Reading “Diet for a Small Planet” by Frances Moore Lappé roughly 33 years ago informed me of the dire environmental consequences of eating a meat-based diet and ignited my journey to a plant-centered diet.

The 50th anniversary edition of the book came out in 2021 with a hefty new preface, updated research throughout and many recipes in the second half of the book.

One piece of advice Lappé offers to those open to exploring plant-based meals is, “Don’t expect yourself to change overnight. Maybe start with one new meal a week or even one new ingredient; gradually build up a repertoire of dishes you enjoy.” In addition to trying novel ingredients, I like to build my repertoire by exploring the cuisines from countries I’ve never traveled to. That’s a fun way to learn a bit about a different culture through a new culinary experience.

I chose Egyptian cuisine this time and came across the following dishes, which include a few twists and turns of my own. This was the first time I used pomegranate molasses (found at Market Basket); they have a unique flavor that is both sweet and tart at the same time.

Egyptian eggplant stew

Serve this fragrant and flavorful stew over rice, quinoa or other grain of your choice.

Ingredients

-- 1 medium-sized eggplant, cut into one-inch cubes.

-- 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided.

-- 4 tablespoons pomegranate molasses, divided.

-- 2 small onions, thinly sliced.

-- 1 tablespoon honey.

-- 3 cloves garlic, minced.

-- 1 cup garbanzo beans, drained.

-- 4 tomatoes, chopped.

-- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric.

-- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

-- 2 cups vegetable broth.

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place cubed eggplant in a large bowl and coat with three tablespoons olive oil and two tablespoons pomegranate molasses. Place on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper; bake 15 minutes. Flip cubes and bake an additional 10 minutes, then remove from oven.

Meanwhile, sauté onions in two tablespoons olive oil until translucent in a large pot. Add honey; stir for one minute. Add garlic; sauté an additional minute or two. Add garbanzo beans, tomatoes, turmeric, cinnamon and two tablespoons pomegranate molasses; stir.

Add vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Stir in baked eggplant cubes. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Egyptian bread pudding

This is the national dessert of Egypt (called umm ali). You can use any bread you wish for this; I used whole-wheat sourdough and thought the texture worked out well. I used dates to make this pudding sweet, but you can use 1/4 cup sugar or other sweetener of your choice, if you prefer.

Many Egyptian bread pudding recipes call for a small amount of coconut milk. I generally shy away from using coconut milk when I can, because it is high in saturated fat, which can have negative health effects on the heart. I decided to experiment with creating a pseudo-coconut milk, and it worked. Combine raw cashews, water and shredded coconut, per the following recipe.

Ingredients

-- 1/4 cup raw cashews.

-- 1/3 cup water.

-- 1/4 cup shredded coconut.

-- 12 pitted dates.

-- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.

-- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.

-- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom.

-- 1/4 teaspoon salt.

-- 2 cups almond milk.

-- 4 cups stale bread, broken or cut into small pieces.

-- 1/4 cup raisins.

-- 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted.

-- 1/4 cup pistachios, chopped and toasted.

-- 1/4 cup shredded coconut, toasted.

-- 12 apricots, chopped.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put raw cashews and 1/3 cup water in Vitamix or blender; grind until creamy. Add 1/4 cup shredded coconut and blend until well incorporated. Blend in dates until pulverized (or sweetener of your choice).

Add vanilla extract, cinnamon, cardamom and salt; blend. Add this mixture to two cups almond milk. Cover bottom of small baking dish or 9-by-9 Pyrex with bread pieces. Pour almond milk mixture over bread; make sure all the bread pieces are soaked through.

Sprinkle raisins, slivered almonds, pistachios, 1/4 cup coconut and chopped apricots evenly over top. Bake for 20 minutes.

This healthy pudding can be served warm or cold.

For more information on how your food choices affect the planet and your health, go to harriscenter.org/rhp.