{Olympia's Greek Moussaka Vegan Style}

On May 27, I did read a post from Olympia's blog: Oldthings, where she gave the Greek Moussaka recipe. Since both of us LOVE Aubergines, or Eggplants as you call them, I've adapted this recipe and made it Vegan Style. Since I'm not Greek, I certainly do not qualify for making a Moussaka as well as Olympia did. Also I had to keep in consideration that it should be low sodium and low cholesterol. So I did not salt the aubergine for that reason, in order to drain the water out. Does anyone have a TIP on how to go about this, following a low sodium diet? Any hint is welcome.

I also did not fry them the way Olympia did but instead I did bake them with some olive oil in the oven, using a Demarle Silpat.

Not too bad... with some mixed greens and olive oil with Balsamico dressing. 

Above is Olympia's Recipe Mussaka, just click the link for going to her post with very clear step-by-step instructions and great photos.

For the Vegan Style I will give you my version:

3 lb or 1500 g of aubergines - eggplants

3 lb or 1500 g potatoes 

3 packages of 340 g each Trader Joe's Beefless Groundbeef (soy product)

3 large fresh tomatoes diced

2 big onions chopped

salt, pepper

For the Bechamel:

1 liter milk

6 tablespoons of soft butter

6 tablespoons of whole wheat flour

1 cup of egg beaters

salt, pepper

Serves 12

 Bake at 200°C or 400°F for 50 minutes.

No cholesterol - no fat...

These are the 340 g packages of Beef-less ground beef from Trader Joe's.

Olive oil is what I used for the onions and the ground beef...

Aubergines - eggplants sliced and with some olive oil I had them for 10 minutes on the Silpat in the oven on 475°F or 250°C.

Any tips here are welcome!

Potatoes I did bake for half an hour in the oven on 400°F or 200°C also using olive oil. 

Now layering the potatoes, aubergines - eggplants, minced beef and then topping them off with the Bechamel.

This beef-less ground beef is already pre-cooked so with the onions and tomatoes it only needs to be heated through.

The way Olympia did show how to make the Bechamel with softened, not melted butter I liked very much. 

I used whole wheat as a healthy substitute for white flour.

Instead of real eggs I did blend in the 1 cup egg beaters after I'd cooked the Bechamel.

See Olympia's excellent photos of step-by-step instructions.

Bechamel all poured over the layers and ready for the oven...

50 minutes on 200°C or 400°F.

Maybe next time a tad longer in the oven...?

What do you think?

But we both enjoyed it very much!

Thanks again Olympia for sharing this with us.

{1910s French Roubleff - Precursor of Lampe Berger}

Have you ever seen this type of 1910s French Hygienic Ozonator Lamp by Roubleff? It is the precursor of the French Lampe Berger as we probably all know by now. This one is still complete, with its original stone and wick and it is in beautiful pressed glass. On the bottom it shows the Roubleff mark. A very rare piece of antique for the collector, in perfect condition. Available at my Zen Cart powered on line Boutique: 1910s French Roubleff Precursor of Lampe Berger ←click link. Worldwide Shipping!

Beautiful pressed glass and as said, in perfect condition.

Screw on cap.

Different angle...

Detail of the original stone catalytic and its mesh.

Roubleff mark pressed into the glass in a circle on the bottom of the lampe.

Pressed mark reads: LAMPE DE L’OZONATEUR SYSTÈME ROUBLEFF

French pamphlet with Roubleff lampe at the top. 

Revue Rose 1908

Being sold here is also a similar Roubleff lampe.

Sorry Sold Out...

Similar screw on caps seen here above at: Musée LAMPE BERGER

{Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum in Our Garden}

• As promised yesterday, now I like to show you our Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum in Our Garden, here in Georgia/USA. 
• We're having heavy thunderstorms right now, so the weather for the garden is great. Not for blogging, as I accidentally hit the Publish button instead of Save... scared I would loose it all when the power could go off. Never mind; thanks to God for lots of rain!
• Following photos are from our July blooms of the Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum in our garden. 
• They are of the Amaryllidaceae familly. There are supposed to be varieties that originated in South America and also in South Africa. 
• The link South Africa and Indonesia is a very logic one, since both countries belonged to The Kingdom of The Netherlands.
• Lots of Javanese people were brought to South Africa from Indonesia, to cultivate the fields as they were very adept and natural gardeners. 
• With that, of course plants and bulbs have gone back and forth as well. Enjoy our Indonesian species of fragrant white Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum:

• This is the reward, a gorgeous showcase of fragrant white blooms!
• My husband Pieter did dig them up and planted them in a huge planter.

We also have provided an avid collector, Patrizia Ianne, in Bassano del Grappa, Italy with some plants.

• Pieter did dig up some young plants complete with bulbs and leaves, from this very planter, and we sent them via FedEx 2nd day air, to Patrizia Ianne's friend in San Francisco. 
• That friend did travel to Italy for Christmas so she could carry them with her. 
• Imagine; from Wonosobo, Indonesia to Dublin, Georgia and via San Francisco to Bassano del Grappa in Italy. 
• We hope that hers did as well as ours this year. 
• Last year they barely survived with the extreme heat and drought, that's the reason my husband had to dig them up in order to save them. 
• Here they are adjacent to the make-shift plastic greenhouse for not quite hardy plants in planters during winter. It is to the side of our green house. 

• This is how the wavy leaves look like and how the plant starts budding out...

• Thanks to natural rain, they look super healthy!

• Raindrops always look special on any plant. This is a large planter with yummy potting soil and one can tell that they look happy!

• FIVE blooms on one stem!
• Wonder how their siblings in Bassano del Grappa, Italy turned out this summer...

• Same stem only two and a half hours later...

• We did have another batch of them mid August...
• Flowers last only one day so you have to make your photo in time for capturing the beauty.
• Hope you enjoyed these fragrant Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum and their history.

Do any of you keep Amaryllis in the garden?

Related links:

{Our Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum in Wonosobo, Indonesia} | previous post by me
{Heavenly Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum} | previous post by me
{New Heavenly Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum} | previous post by me
{Our Tropical Patio with Orchids in Indonesia} | previous post by me