Eggplant Balls, Two Tex-Mex Casseroles, Rhubarb & Quinoa Soup!?

• Eggplant noMeata Balls
  Looking back I realized it's been at least 3 years since I made these wonderful noMeataballs.  Time to re-introduce you to them!
  
  
  
  
  1-1/2 lb Eggplant cubed, skin on
  2 cloves Garlic
  1-1/2 cups Panko
  3/4 cup Parmesan (from a jar is OK)
  1/2 cup fresh Parsley, chopped fine
  1/2 cup fresh Basil, chopped fine
  1 Egg, beaten
  Cavender's Seasoningtm 
  1-2 cups Marinara (optional) for serving
  
  Sauté the garlic in a splash of EVOO for a minute, then add the eggplant, salt & pepper (or other spice blend) and 1/4 cup of water.   Cook for 8-10 minutes until just barely tender.  Transfer to a colander, and drain.
  
  Heat the oven to 400F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
  
  Transfer the eggplant to your food processor, add the other ingredients and pulse to combine.  Don't totally puree things, you want some texture left.  Transfer to a mixing bowl and add more panko as necessary to make the mixture firm enough to form balls that will stay in shape.
  
  Form about thirty 1-1/2" golf-sized balls and lay them out on the baking sheet.  Bake 35-45 minutes until firm and nicely browned.  Cool on a rack.  Can be served with 'doctored' marinara sauce, another sauce of your choice, or all by themselves.  Also good in a vegetarian sub sandwich.
  
  Mexican Style Rice & Bean Casserole
  This is my tweak on a Forks Over Knives  recipe.  They wanted you to build a fancy flavor profile using all sorts of spices -- a packet of Taco or Enchilada Seasoning is a lot easier!  This is a really tasty Tex-Mex casserole without the calories of tons of cheese!
  
  1 Onion, diced
  1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
  3 cloves Garlic, minced
  1 packet Taco or Enchilada Seasoning
  2 cups cooked Brown Rice
  2 cups cooked Black Beans
  3 ears Corn, kernels removed (about 2 cups)
  No-Cheese Sauce (see below)
• Saute to onion, bell pepper and garlic. Add the rice, beans, corn and seasoning and cook until the onion and peppers are tender. Place in a bowl, fold in the No-Cheese sauce, and then transfer to a suitable baking dish. Optionally, top with  a little real shredded cheese, the way I did.  Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes.

 
Serve with low-salt tortilla chips on the side.

No-Cheese Sauce
I'm not normally a fan of Nutritional Yeast. I don't think it tastes remotely like any cheese, and I just don't care for the taste. But I must admit – in this preparation – it works very well!

1 Onion, chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
¼ cup Raw Cashews, toasted
1 Tbsp Tahini or Peanut Butter
1 cup Nutritional Yeast
Salt to taste

Combine everything in a blender and puree until smooth and creamy. Add ½ cup of water if necessary to achieve the desired consistency.

Ranch Casserole & Cornbread
Here's another very tasty Tex-Mex style casserole that would be equally good for a pot-luck or home party (now that we vaccinated folks can gather again in reasonable safety.   Try making the dish the way described below.  Or do what I'll do next time and save yourself some effort -- Cook everything in a large skillet,  and make a batch of cornbread to serve with it.

2 cups Swiss Chard, chopped
½ cup Onion
½ cup Celery
½ cup Red Bell Pepper
3 cloves Garlic, minced
4 cups cooked Pinto Beans
12-15 Cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup low-sugar Barbecue Sauce we like G. Hughes Smokehouse Sugar-Free brand

Dumplings:

3/4 cup Yellow Cornmeal
3 tablespoons AP Flour
1/2 Tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
⅛ tsp Salt
¼ cup unsweetened Almond, soy, cashew, or rice “milk”
¼ cup unsweetened Applesauce

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Saute the first five ingredients (through garlic) until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

In a 2-qt. baking dish combine cooked vegetables, beans, tomatoes, and barbecue sauce. Bake, covered, 30 minutes.

Meanwhile make the dumplings. In stir together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl combine milk, applesauce. Add milk mixture all at once to cornmeal mixture; stir just until combined. Spoon batter into four mounds on top of hot bean mixture.

Bake 20 minutes more or until filling is bubbly and a toothpick inserted in the dumplings comes out clean. Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving. 

FOK calls this Barbecue Beans & Cornbread, but I'm sorry!  No self-respecting pot of  beans contains Swiss Chard!!!  And, adding barbecue sauce to a dish doesn't make it a "barbecue" dish either!   

Rhubarb & Red Quinoa Soup?!
This is Really Great!  Never in a million years would I have imagined rhubarb in a Soup!!  Don't get me wrong, I love the stuff in pies or a sauce to top ice cream.   In this soup, the 'barb adds a wonderful tanginess to things, similar to a shot of vinegar, kicking all the flavors up a notch or three.  If you love rhubarb, you're gonna love this.

• 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  ½ cup dry red quinoa, rinsed and drained
  1 cup thinly sliced carrots
  ½ cup thinly sliced celery
  ½ cup chopped onion
  2 cups thinly sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb
  2 teaspoons packed pure cane brown sugar
  1½ teaspoons grated fresh ginger
  ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
  ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  4 cups fresh baby spinach
• Bring the broth to a boil and add the quinoa, carrots, celery and onion.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Then add the rhubarb, sugar, ginger, and spices.
  
  Continue the simmer 5 minutes or more until the rhubarb is tender.  In the last minute or so, add the pepper, and then wilt the spinach into the soup and stir before serving.
  
  
  
  
  
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