A New Recipe

I have been watching too much Food Network lately. The last week I have really been into creating my own recipes. Tonight I think I came up with a big winner. We have a ton of tomatoes and cucumbers in our garden so I have been focusing on using these ingredients in my recipes. When I asked Jim what he wanted for dinner he said his only request was that it was something light. I said okay and went to work on my creation. This is what I came up with and it was quite yummy if I do say so myself:

Eggplant Quinoa Salad

This is a perfect summer time meal or something to take to a potluck. It cooks up quickly with minimal effort. Please keep in mind these measurements are just guidelines. I don't really measure anything when I cook, I just go by taste.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, cubed and sweated*

4 small red tomatoes seeded and chopped

1/2 c. yellow cherry tomatoes chopped

1/2 small yellow onion, chopped

2-3 lemon cucumbers, chopped

1 can chicken broth

1c. quinoa

1/2 c. mozzarella cheese cut into small cubes

1/2 c. fresh basil, chopped

1/2 tbsp parsley

1 tsp garlic salt

*to sweat the eggplant, place cubes in a colander and pour salt all over the cubes. Let sit for 20-30 mins. The salt will draw the water out of the eggplant so it doesn't come out tasting mushy when it is cooked. After the eggplant has sweated, rinse thoroughly with water to remove the salt. Lightly dry on a paper towel.

In a large skillet heat 2 or 3 tbsp of olive oil and saute the eggplant until cooked. Once cooked, sprinkle with parsley, garlic salt, and pepper. Let sit.

While eggplant is cooking, pour chicken broth into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add quinoa, turn heat to low, and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Let cool.

Mix cooked eggplant, tomatoes, onion, cucumber, and cooled quinoa in a large bowl. Add cheese and basil and mix thoroughly. Serve immediately or refrigerate until later.