Take everything for a spin until it's finely ground.  Transfer to a mixing bowl.

Smash the remaining cup of beans to break them up a bit, but don't turn them into mashed beans.  Stir to combine the smashed beans, along with the bread crumbs, to the pureed mixture -- so your patties will have some texture.

Form the mixture into patties and fry for 6-8 minutes per side.

Serve with a sauce or two -- marinara, Lizano, remoulade, even a dab of good grainy mustard.


Cauliflower Rice Stir Fry
Simple, tasty, filling, and a bit healthier than a conventional rice stir fry.  Here's what I used:

Cauliflower Rice
Red Bell Pepper, diced
Green Cubanelle Chile, chopped
Mushrooms, sliced
Sweet Onion, diced
Toasted Pine Nuts
Sauce poured on at the last minute; equal amounts of :
Toasted Sesame Oil
White Wine Vinegar
Low Sodium Soy Sauce

Fry the chopped veggies first, in a minimal amount of EVOO.  When they're al dente, add the cauliflower rice and stir until the "rice" is cooked -- maybe 5 minutes...


Baked Zucchini Chips
This is a fun little side dish, snack or appetizer.  You'll need good knife skills, or a mandolin, to get thin slices.

Slice 'em thin, and lay them out on a parchment covered baking sheet.  Then hit them with a favorite spice blend, and put in a 450F oven for about 15 minutes until they just start to darken. Reduce the heat to 150F and continue cooking another 45 minutes or so to get them crispy-dry.

 Serve them up with a favorite dipping sauce -- bleu cheese, remoulade, sweet-hot chili sauce, etc.  The recipe is a bit time consuming for not much munch.  Make a couple trays at a time.  The above tray came from one 8" zucchini, and only yielded this ramekin of chips!

Duck Egg Omelet
I just have to show off this omelet!  One of the prettiest dishes I think I've ever cooked!

We went up to Orlando, stayed with our friend Melinda, and a bunch of us went to the Jimmy Buffet & Eagles concert.  The next morning I made duck egg omelets for us, and this nearly perfect one egg omelet with feta and mushrooms is what I served up for Mel's first taste of duck egg. 

Duck eggs are a bit more expensive than chicken eggs, and you wouldn't want to eat them every day.  But for an occasional treat they are certainly worth the cost.  We're lucky -- a work friend of Sally's has a flock of free range chickens and ducks which just can't seem to stop laying eggs!

Duck vs Chicken Egg Nutrition
Duck eggs are bigger, so you get more eggy goodness:

Protein
   Chicken 6 gr
   Duck 9 gr
Vit D
   C  41 IU
   D  48 IU
Choline
   C  147 mg
   D  185 mg
Calories
  C  72 cal
  D  130 cal
Fat
  C  5 gr
  D  9 gr
Cholesterol
  C  186 mg
  D  619  mg

The higher cholesterol rating is the only slightly negative aspect of duck eggs, but that can be countered by pairing them with a diet which includes less red meat, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans  -- the sort of diet we should all be embracing for a longer, healthier, happier life.