Book of Yum

Prepare a wire rack with a pan underneath for excess oil to drip off while the chips cool.

When ready to fry, put at least one inch of canola oil in a deep, tall pan. I often use a soup pan. Heat the oil to 365F and carefully drop in a few dry lotus root chips. Use a metal strainer with a long handle or chopsticks to turn them. When they are golden brown, remove them to the wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with salt and smoked paprika if you like. Continue frying in small batches.

Serve and enjoy!

*If the lotus chips are not done enough in the center you can fry them twice- first to a light golden brown, then let cool slightly, and then fry once more to a full golden brown. Season after the last frying.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Meanwhile, prepare your eggplant. Slice or cut into 1/2 inch thick cubes, depending on your preference. Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey and seasoning blend in a small bowl. Whisk ingredients together. You can either baste your eggplant cubes with your marinade or dip your slices in the marinade. If you run out of marinade (depending on the size of your eggplant) just make more!

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and place your eggplant slices or cubes in a single layer on the sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until eggplant has gotten soft and slightly caramelized. If you are making slices, turn over and bake another 10 minutes. The cubes may not need to be turned and baked more.

While eggplant is baking, remove your firm, cooled millet grits from the container. They should keep their shape. Carefully slice into rectangles about the size you would expect from bruschetta. Sprinkle with your seasoning herb and a touch of salt, if not included in the blend. Heat olive oil in a nonstick pan on medium. Place your millet “polenta” rectangles in the oil and fry until golden brown. Turn over and brown the other side. Remove to a serving plate.

If you like, you can caramelize some onions to top the dish with. Slice an onion and sautee in a little olive oil on low-med heat until it gets golden brown.

Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients.

Now, assemble the dish.

Top the millet croquettes with arugula and caramelized onions (optional). Drizzle a little dressing on top and add your roasted eggplant. Add some sprigs of arugula for garnish and serve. Enjoy!

*For a variation, you can add a little pasta sauce to the top of the eggplant while it is in its final roasting phase.

Slice plantain at an angle to get a long, oval slice. If the plantain is too green to easily remove the skin, carefully cut the skin off of each slice.

Prepare a wire rack above a wide, long pan for draining.

Preheat your canola oil (or other oil with a high smoke point) in a narrow, deep pan like a soup pan. Heat to 365F and you are ready to fry!

Place in the freezer bag lining your tortilla press and press down on the handle to create a large, flat “chip”.

Gently peel off your “chip” and carefully drop in the oil. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Remove chip from oil with a wire strainer and place on wire rack to cool. Season with a tiny smidgen of salt, and generous sprinkles of sugar and cinnamon.

Continue frying until all chips are done. You can place the rack (if oven safe) in an oven on 200F to keep warm if desired.

Serve and enjoy!

Sautee 1 diced onion in a nonstick pan in olive oil until translucent and remove from burner, reserving in two parts for base and quiche.

Polenta Base:
1. Combine rice milk, water, cornmeal in a large saucepan and heat until you get a gentle boil. Lower temperature slightly if needed and keep stirring for 10 minutes or longer until you get a nice thick consistency. Add corn, half of your sauteed onions, and chilies and cook a few minutes longer. Season with herbs and seasonings and remove from burner. Fill prepared muffin tins 1/4 to 1/3 with polenta and let cool until firm.

Quiche:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Puree eggs, 1 cup of corn, salt and pepper in a blender. Add remaining corn, chilies and sauteed onion to puree and mix well with a spoon. Season. Pour into muffin containers on top of the polenta base. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until center is almost set. Top with options a, b, or c and bake until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

Topping Directions:
A) Sundried Tomato Almond Pesto
Combine ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Spread on top of quiche when half baked and return to oven.

OR
B) Slow Roasted grape tomatoes, halved, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with fresh cilantro and roasted for an hour or two on 325. Garnish quiche when half baked and return to oven.

OR
C) Fresh cilantro leaves, drizzled with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and let steep until oil is infused. Garnish quiche when half baked and return to oven.

After done, cool COMPLETELY before removing from pan. Enjoy!