Melanzane or Aubergine or Eggplant or...
Regardless of what ya call it, we have it. I think I mentioned that we had a hard time keeping up with one plant last year - so this year we planted two of them.
What were we thinking?!?
I mean... it may be time to put myself up for a Darwin Award. Well... an Honorable Mention, anyway...
They are the plants that keep on giving - and look as if they will be giving for quite a while. Time to start getting creative.
I decided tonight was going to be an all-eggplant egg-straveganza and thought a souffle was in order. When was the last time you had an eggplant souffle?!? If your answer is "never" - join the club. Neither had we.
Which, of course, meant I had to make one.
A souffle is basically stuff lightened by egg whites and baked in the oven, so I felt reasonably confident I could pull this one off. I'm good at stuff and we always have plenty of eggs in the house. Off to the kitchen I went...
There were 5 eggplants in the bowl on the table. I took the largest three and started work. One was going to be for the main course part of dinner - two for the souffle.
Eggplant Souffle
- 2 medium eggplants
- 3 green plum tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1/2 cup dry marsala
- Robiola cheese
- Asiago Cheese
- Ricotta Salada Cheese
- Provolone Cheese
- Mozzarella Cheese
- 5 eggs
- Fresh Basil
- Fresh Oregano
- Fresh Mint
- Fresh Chives
- S&P
I peeled and diced 2 of the eggplants and tossed them in a bowl with some olive oil and a bit of S&P. I spread it out on a sheet pan and roasted it for about 45 minutes at 375°F. along with 3 green plum tomatoes and a few cloves of garlic.
Meanwhile, I sauteed the diced celery and shallots in a combination of butter and olive oil.
When the eggplant was well cooked and nicely browned, I mixed it and the garlic and the tomatoes with the celery. I then added the chopped herbs. I just picked and grabbed - probably about a loosely-packed half cup all together.
Next went the cheese. I probably used just under 2 cups of chopped, sliced, and/or shredded cheeses.
I let it cool just a bit and then added 5 egg yolks and mixed it all very well.
I whipped the egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar to stiff peaks and then folded them into the eggplant mixture.
I buttered a casserole dish and then coated it with bread crumbs and poured the eggplant inside, leveled the top, and placed it into a 350°F oven for about 45 minutes.
This really rocked the Casbah! Really light, rich, and flavorful. Great texture and consistency. Almost like I have to start making more souffles!
And then we had the main course - sausages and vegetables...
Into the pot went a clean-out-the-'fridge assortment of veggies... the third eggplant - sliced into strips, fennel, beans from the garden, watermelon radishes, onion, celery, carrots, yellow zucchini, along with some garlic, red wine, and S&P. I covered it and let it simmer away for about 20 minutes, and then added some peeled potatoes I just cut in half and buried in the pan. A few minutes later, I added the sausage and let it cook another 10 minutes, covered. Then it went uncovered into a 375°F oven to brown the sausage and evaporate a bit of the juices.
Two totally different eggplant concepts - and they both worked well...
I wonder what eggplant ice cream would be like?
Hmmmmmm.........
More From The Garden
Overcast and more rain on the way. Not very good weather for tomatoes.
The tomato plants are actually getting scary - there are a bazillion tomatoes and they keep growing and growing - but they're not ripening.
These are San Marzano's that I really want to can. They are seriously looking fantastic - just not red.
There are at least 5 varieties of tomatoes in here... All heirlooms and San Marzano's.
On the other hand, this is the little plot of land that keeps on giving. Ripe tomatoes may be scarce, but other stuff is coming up like mad. This is today's haul. I'm going to make a pepper relish this weekend, and I think an eggplant souffle is in our future. Green beans are going crazy. Peppers are slow this year - too much rain for them.
Our little plot of land has come a long way since we bought this place back in 2001. This was the side of the house back in those days. It was an overgrown mess of ivy and weeds. 
