Category Archives: Recipes for the Whole Family

Pomegranate and Lamb Moussaka with Cardamon

Finally! This is a recipe I have been wanting to share since I first made it six months ago. I made up this variation of lamb moussaka after going to a new Middle Eastern grocery store in town and finding pomegranate concentrate.* This pomegranate and lamb moussaka with cardamon instantly became a “keeper,” a regular go-to meal in my rotation. I have since made it about ten times and my family loves it.

Pomegranate and Lamb Moussaka

Traditional Greek Moussaka layers sautéed or fried eggplant, a meat and tomato sauce, and is topped with Béchamel or white sauce (butter, flour and milk.) Some say it is analogous to lasagna for Americans, but I say it is more like a Shepard’s pie. My take on the classic Greek dish highlights tart pomegranate instead of tomato paste or sauce and flavors the meat with fragrant cardamon. I also lighten it up by making a quick egg and milk custard with Greek yogurt instead of Béchamel, and by roasting the eggplant slices instead of frying. Both changes also make the recipe a little faster. I was inspired by two of my favorite Middle Eastern restaurants, a Persian restaurant, Soltan Banoo, that serves an amazing pomegranate soup, and a Lebanese joint, Mama’s Bakery, where I love the beef shwarma, heavily scented with cardamon.

*About pomegranate molasses vs. pomegranate concentrate: Pomegranate molasses is a sweet and sour syrup used in Middle Eastern cuisine. As a “secret ingredient” in stews and sauces, it gives an amazing flavor that can be hard to place. Pomegranate concentrate tastes similar, but is made solely of reduced pomegranate juice, without the added sugar, preservatives and flavor enhancers molasses often has. If you don’t have either, substitute pomegranate juice, ideally reduced a little to make it more concentrated in flavor. Or just use the more traditional tomato paste!

Pomegranate and Lamb Moussaka

Pomegranate and Lamb Moussaka Recipe

  • 2 medium to large eggplant
  • coconut oil spray or 1 Tablespoon avocado oil, coconut oil or olive oil

For the meat layer:

  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • onion, carrot, celery, garlic
  • 1 pound ground lamb and/or beef
  • 2 teaspoons cardamon
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/3 cup pomegranate concentrate, molasses or juice (find at middle Eastern stores like North Park Produce and if you can’t find it, substitute tomato paste)

For the custard layer:

  • 6-8 eggs
  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Toppings:

  • Pistachios, chopped kalamata olives, crumbled feta cheese

Peel, slice and salt the eggplant. Let sit for 30 minutes to draw out excess moisture and bitterness. Then pat dry and roast in a 425°F oven with a little oil until soft, flipping the slices once. (Notes: Lately I like spraying both sides of the eggplant with a little sprayable coconut oil. It distributes a nice, fine layer. Otherwise eggplant can soak up a lot of oil. Olive oil is classic, however, I try to not to use it over 325°F. Both coconut and avocado oil have higher smoking points.)

Sautée the onion, carrots, etc. in a large pan. Add the meat and spices until the meat is just browned. Add the pomegranate concentrate or tomato and turn down to a simmer until cooked through.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the yogurt, milk and seasonings.

To assemble, put the meat layer down first in a 9″ by 13″ pan. Top with the eggplant slices, then pour the custard batter into the pan. Sprinkle on the toppings then bake 25-30 minutes at 350°F until the egg is set.

Click on any photo in the gallery below to expand and see the steps.

Pin the recipe to save for later!

Pomegranate and Lamb Moussaka

Enjoy! This dish freezes well. I made a double batch in preparation for new baby. After baking, I froze it whole. To reheat it, I let it defrost in the fridge for a day and then warmed it in the oven until the center was hot.

Farewell to Summer Fig + Feta Salad

With the fall equinox, the season finally seems to be turning in Southern California. It seems as though the rest of the country has moved past apples and onto pumpkin, but we are still picking tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. (Complaining of SoCal problems sounds like humble bragging.) I’m sharing my favorite fig and feta salad as a farewell to summer. Our tree’s fruit are in their last stages and our mint barely survived the last heat wave. I had wanted to first post my feta recipe, but at this stage of my pregnancy, I don’t have the time or focus for a long cheesemaking post, like this one on chèvre.

fig + feta salad with mint and balsamic

Little Bird thoroughly enjoyed figs straight from the tree this summer. There is something lovely about eating them slightly warm from the sun. Here she is showing one of her best buddies where to find the ripe ones:

Picking Figs

As I wrote the recipe (below), I felt a little silly typing out the ingredient list. With only the four ingredients in the title, it seemed a little pointless. This combination is so flavorful and balanced, it doesn’t even need salt and pepper!

fig + feta salad with mint and balsamic

Fig and Feta Salad with Mint and Balsamic Vinegar

  • Figs
  • Feta
  • Mint
  • Balsamic Vinegar

Gently rinse figs. Cut off stems and then cut in half. Arrange in a shallow bowl or plate. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and chopped, fresh mint. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar or a balsamic reduction. Gently mix and serve.

fig + feta salad with mint and balsamic

 

Simple, Easy Recipes for Summer Dinners

I love summer. I love having extra daylight in the evening. Best of all, our garden is at it’s peak. I often slack on grocery shopping. Driving home from work, I will approach panic and then realize, between the garden and the chickens, I can pull together a simple, easy dinner recipe without having to stop and buy any extra ingredients.

