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3/11/13 – Leslie Clem Edmunds
Grilled Zucchini & Eggplant Parm
What a yucky day in OH-IO. Rained all (damn) day.
Speaking of OH-IO… the regular season of {The} Ohio State University’s men’s basketball season came to a close yesterday, with a win over Illinois. If the School up North (Mich*gan) could have pulled out a win over Indiana, Ohio State could have earned a share of the Big 10 title… but guess what… we can’t depend on the maize and blue for anything. They gave up a five point lead in the last minute of play. boo-hoo. I guess OSU shouldn’t be depending on anyone to help them win a title, but it sure would have been nice. (bitter Ohio State fan right here)
oh, and I live with a Michigan fan. Guess where this girl was during the final minutes of the game? Away from my husband… that’s where.
I’m looking forward to the Big 10 Championship tourney this weekend, and March Madness after that… redemption Ohio State… sweet redemption.
onto the good stuff, the food.
FLIP Foodies, are you still following along? Which recipe have you liked the most thus far?
Crock-Pot Oatmeal, Avocado Egg Salad, Lentil Salad, Valentine’s Day Goodies, Greek Couscous, orLoaded Potatoes?
If you’re observant, you may notice meat missing from all of the FLIP Foodie blog posts. That’s not by coincidence. As I said in the Greek Couscous blog post, one of my New Year’s resolutions was to eat less red meat (or any meat for that matter). There’s pretty conclusive research showing cancer protective benefits from eating a vegetarian diet. Even if you can’t go all-out vegetarian, just reducing your consumption has proven benefits. Try Meatless Mondays, or even Meatless Monday Dinners. baby steps meat lovers.
Grilled Zucchini & Eggplant Parm from Cookin’ Canuck
It’s not really parm because it’s lacking fried breadcrumbs… but I promise it’s not missing the flavor.
For those people skeptical of veggies, smothering cheese and tomato sauce on anything makes it delish. Just try it, I dare ya!
Ingredients:
- 1 (1 1/2 lb.) eggplant
- 1 large zucchini
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 3 oz. fresh mozzarella log, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (I used Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic Marinara)
- 10 large basil leaves (I forgot these, oops)
Directions:
- Preheat the grill to medium heat. I used a griddle pan on my oven-top.
- Cut the eggplant into 12 equal slices; then cut the zucchini in half crosswise and then cut each half into 4 equal slices (8 slices total).
- Brush both sides of eggplant and zucchini with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Grill until the vegetables are tender, but not overcooked, about 4 minutes per side for the eggplant and 3 minutes per side for the zucchini. (I cooked the zucchini and eggplant separately because they wouldn’t all fit on my griddle pan at the same time. I cooked the zucchini first, and my zucchini took much longer than 3 minutes, I think my slices were thicker. Set aside when cooked. Then grill the eggplant.)
- In the last 30 seconds of cooking the eggplant, divide the mozzarella evenly between the eggplant rounds. Re-close the barbecue lid and cook for additional 30 seconds, or until the mozzarella is melted.
- Lay one eggplant round on your plate. Top each with 2 tbsp tomato sauce. Top with basil.
- Top each with one zucchini slice. Continue stacking in this order, ending with an eggplant round and tomato sauce. Spoon any remaining tomato sauce around each stack.
- Serve immediately. (I heated my stack back up in the microwave because my zucchini had cooled.)
- Enjoy
Have a fab week, readers!