The tree right next to the house was the first to go, and then we cleaned it all out and extended the fence to the front edge of the house to give Cybil more room to play. I can't find an old picture looking down to the street but to give you perspective, the bottom of the picture is probably about the middle of the new garden. It really was an overgrown mess.
The whole yard - front and back - was an overgrown mess. The whole neighborhood was more overgrown when we moved in, though. Lots of stuff planted by original owners had reached maturity. We've had to take down probably a dozen trees in the past 16 years - which gave us the sunlight to have the solar panels installed. The original house was way too shaded. The neighborhood is getting more manicured as the oldtimers move out and younger folks move in. Houses are also being remodelled and doubled in size. Fine with me as long as ours sells well when the time comes.
In the meantime, the 10-Day forecast isn't looking to be too helpful, but we may see sun by Wednesday.
Here's hoping!
Eggplant Lasagne
I now have another recipe that I never have to make. Ya know how some folks just own a recipe? They make it the best and there's just no reason to try and make it, yourself. On this coast, it's things like Marie's Jelly Strips and Joanna's Wedding Rings. I'm not going to improve on them, so there's just no reason to make them. I'm satisfied getting them when they make them.
The latest in my getting-longer list of recipes is Eggplant Lasagne. Victor owns this one. I'm just not going to bother.
I've been going crazy looking for a post and a recipe because he's made this a lot - but I'll be damned if I can find one. I can't believe I haven't documented this one, before. It's just too damned good.
The premise is quite simple - build a lasagne, but use slices of eggplant as the noodles. It's stellar.
Layers of homemade sauce, floured, breaded, and fried eggplant, ricotta, mozzarella, more sauce, fresh basil... layers upon layers of greatness, covered, baked, and then served to the salivating crowd.
It's that good.
That's a 9x13 pan. Enough lasagne for the neighborhood. I'm going to portion and freeze some tomorrow. I've been emptying out the freezer to hold our summer bounty.
There are more eggplants on the vine - and more dishes to create.
I'm thinking an eggplant souffle... I wonder if I can convince him to start making souffles?!?
Hmmmmmmm.....
Shrimp, Veggies, and a Loaf of Bread
There's more food coming into the house right now than is going out. Time for some creative cooking!
Clearing freezer space is pretty important for the next few months. We don't - intentionally - have a freezer in the basement. Having the one freezer attached to the refrigerator keeps me focused on what I have and what needs to be used. It's bad enough that I can pack that sucker to within an inch of its life. I can't even imagine the type of frozen-food-packrat I'd be with another freezer. It's a frightening thought, indeed.
This is better. It makes me think. Two of my mom's continual adages to me were look it up and figure it out. Looking things up has gotten infinitely easier with the advent of the world wide web. And even easier easier with a handheld device capable of searching the world in nanoseconds. I don't use my phone for phone calls. I use it to look up things just like mom told me to do. It sure beats the World Book Encyclopedia!
Figuring things out was something I needed to learn at a very young age. Rumor has it I was a pretty impatient little tyke. I remember my Aunt Katherine - she was my great uncle Tommy's mother, born in Boonton, New Jersey in 1882 - telling me "when a string is in a knot, patience will untie it." To this day, when I start getting impatient about figuring something out, that's my cue to stop, sit back, and look anew. Aunt Katherine was the impetus for a couple of firsts for me... Hers was the first funeral I went to in 1956, and going to her funeral was the first time I flew in an airplane - from Bakersfield to Sacramento on United Airlines. The things we remember...
But back to figuring things out...
I planned a clean-out-the-refrigerator dinner just to give me room for things to come. It's time for a good cleaning and cleaning is always easier when there's less stuff to move around. Victor is great at utilizing leftovers and such for lunches, snacks, and his mom's dinners on the nights I work late, so after tonight, it's looking properly barren.
