Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Curry Soup

I have always had a serious love affair with eggplant, but this purple delicious vegetable has not always complied with me in past cooking attempts. I've cut it up, salted, put it on a strainer, etc. etc. and it always came out a little bitter and mostly soggy. Yum. Well - I've finally found a recipe that I successfully mastered the eggplant and I'm so excited. I had bought one from my grocery store and was thinking of ways to cook it, and decided that I wanted to cook a soup to bring with me to work the next day. From there I decided I was going to roast that mutha and then immersion blend the hell outta it. Thus we have...

Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Curry Soup

Ingredients:
- 1 eggplant
- 1 bell pepper (I used orange)
- 2 tbsp olive oil (more if needed)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp garlic, minced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp curry
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- Handful of chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- Kosher salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. After chopping bell pepper and eggplant, toss in bowl with olive oil and a little Kosher salt. Lay vegetables on covered baking sheet with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Roast for 25-30 minutes.

2. While eggplant and bell pepper is roasting, sauté onions with olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds - 1 minute. Add broth, spices and parsley. Then add roasted vegetables. Can simmer for 5 minutes or however long you want (I let mine simmer for around 2 hours).

3. After soup has simmered, use either immersion blender, regular blender or food processor to puree soup until it reaches desired consistency. Return to pot and stir in coconut milk and lemon juice.

Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

This is more of a spread than actual bru-sketta, but it's great for parties and was a winner at the one I brought this to! I like keeping them separate or else the toast would get soggy - and that would be no buono. I used 4 tomatoes for this recipe because it was for a large group, but if you're serving a smaller party, 2 tomatoes would probably be enough. Also - I like using balsamic glaze because it's a bit sweeter and thicker than vinegar, but it doesn't really matter which one you decide to use.

Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

• 4 red or yellow heirloom tomatoes, diced  
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp balsamic glaze (or vinegar) 
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 5 basil leaves, julienned 
• 6-8 oz fresh buffalo mozzarella, diced  

Instructions: 

1) Dice tomatoes and stir in olive oil, apple cider vinegar, balsamic glaze (or vinegar), brown sugar, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Dice mozzarella cheese and stir in half of it, leaving the other half to put in right before serving. Do the same with the basil, stir in half of it. 

2) Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. 

3) Right before serving, add in the rest of the mozzarella and the basil. Serve alongside toast. 

Smothered Chicken Thighs with Zucchini, Squash, and Mushrooms

This is my favorite go-to meal to make because (1) it's easy (2) it's delicious and (3) I love me some chicken thighs. My dad used to cook this all the time when we were younger so creative rights go to Big Steve, you go Big Steve. This is quite a tasty meal, but be forewarned that your whole house will smell like straight up home cooked food. In undergrad, I cooked this and went to a meeting afterwards and my friends definitely let me know, that although I made them hungry, I smelled like a big delicious onion.

Smothered Chicken Thighs with Zucchini, Squash, and Mushrooms

• 6 chicken thighs (my favorite is skinless & boneless but you can use any kind)
• 1/2 tsp olive oil 
• 1 large onion, mulched 
• 1 tsp garlic, minced  
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes, dissolved in 1 cup water
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 squash, sliced 
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Creole seasoning, to taste
• Dash of red pepper flakes

Instructions:

	1.  Cut onion into small enough pieces to fit into a food processor and mulch onions until there are no big pieces left and mixture is almost liquid.
	2.  After drizzling olive oil onto skillet, pour onions at the bottom and put fire on medium. Lay chicken thighs smooth side down and season with salt, pepper, and creole seasoning (I use Tony’s). Add garlic at this time. Cook chicken thighs for 20 minutes, flipping them to ensure both sides get cooked.
	3.  As soon as you put the chicken thighs to cook, place chicken bouillon cubes into 1 cup of water so that they dissolve by the time you need to add them.
	4.  After cooking chicken thighs for 20 minutes and when the onions start browning, add the 1 cup of water with the dissolved chicken bouillon cubes. Add 1 more cup of water and the Worcestershire sauce. This is also when I add a few dashes of red pepper flakes for some extra heat.
	5.  Add mushrooms and cover pan. Cook for about 20 minutes. Add the squash and zucchini and let cook for another 10 minutes.
	6.  The chicken thighs should get so tender that the meat falls easily apart and all the vegetables should be soft. Serve over rice and enjoy!