Easy, simple recipes: spaghetti squash pesto and zucchini frittata

The other night was a classic example. Our refrigerator was extremely bare. But I had recently made fresh goat cheese, our chickens are laying eggs, and we had giant zucchinis, cherry tomatoes, a spaghetti squash, garlic and plenty of herbs all from the garden.

Easy, simple recipes: spaghetti squash pesto

As soon as I got home from work, I threw the spaghetti squash whole into the toaster oven. (The regular oven works fine, but the smaller squash fit in the toaster oven, which saves energy and keeps the kitchen from getting as hot.) After about 45 minutes at 350°, it was soft. I cut it in half, pulled out the flesh, discarding the seeds and shredded it with a fork. Click here for the pesto recipe. This time I experimented by throwing in an avocado from a friend’s tree. It made it extra creamy.

Easy, simple recipes: zucchini frittata

Next up was a frittata. I sautéed the zucchini and garlic in some ghee a friend made, had Little Bird stir, stir the eggs, and then mixed in tomatoes and thyme. After baking, we topped it with our fresh chèvre rolled in truffle salt. For the full frittata recipe, click here.

Victory Gardens for the win!


Part Two: Making Cheese with Young Kids

Thought I’d share some quick pictures I took on the second day of making chèvre with my daughter. Check out my original post on making goat cheese for step by step instructions and the recipe. I recently shared how she liked to sprinkle in the chèvre starter and stir the pot. Today she spontaneously played cheesemaking with her toy pot and spoon, saying, “Stir milky.” She also enjoyed putting salt on a plate for rolling the logs. (Check out this post for more ideas on cooking with babies and toddlers.)

homemade chèvre hand formed logs

Here are some of the logs we made out of the goat cheese. Shown are one plain, two with black truffle salt and Little Bird’s cranberry. This batch came out a little dry, so I mixed in a few splashes of fresh milk along with some salt before shaping the logs. Can you guess which one Little Bird helped shape? She loved getting the cranberries ready, but once we formed the log she had a minor temper tantrum when I wouldn’t let her stuff the entire log into her mouth, squeezing it in both hands like a burrito.

Homemade goat cheese with cranberries.

She finally got to enjoy the fruits of her labor during her after-dinner cheese course. She’s Euro like that.

Cilantro Lime Kale Chips

These cilantro lime kale chips are addicting! A little spicy, sweet, salty, tart and bitter… they hit a nice balance. The cilantro is just enough not to overpower and the lime and creamy nuts keep the heat, which creeps up later, from being too hot. I asked Papa Bird what he thought of the “sauce” after blending it. “Does it need anything?” He said, “A cool ginger beer with tequila to wash it down.” I’ll take that as high praise.

Cilantro Lime Kale Chips

Check out yesterday’s post on easy kale chips, or “kale crunchies” as Little Bird calls them, for more on the basic technique. They are yummy and satisfying, but cook them a little too long and the kale can get bitter. Once I felt I had a good balance of time and oven temperature, I was longing to experiment with a creamy sauce, and came up with this cashew based recipe for cilantro lime kale chips.


I actually started the recipe without realizing that I was almost out of cashews so I used a combination of cashews and raw hazelnuts. Our cilantro plant is taking off which is what pushed me in the cilantro direction. I also used a mild green chili Papa Bird had just pulled out of the garden. I thought the raw kale dressed in the sauce would make a delicious salad without cooking. I was afraid it would be too spicy for Little Bird, but after baking, the spiciness mellowed out a little.

Cilantro Lime Kale Chips

Cilantro Lime Kale Chips Recipe

  • 1 head of kale
  • 3/4 cups of raw cashews (or cashews and hazelnuts), soaked in water for at least one hour, then drained
  • handful of cilantro, washed
  • 1-2 tablespoons of agave or coconut nectar
  • 1 mild green chili or jalapeño pepper
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt, or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne and/or chili powder, or to taste
  • a little water, if needed, to process in the blender

 1. Wash the kale in cold water. Holding the end of the stem in one hand, firmly and quickly slide your other hand down the center rib. The leaves should tear off of the rib in one move. (This is the Brazilian way–a tip my friend Michelle taught me.) Dry the kale very well and rip any large pieces into smaller bits. (Little Bird likes to help dry, rip and sort the kale.)

Or – Purchase kale pre-washed, such as the cut organic kale from Trader Joe’s. Just make sure to remove the thick center ribs as they do not dehydrate well.

2. Blend the rest of the ingredients in a food processor or a good blender (like a Vitamix.) If the blender struggles, add a little water, a tablespoon at a time, until it blends well. Blend at highest speed until smooth, scraping down the sides at least once.

3. Preheat oven to 200° F. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, massage the “sauce” into the kale. Then spread it onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Bake for 45 minutes or so, checking and gently stirring the kale occasionally, until it is dried but not overly toasted.

Click on any photo in the gallery below to enlarge, or scroll through them all for step by step instructions.

Enjoy!