I pulled a bag of shrimp out of the freezer and emptied the vegetable bin of a partial head of cauliflower, a large watermelon radish, green and yellow zucchinis, the fresh purple beans, onions, garlic, and artichoke hearts I had opened yesterday and then then changed my mind about using. And asiago cheese. And lots of fresh herbs from the garden. And white wine.
It really was a quick throw-together dinner - I cooked the veggies on top of the stove and when they were about 2/3 done, I stuck the pan under the broiler to give them some color. I added the shrimp, set it back in for a few minutes, and then stirred in the herbs and the cheese.
Perfection.
And while all that was going on, I made a loaf of bread.
The bread should have been more of a rounded loaf, but I got carried away doing a website and forgot about it outside in Mother Nature's Proofing Box. It really rose huge. I slid it into the oven and it collapsed - but came back as a thin wide loaf. It is really excellent!
It's a take on the Pistachio Bread I made a while ago.
So... Veggies cleared out, refrigerator cleaned, freezer getting emptied for fruits of the garden, fresh bread and another storm hitting right now. That means more green tomatoes down, tomorrow...
Maybe time for a Green Tomato Pie.
The Trip to Bountiful
Our trip to bountiful is walking outside. The garden is going crazy!
It is so much fun walking outside and picking dinner. The challenge will be properly utilizing everything.
We had a hard time last year keeping up with one eggplant - so this year we planted two. We're brilliant. What can I say?!? I have a few ideas for roasting and canning above and beyond Little Gram's Eggplant - my favorite caponata.
Peppers, galore. Like the tomatoes, they've been taking their time, but when they hit, they're gonna hit. And speaking of hit, the whole garden took a hit last night. We had a thunderstorm come through that beat the hell out of everything. The tomato plants are huge and really overladen with green tomatoes - we're going to see 50 pounds of tomatoes ripen at once - and we spent quite a bit of time this morning re-caging, staking, and tying them back up. We have four or five different varieties out there - and a cherry tomato that came up from last year. We had decided no cherries this year because we just can't use them fast enough, but Mother Nature had a different idea, so I'm going to see about roasting and canning them.
We brought some in that had broken off and thought we'd just paper bag them and see how they come out. Waste not, want not...
I pulled a few beets - there are golden and tiger stripes - and learned a lesson in seed planting along the way. I did not thin them and have a few little clusters of beets that probably won't mature into nice-sized bulbs. But... as long as they taste okay... I'll deal this year. Next year I'll pay more attention and be more diligent.
Our biggest boatload of produce ready right this minute is green beans. We have two bush bean plants and two purple bean plants - and the green beans are really going crazy. We picked about 2 pounds of beans - with a ton more coming in. The purple's are not quite as proliferant, yet, but I have a few for dinner, tonight.
I remember years ago we saw purple beans at a farmer's market in Oakland, CA and paid a fortune for them because they were so unique. We took them home, dropped them into boiling water to blanch, and watched them turn green right before our eyes. I was bummed. All that money and they looked and tasted like green beans. Live and learn.
I did a quick blanch, trim, and then vacuum-packed them for later use.
We have four 8oz bags of fresh beans in the freezer - with more to follow.
Our Food Saver has paid for itself many times over. I really do like being able buy in bulk and freeze things.
With more stuff coming in, tonight's going to be a bit of a clean-out-the-refrigerator ragout of sorts.
With shrimp.
And a loaf of fresh bread.
I know there are bazillions of people out there with bigger and better gardens - and who actually know what they're doing - but we're having fun in our dotage. And that's all that really matters.
The Importance of a Well-Stocked Larder
I threw out dinner, tonight. It's something I haven't done in years, but it needed doing.
We cleaned out the last of the garden this morning. The stuff that was hanging on we looking pretty anemic. Lots of green tomatoes, but nothing ripening. The eggplants had just stopped doing anything but hanging there - same size as when we got back from vacation, and the peppers were gasping. It was time to say goodbye. We had a bumper crop of produce and learned a lot about what, where, and when to plant things. I already have seeds for next year from the Seed Savers Exchange and will draw out a plan before we plant anything. A little planning and organization will go a long way.
