"No one is born a great cook.
One learns by doing"
- Julia Child -
One learns by doing"
- Julia Child -
Hello from TFJ to you peeps and I can't believe it's October already! Time really does fly so fast and I'm currently working on a project which gets me lesser time to experiment in flexitarian cooking lately. I didn't even get to cook and post recipes on September gosh! But I'm happy that I had some spare time recently and finally got to experiment with aubergine for autumn season yeay! Although we technically only have two seasons here in Indonesia, I always love pumpkin and aubergine for my happy healthy cookings to feel the love of autumn. If only the leaves here can turn to orange colours for autumn, I'd be crazily happy not to have to fly to four seasons countries to watch the beautiful trees entering their orangey time *dreams and flies away*. Well enough with the chit chat, this time I'll be showing you how to make the easy baked aubergine boat filled with quinoa, red capsicum, and mushroom.
I've discussed about aubergine's goodness in my previous post but I think it's a great idea to remind you again. Aubergine is rich in antioxidants, especially nasunin found in the aubergine's skin (which makes it purple). It's also a good source of fibre, vitamin B1, B6, and potassium. Besides protecting the lipids in brain cell membranes, aubergine's nutritious benefits can also fight free radicals that are entering our body. Now moving on to the next ingredient, quinoa as one of the majority ingredient for the filling, but this time I want to discuss two of my favorites here, red capsicum and champignon mushrooms. Red capsicum contains plenty of vitamin C, good source of vitamin E & B6 (essential for the health of the nervous system and helps renew cells). Studies also show that red bell pepper does reduce bad cholesterol, controls diabetes, and reduces inflammation. Sooo full of healthy benefits for us!
Last but not least, the champignon or button mushrooms. A lot of people underestimate the power of this non-green delicious friend, but I'll tell you now, button mushrooms have a lot of health benefits much more than you can imagined. It contains high amounts of copper (maintain heart health & produce blood cells), vitamin C, B, D, and minerals including selenium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. So, what good does button mushroom do to us? Studies show that button mushrooms:
- protect the body from various cancer cell lines (such as breast, colon, prostate cancer)
- boost the immune system by increasing the activity of natural killer cells
- reduce inflammation in arterial cells and prevent white blood cells from sticking to arterial walls, therefore it may help reduce heart disease
Recipe
Ingredients
1 pc of aubergine
1 cup of quinoa
6 pcs champignon mushrooms, sliced
1/2 red capsicum, diced
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup chicken stock
spring onion, diced
mozzarella cheese
salt, pepper, herbs
Directions
*Prepare the oven to 175 degrees Celcius*
1. Slice the aubergine into half and dig the meat out of it, make two boats ready for your yummy passengers
2. Boil the quinoa in chicken stock, stir frequently and leave it to boil until no water left
3. Sautéed the mushrooms and capsicum together and season it well with salt, pepper, and herbs to your liking
4. Prepare the olive oil coated oven pan and put the aubergine inside
5. Scoop the quinoa and mushroom and capsicum into the aubergine boat
6. Add mozzarella mushroom on top of the prepared dish
7. Put the pan inside the oven for 20 - 30 minutes and let the delicious aroma strike your nostril
8. Ready to serve & enjoy the baked aubergine!
1 pc of aubergine
1 cup of quinoa
6 pcs champignon mushrooms, sliced
1/2 red capsicum, diced
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup chicken stock
spring onion, diced
mozzarella cheese
salt, pepper, herbs
Directions
*Prepare the oven to 175 degrees Celcius*
1. Slice the aubergine into half and dig the meat out of it, make two boats ready for your yummy passengers
2. Boil the quinoa in chicken stock, stir frequently and leave it to boil until no water left
3. Sautéed the mushrooms and capsicum together and season it well with salt, pepper, and herbs to your liking
4. Prepare the olive oil coated oven pan and put the aubergine inside
5. Scoop the quinoa and mushroom and capsicum into the aubergine boat
6. Add mozzarella mushroom on top of the prepared dish
7. Put the pan inside the oven for 20 - 30 minutes and let the delicious aroma strike your nostril
8. Ready to serve & enjoy the baked aubergine!
Source: bbcgoodfood, care2, livestrong