This and that: Baked Rice with Eggplant and Zucchini and Vegan Challenge

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Baked Rice with Eggplant and Zucchini and Vegan Challenge

A while back we were asked to try and come up with a recipe using Daiya vegan cheese.  I will be the first to admit when I thought of vegan cheese I though blah... and was a little relieved that I wouldn't be able to do this challenge because Daiya vegan cheese was no where to be found in our area and I would have to drive at least 6 hours away to get it, so I put it out of my mind until a few days ago.  I went shopping at our local Co-op store ~ I love going there and see what new items they have as this store is a small place packed with just about everything.. I had picked up some bulk items and was going to the register and I happened to glance at the coolers that were near the register and you will never guess what I saw.... Daiya Vegan Cheese and much to my surprise it tasted quite good.
My next challenge was how do I make a vegan recipe... what can and can't I use and what should I make.  Foodie Friends Friday my new best place to look for a recipe came to the rescue.  I found this recipe from Hungry Couple called Baked Rice and Zucchini Cake on our last weeks linky party and as I read the recipe, light bulbs went on.  This would be perfect to use up the zucchini that I have and use the vegan cheese instead of the parmesan cheese that is called for and I would have a vegan recipe that used Daiya cheese for the challenge... Great! and I was getting my ingredients ready I spied an eggplant on the counter top that I just had gotten from my garden and thought why not use that too...
So here is the way I made this recipe 






Baked Rice with Eggplant and Zucchini
recipe adapted from Hungry Couple
Ingredients:
1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 cup onions
1 clove garlic
1 cup egg plant diced
2/3 cup zucchini shredded
1/4 cup green beans - cut in small pieces
1 tsp greek seasoning
2 cups water
1 cup rice -- I used about 1/4 cup brown rice and 3/4 cup jasmine rice
1/2 cup diaya mozzarella style vegan cheese
salt and pepper to taste.  

In a pot, saute onions and garlic in olive oil until they become translucent. Add green beans and continue to cook for a few minutes. Once the green beans are starting to get soft, add egg plant and zucchini. Continue to cook for a few minutes on medium heat until veggies are soft.  Add 2 cups of water, rice, and greek seasoning.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to low and cook until water is evaporated and rice is soft, approximately 20 minutes.  Stir in cheese.
Spray two small oven safe pans or mini spring form pans if you have them with non-sticking cooking spray.  Divide mixture in two and place in each pan.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for approx 300 minutes or until top becomes a light golden brown.  Allow pans to cool and run a knife around edge of pans and careful unmold or turn over on plate.  Makes 2 servings.

cooking vegetables

place mixture in two oven safe pans-
I used my small corning ware pots

Enjoy
   I was delightful surprised on how good this tasted and the vegan cheese gave it an extra special taste. 
 I have changed my thoughts after eating this meal about vegan cheese!  
This coming week on September 21st we will have a Vegan Challenge on Foodie Friends Friday
 

til next time <3 <3 <3   Marlys

This post was not sponsored by Daiya Foods, and the opinions written are my own.  Daiya Foods is sponsoring the giveaway on September 21/12 Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party and Vegan Challenge. 

This recipe is linked: Gluten Free FridaysFoodie Friends Friday 

16 comments :

  1. Looks fantasitc you succeeded the challenge!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ashlee... this is the first recipe that I tried to make vegan and was happy with result and pleased how it tasted.

      Delete
  2. Great recipe! Excited for this week's Daiya link up! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! Its awesome bloggers like you that make our party wonderful! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :) See you next Friday! Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Cindy, I hope some of your vegan or gluten free participants come and join our party this week... I don't have a lot of recipes that are gluten free but will join when I do have some...

      Delete
  3. Wow, another great eggplant recipe! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Im so glad you decided to take the challenge! This is perfect for our party at Foodie Friends Friday and I am going to try it myself! Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let me know what you think Tracy... we loved the flavour and I am sure that I will make it again, as I still have some vegan cheese :)

      Delete
  5. I'm so glad our recipe gave you inspiration! I've never tried vegan cheese but adding the other veggies is certainly appropriate as these rice bakes are very versatile. I've remade my recipe using spinach, asparagus and even butternut squash and all were wonderful. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the recipe Anita... I hope that you will put the host favorite button on you page or recipe... We loved it and I agree this recipe is very versatile. The Daiya vegan cheese was very good and gave it a great flavour. This is the first time I have tried vegan cheese.

      Delete
  6. Dear Marly, this sounds like a healthy and delicious recipe to try. Blessings my dear, your friend, Catherine xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Catherine, every once in awhile I try to eat healthy :)... My husband wasn't so pleased that I put brown rice in it... but I like it so use it every once in awhile and only put a little bit in... Some day I will switch him to brown rice. I hope you join our linky party this week. Marlys

      Delete
  7. Sounds great Marlys! I think I'll switch up the veggies and use the rest of my Daiya cheese! :)
    Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday. You too Anita!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have always loved the look of eggplant, but had never eaten it often. We received eggplant with out CSA this summer and found we like it very much! I look forward to trying this recipe and will pass it on to my daughter who is a vegetarian.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That looks soo yummy! I've never had Daiya cheese, but I typically like vegan dairy products...sometimes I prefer them to the real deal.

    I'm definitely pinning this!

    ReplyDelete

Please stop for a moment and leave a comment to let me know you have been here. I love reading all your comments.

I am sorry but I cannot accept Anonymous comments anymore as I am getting too many spam. I hope that you will comment with an ID user. Thanks for understanding.

I will not be accepting comments that have links on them. I will not delete them but because of google's stance on links I do not want to have any problems with my blog. Thank you for your understanding.