But I digress...
We brought in probably 20 pounds of green tomatoes and maybe 3 more pounds of peppers to add to the 3 pounds already picked. My thought was to can a bunch of chow chow or green tomato relish, but I thought I could simmer up some with some pork and some other veggies and mix in some fava beans I had soaked over night. Perfect time for a nice fall stew of sorts.
I had a green tomato recipe where everything is ground together, so I thought I'd grind some stuff and cook it all off in the oven, shred the pork back into it... Pretty basic stuff. I browned the pork pieces, simmered them in some red wine, added broth, and ground up green tomatoes, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, mushrooms, and 1 hot pepper. After a while, I added the cooked fava beans. The smells of the cooking pork and the drying rosemary in the kitchen were wonderful. The house smelled great!
I pulled it out to taste and almost died. The one little pepper was screaming hot - and the favas - the favas totally sucked! They were absolutely horrible. Gawd-awful-inedible-horrible. I think I could have handled the heat on its own, but having it coupled with the disgusting favas was too much. I don't generally buy dried fava beans, but I saw these and thought they would just be perfect for fall and winter soups and stews. And I paid way too much money for them - or, at least, more than I should have for dried beans. And they sucked.
The entire pan went down the garbage disposal and I threw the second package of favas in the trash.
I nonchalantly mentioned to Victor that I had just tossed dinner and we'd be having pasta. With a dozen or so quarts of sauce downstairs and a half-dozen varieties of dried pasta at any given moment, pasta is always a possibility.
He laughed and said it must have really been bad for me to toss it. I can usually make do with just about anything. No big deal - ya win some ya lose some.
About 15 minutes later I'm in the office and new, wonderful smells start permeating the house. Victor decided to up the pasta with a little eggplant lasagne.
Be still my gastronomic heart!
We had 4 or 5 eggplants that also needed using up, so away he went, layering fried eggplant with ricotta and sauce and cheese... Having the right ingredients in the kitchen is key. It was just stellar.
My philosophy in the kitchen is the worst thing that can happen is you throw it all out and call for pizza. It tends to put everything in perspective. Really. The worst thing that can happen is you toss it out and have something else.
From dinner to disaster to fabulous dinner, we did it all, today.
And there's a coconut cake for dessert... There's a story behind that, too...
Stuffed Eggplant
That one little eggplant just keeps on giving. I pulled six more off the plant when we got back from California and there's probably another six that are ready, right now. Who knew one plant was going to be so prolific.
It's good that we like eggplant - and it's even better than Nonna has decided she likes it, again. She went through a period of a couple of years where she wouldn't touch it. Now she's asking Victor to make Eggplant Lasagne!
Go figure.
We have enough eggplant canned downstairs to last us through winter and I really am looking forward to a nice snowy day, baking some fresh bread, and having Victor make some homemade pasta.
Have I ever mentioned that we tend to eat well around here?
But future meals aside, we had eggplants here and now that needed cooking! And that's where Victor came through with Stuffed Eggplants. He had been thinking about this most of the week so I was pretty stoked to come home and see them ready to go into the oven. It's so nice being married to a man who can cook!
As with much of what we cook, there really wasn't a recipe, per se. It was more just following instinct and creating.
Stuffed Eggplants
- Eggplants
- Ground Beef
- Carnaroli Rice (Italian short-grained risotto-style rice)
- Carrots, diced
- Celery, diced
- Garlic
- Pasta Sauce (Victor's homemade)
- Bread Crumbs
- Pimentos
- Olives
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- Shredded Cheese for topping
Cut eggplants in half and scoop out flesh. Finely chop. Saute the chopped eggplant with garlic, carrots, and celery until vegetables are soft. Add pasta sauce and rice and simmer until rice is tender.
Cook ground beef. Add to eggplant mixture along with the pimento, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir in some bread crumbs.
