Saturday, March 9, 2013

This Week's Blog Post

Turquoise Necklace

I love this fun necklace! For the pendant I used a unique sterling silver bail that was crafted in Bali. It has 2 loops to suspend whatever from. So I freeformed wire and hammered it for texture also adding 2 dyed crazy agate chips. The strand has natural green turquoise and crazy agate that go beautifully together. This is available at Miss Val’s Creations.

Gluten Free Eggplant Parmesan

It has been a while since I have talked about one of our favorite dishes, eggplant parmesan! Jim and I now make this gluten free so I figured it would be a good idea to mention so others struggling with gluten can see that eggplant parmesan can still be part of their diet!

I make a batch of gluten free bread with this recipe found here from the Gluten Free Goddess. After slicing the bread and drying it out at a low temperature in the oven we then make breadcrumbs with the food processor. At the same time we are adding dried spices to taste until we have it the way we want it.

Now Jim pretty much does all the work from here since he enjoys it (how lucky am I?). I just fetch stuff, wash dishes and drink wine during the assembling of the masterpiece. 


Jim removes the skin. I think the skin is the reason many people do not care for eggplant. Many restaurants seem to keep it on! Yuck. 

Then they get dipped in eggs and the breadcrumbs. Then fried until golden brown in vegetable oil.

Then it is time to layer. I had the brilliant idea of adding ricotta cheese this time! I learned after we made this that we are not the first to do so. Oh well.  We felt innovative. It is layered with red sauce, shredded mozzarella and ricotta. Yes we go light on the sauce. Heart burn is one of the many things my body deals with so light on the sauce helps. 
I was invited to pin on a Pinterest board with vegetarian and vegan dishes. Of course I immediately accepted this invite. Now I am overwhelmed with ideas from this board. People are so creative in the kitchen!!! I have shared of couple of my dishes on this board and many people have repinned them. I wonder if anyone will actually try those dishes?!?! I will have to pin this one for other gluten free vegetarians.

Alice
Leaving you with a photo of my pretty girl Alice! I have the worst time trying to take a picture of her since she is very nervous kitty! I tried to catch her when she was tired.
 Have a wonderful, creative week. Thank you so much for stopping by! ~Val

21 comments:

  1. Your eggplant parmesan is going right into my to-make list. It's one of the things I miss from the five years we lived in the US. Yum!

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  2. That necklace is Gorgeous, Val! I just love the pendant part. This eggplant looks so yummy! I try and try to like eggplant but I usually do not. It is one of those dishes that I hope will just dawn on my taste buds someday. Alice is beautiful :-)

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  3. The turquoise and agate look beautiful together! What a unique piece!
    I haven't eaten eggplant for a long time - yours looks SO good. Lucky you for having a hubby who cooks :)
    I have the same issue with my outdoor kitties, the photos all come out blurred! Alice looks very cute and sleepy in the photo :)

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  4. The turquoise and agate look great together!
    And your recipe looks so yummy.
    Alice is such a cutie :)

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  5. The colors in the necklace just jump right out, it's very appealing. I don't like the skin on the eggplant, either. Although not a vegan, I do like to make meat-free meals and often do, simple ones. Alice doesn't like to be a cover girl? She has pretty coloring. Have a great week!

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  6. Love you Alice :) Such a sweet face. Your dinner sounds super yummy. I like to exclude gluten sometimes too.

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  7. gorgeous necklace!!
    and oh what yummy eggplant!

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  8. You are the luckiest girl just fetching stuff, washing dishes and drinking wine!!

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  9. I think you are so right about the skin of the eggplant. And that's probably why I haven't used much eggplant, except for an eggplant casserole a time or two. Plus I didn't really know what to do with this veggie. I recently saw on another blog I follow, her version of this dish and I'm loving yours as well. Makes me want to go to a farmer's market or something and get me some eggplant!

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  10. Alice is cute! thanks for the wonderful recipe!

    the STYLE Fringe BLOG
    http://the-stylefringe.blogspot.com

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  11. Hi Val, that necklace is truly lovely, love the direction you are going in with that piece, it is very unusual and eye catching. LOVE IT>

    Alice is a beautiful girl, I'm glad she finally let you get a great photo. Hope you have a warm week......

    Ruth

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  12. Your necklace is beautiful! Love the color and the drop infront! A+! The eggplant looks so good! One of these days, I am coming for dinner! LOL! Alice is gorgeous! It's too bad she is nervous! Have a great week ;o)

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  13. That dish looks and sounds amazing. I actually enjoy the skin of the eggplant. What's the big deal? Maybe it tastes different over here ;-)
    Love your kitty!

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  14. The necklace is so lovely! One of my favorite color is turquoise:)
    Thanks for the wonderful and useful recipes!
    And the cat is adorable! My dog doesn't like to be photographed as well, so I'm chasing it with a camera for hours:)

    Best wishes!

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  15. Hi Val, Your necklace is gorgeous. I love the turquoise stones.
    The recipe looks so yummy good. Thank you for sharing it. How darling your sweet kitty. Alice looks sleepy and you captured a good pic.
    Have a great evening,
    Hugs, Celestina Marie

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  16. oh that looks delicious, I am feeling quite hungry..........

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  17. Alice is absolutely gorgeous, Val!
    I love eggplant Parmesan, but have never tried it without the skin on it. Yours looks delicious!

    Love this necklace too, especially with the free form pendant. Beautifully done.

    Have a wonderful week ahead!

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  18. Looks delicious! I joined your blog, fb, pinterest and Etsy. Beautiful jewelry!

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  19. How beautiful! You can't go wrong with turquoise -- or parmesan lol! Alice is so pretty; she reminds me a little of Ming :)

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  20. Hi Val! I've been slow to get around this week to everyone's blogs :( Loving the necklace: very boho, and you know how I like boho! and you're kitty is so cute - too bad she is camera shy

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Thank you for stopping by! I love reading visitor comments! ~Val