Rready When You Are - Recipe

Vegetarian Times, Oct, 2000 by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley

1. Preheat oven to 425 [degrees] F. Coat large, shallow baking pan with cooking spray; add eggplant slices in single layer. Drain artichokes, reserving marinade; set artichokes aside. Brush eggplant with some artichoke marinade; reserve remaining marinade. Bake until slices are golden brown and tender when pierced, 20 to 25 minutes.

2. In 3 1/2-quart or larger electric slow cooker, arrange about 1/3 of the potato slices. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon basil, then layer on 1/3 of the baked eggplant and 1/3 of the artichokes. Repeat layering twice. Drizzle with reserved artichoke marinade. Cover and cook at low setting until potatoes in center of mixture are tender when pierced, 8 to 10 hours.

3. Sprinkle cheese evenly over top. Increase cooker heat setting to high; cover and cook until cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Serve hot.

PER SERVING: 402 CAL.; 19G PROT.; 17G TOTAL FAT (11G SAT. FAT); 46G CARB.; 54MG CHOL; 424MG SOD.; 11G FIBER

Adapted from Healthy Crockery Cooking by M. Hoffman (HP Books, 1998).

Ratatouille

6 TO 8 SERVINGS EGG- & DAIRY-FREE

After hours of slow cooking, the flavors of oven-browned eggplant, tomatoes, sweet red pepper, garlic and fresh basil blend harmoniously. This is wonderful served over pasta.

Olive oil cooking spray
1 medium eggplant (1 lb.), cut into
  2 x 1-inch chunks
1 1/2 lbs. plum tomatoes, halved, seeded
  and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped fresh basil or
  1/3 cup dried
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch-thick
  slices

1. Preheat oven to 425 [degrees] F. Coat large, shallow baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange eggplant in single layer; coat with cooking spray. Bake until golden brown and tender when pierced, 20 to 25 minutes.

2. In 3 1/2-quart or larger electric slow cooker, combine tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, garlic, basil, salt, oregano and pepper. Stir in baked eggplant. Drizzle with oil. Cover and cook at low setting until tomatoes have cooked down to form a sauce, 6 to 8 hours.

3. Stir in zucchini. Increase cooker heat setting to high; cover and cook until zucchini is crisp-tender, about 15 minutes. Serve hot.

PER SERVING: 151 CAL.; 3G PROT.; 10G TOTAL FAT (1G SAT. FAT); 16G CARB.; 0 CHOL; 194MG SOD.; 5G FIBER

Hearty Vegetable-Rice Soup

6 SERVINGS EGG- & DAIRY-FREE

Crusty rye bread and a fresh salad of pickled sliced cucumbers would go nicely with this satisfying soup. Fresh dill lends a particularly good flavor, but in a pinch it's fine to substitute dried. For a simple change of pace, make vegetable-barley soup--replace the brown and wild rices with 1 cup uncooked pearl barley.

1/2 oz. dried shiitake mushrooms
  (1/2 cup)
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium turnip, diced
1 medium parsnip, diced
1 large stalk celery, sliced
4 to 6 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup uncooked long-grain brown rice
1/2 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed well
7 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  or water
8 oz. button mushrooms, very thinly
  sliced
1 Tbs. fresh chopped dill or
  1 tsp. dried
Mellow barley miso or salt to taste
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
  (optional)