Stuff eggplants with filling and top with a few more bread crumbs and some shredded cheese.
Cover and bake in a 350°F oven about 45 minutes. Remove cover and continue baking another 15 or so minutes..
This really was outstanding. Easy to pull together and really versatile. If we made it, again, it would be similar, but different. Might or might not have pimentos, type of olives could change, fresh tomatoes might stand in for the sun-dried...
You get the idea. The basic concept is there - the minute details change according to what's in the larder. And since we keep a pretty well-stocked larder, anything is possible!
We seldom let the lack of a specific item keep us from making something. A little fun and creativity is a good thing.
Peppers and Tomatoes
The garden spilleth over. Peppers and tomatoes - and eggplants - are coming in at an alarming rate. And cantaloupes are not far behind. Did I mention the green beans?
It's a treasure trove of fun eating.
The challenge has been to keep it new and interesting. Yes, we can eat tomato salad every night for 5 months, but is there something else to do with those luscious red and golden orbs besides Sicilian olive oil and basil? And peppers... How many jars can I can? How much caponata can one family eat in a year?
We've been lucky. We've been able to can a lot of sauce for the coming months and a lot of the other stuff we're canning will find its way into homes other than ours. The garden gods have been on our side. Then there's what to do with the little bit in front of us right now. With tomatoes, a fresh sauce is a quick and easy solution.
Red and gold tomatoes blended and strained make for a really tasty sauce with the addition of a bit of basil and oregano from the garden. And just a pinch of salt and pepper. Nothing else is needed.
I poured it over stuffed shells and sausages and baked it off in the oven for 40 minutes.
The peppers have been a bit more challenging, only because Nonna no longer likes spice. If I had my way they would be going in everything. My mother said the first solid food I ate as an infant was a chili bean. I loves my spice! But making two dinners is not a real option most nights. A big tub of fried peppers in olive oil, however, is an option. And they can be added to almost anything.
Since today is Sunday, pasta and homemade bread was an easy dinner idea - and peppers inside of bread would be another way of highlighting these fiery friends.
I made a pretty basic focaccia dough and split it and filled it with sauteed peppers and cheese. Easy to do.
Pepper and Cheese Filled Focaccia
dough
- 1 pkg dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- pinch salt
filling
- 1 1/2 cups peppers. chopped, fried in oil, and cooled
- 4 oz cheese, shredded, sliced, or crumbled
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
Add 1 cup lukewarm water to mixer. Add yeast and let proof about 5 minutes. Add flour and and begin mixing. Add oil and continue mixing, adding additional water or flour to form a soft dough. Mix in machine about 5 minutes.
Roll dough into a ball, lightly oil bowl, and place dough in bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled - about 1 1/2-2 hours.
Take dough and form into two equal balls. Cover and let rest about 10 minutes.
Roll each dough ball out to a 9" circle. Place one on a greased cookie sheet (or a bread peel with cornmeal.)
Brush entire top with a thin layer of tomato sauce. Distribute peppers and cheese across top.
Place second dough round on top, pressing out all air bubbles. Pinch ends to seal completely.
Brush top with tomato sauce and cut at least 4 vent holes to allow steam to escape.
Cover and let rise until doubled - about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°F with baking stone, if using.
Slide dough onto baking stone or place pan in oven.
Bake about 45 minutes.
Let cool before cutting.
Canning Little Grandma's Eggplant Appetizer
Mother Nature is smiling down on us because one eggplant plant is producing eggplant for the world! It's just unbelievable. It's going bonkers. Talk about a perfect location.
We've been giving them to neighbors as fast as we can, but yesterday Victor went out and there were 7 that were immediately ready to eat. Two went to neighbors and five came inside for canning.
