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1 eggplant, medium size
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic
28 ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 450°

Peel (or not peel) and cut eggplant crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange them on a rimmed baking sheet fitted with parchment paper. Use 1 tablespoon of the oil to brush the tops of the eggplant slices. Sprinkle tops with 1/4 teaspoon salt and some black pepper.
Roast the slices until bottoms and sides are slightly browned, approximately 10 minutes. Flip the slices over, brush with rest of the tablespoon of oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until crisp and golden, another 5 minutes.
When finished roasting, remove pan from oven.

Reduce oven temperature to 400°.

While eggplant slices are roasting, prepare the tomato sauce. Place 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the onion, sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens, approximately 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Cover bottom of a 11 x 7 inch baking dish with about 1/2 inch of the tomato sauce. Place a layer of eggplant slices on top of the sauce and top with some of the basil. Cover with a thin layer of tomato sauce and repeat until all of the eggplant slices are used up; reserve some of the basil for serving. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs, the remaining salt, lots of black pepper, and drizzle with the remaining oil.
Bake until breadcrumbs are golden and the sauce has thickened, approximately 15 minutes. Let dish rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. Garnish with the remaining basil.

Serves 2-3

Note: You will not even miss the Parmesan. It is that good!

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1 pound green beans, ends trimmed
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil

In a medium saucepan or dutch oven, heat olive oil on medium-high heat.
Add green beans, garlic and seasonings.
Sauté for approximately 5 minutes.
Make sure garlic does not burn.
Add liquid.
Bring to a boil.
Cover and turn heat down to medium-low.
Cook for 20 minutes, or until green beans are tender.
Adjust the seasonings.

Serves: 4

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1 medium spaghetti squash (see Note for preparation)
2 tablespoons good quality olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper

Prepare spaghetti squash (See Note).
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
Add onion and sauté until tender, approximately 5 minutes.
Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
Stir in tomatoes and cook for approximately 1 minute, just until tomatoes are warm.
Use a large fork to shred the “spaghetti” from the squash and place in a large bowl.
Add sautéed vegetables, olives and basil.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve warm.

Serves 4

Note: Spaghetti Squash The Microwave Way

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Eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds, dried in paper toweling
Olive oil
Salt
Filling choices:
Sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
Sliced mushrooms, sauteed
Sliced olives
Jalapeno peppers, slice and sauteed
Basil leaves

Preheat oven to 400°

Fit a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush with olive oil.
Place eggplant rounds on baking sheet, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Roast for approximately 8 minutes on each side, or until golden.
Remove eggplant rounds from pan and place on a platter.
Add your choice of fillings and fold like a mini taco.

Serves 4

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1 medium zucchini
Handful of baby arugula, baby spinach, or greens of your choice
zest of 1/2 lime
1/2 cup slivered almonds or cashews

Avocado Pesto
1 avocado, peeled and diced
6-10 basil leaves
1/2 lime, juiced
2 scallions, diced
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons tahini
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Pasta
Prepare the zucchini noodles with either a spiralizer, a peeler for long, linguine-shaped noodles, or a mandoline with the julienne blade.
Cut the pasta strands to the desired length.
Combine zucchini noodles in a bowl with washed arugula, lime zest and almonds or cashews, set aside.

Pesto
In a food processor chop garlic and scallions until fine.
Add avocado, basil, lime juice, tahini and oil.
Blend until smooth.
Season with salt and pepper – to taste.

In a large salad bowl, combine the pasta mixture with the pesto, toss together.

Serves 1 generously

Note: Can sauté zucchini noodles in a small frying pan with one teaspoon olive oil over medium heat for approximately two minutes before combining with the other ingredients.

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4 beets, washed, long strands removed
1/4 cup beet stems, finely chopped (only use if crisp)
2 medium peaches, cut into wedges; pits discarded
1 shallot, or 1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup sweet bell or cubano (cubanelle) pepper, finely chopped
2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
handful of fresh basil leaves for garnish

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Wrap beets individually in foil and place on a baking sheet.
Roast for approximately 30-40 minutes, depending on size of beets.
Remove from the oven.
Unwrap beets and let cool completely.
Once cool enough to handle, peel the skins off (they should slip off easily).
Cut beets into quarters or eighths.
In a large bowl, toss the onion, pepper and beet stems with olive oil, lemon juice; add salt and pepper to taste.
Add beets and peaches. Gently toss to combine.
Add the basil leaves for garnish just before serving.

Serves 4-6

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2 medium large eggplants
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 cup homemade bread crumbs – recipe to follow
2 cups tomato sauce – homemade or canned
1 pound fresh Mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Slice the eggplant horizontally into 1/3inch slices. Sprinkle
the eggplant with salt and pepper. Heat half of the olive oil in a
saute pan and lightly brown the eggplant on both sides.
Lightly coat a cookie sheet with olive oil, starting with the 4 largest pieces of eggplant place them on the cookie sheet. Add a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce followed by a slice of the fresh Mozzarella cheese, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and continue to layer the eggplant slices on top of each other repeating with the sauce and cheese on each layer from largest to smallest. The final layer should be covered with the remainder of the sauce and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
To plate it, make a small pile of bread crumbs and set one serving of
the eggplant parmesan on top. Tear some basil leaves and spread them
around the plate follow up with a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of
Parmesan cheese.
Repeat procedure for the rest of the eggplant.

Homemade Breadcrumbs

4 slices day old bread of your choice
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Slice the bread into very small cubes and spread them out on a cookie sheet. Drizzle them with olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown.

Serves 4

Note: Eggplants can be peeled, if desired
Substitute Daiya Vegan Cheese to make this a vegan recipe