I made and canned a caponata at the beginning of the season but this time we decided to go with Little Grandma's Eggplant Appetizer. Little Gram wrote in 1993 - when she was a mere 93 -
My family loves this. When I make it, they eat it like candy. Well, it is sweet! I find that eggplants are better in the summer, even though you can get them all year round. This is another recipe I have been making for many years. I got it from my mother who brought it over from Sicily. She and my father worked for a nobleman when they lived there. Ma used to cook for the man and his family. That's probably where she got many recipes. This dish is really a type of Caponota that many Italian families make.
We have made this many, many times - it's a great caponata - but this is the first time we've made this much of it at once.
Victor started out by peeling and cutting all of those eggplants. He actually did all the work. I just did the canning part.
Then it was into olive oil, for frying.
Meanwhile, the celery and then olives were parboiled.
Finally, everything came together...
And into jars for processing.
I was able to can 8 pints of eggplant. I sent 7 down to the basement and kept one for dinner, tonight. I'm thinking chicken and cooking up some of the polenta I picked up at the Italian Market two weeks ago. Simple, but oh, so good!
This is going to be great at Thanksgiving and Christmas!
Little Grandma's Eggplant Appetizer
Ingredients:
- 1 medium eggplant
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 3/4 cups halved or chopped green olives
- 3 cups thinned Italian tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 6 tablespoons vinegar
- 1/4 chopped Locatelli cheese
- 2 tablespoons capers
- fresh basil and mint
Cut eggplant in strips the size of French fries. Salt and let stand about an a hour. Dry on a paper towel. Deep fry in hot oil. Keep oil as hot as possible without burning. Add eggplant one at a time and keep adding one at a time to keep the oil at the same temperature. Fry each one until tender and cooked. Drain on paper towels.
To Make Sauce:
Parboil celery for ten minutes. Add olives and cook another five minutes. Drain all water out of the pot. Add the thinned tomato sauce and boil for ten minutes. Add vinegar and sugar. Cook for three minutes. Add cheese. Make it come to a boil and then turn off heat and allow to cool.
Pour sauce over fried eggplants. Garnish with fresh Basil and mint that have been sliced into very thin strips.
Fig Peach Rugelach
If the Apocalypse ever happens, we're going to have plenty of food in the basement! In just the past few days we have made Fig, Caramelized Onion, and Pepper Jam, 15 quarts of Victor's Pasta Sauce - made from our own tomatoes and fresh herbs - a dozen pints of hot peppers, and last night, 4 pints of fig peach jam. Right now, Victor is in the kitchen making Little Grandma's Eggplant that I will can when it's done. That's the next blog post!
At home, we had 4 pounds of white peaches that were merely okay, and, at work, there were 2-pound packs of black figs that were really good. A concept was born.
And a dessert.
The jam was easy - albeit a bit messy until I changed pots. I put everything into a large skillet to cook and reduce, and as it thickened, it bubbled up like lava shooting droplets far into the sky and all over the stove, floor, and counter. I can be a walking disaster, at times.
But, I saw the errors of my ways and changed pots and cleaned up. Disaster averted and a delicious jam made. The merely okay peaches mixed well with the stellar figs and it really came out good!
White Peach and Fig Jam
- 4 lbs white peaches
- 2 lbs figs
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup fig balsamic vinegar
- 1 pouch pectin
Wash the fruit and process in food processor in batches - some really smooth, some with a few chunks. Place in a large heavy pot with the sugar and bring to a boil, Add the balsamic and pectin and cook, stirring often, until reduced and thickened.
Place in sterile jars and process according to manufacturers directions.
I pressure-processed at 6lbs pressure for 10 minutes because of the jars I used. You could easily water bath this with standard Ball jars.
And... because man does not live by jam, alone, I made Rugelach for dessert!
Rugelach
- 1 block cream cheese (8oz)
- 2 sticks butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- pinch salt
- 2 cups flour
Cream butter and cream cheese together. Add sugar and mix well. Add vanilla and salt.
Add flour and mix just until it's all combined.
Place on counter and divide into 2 flattened logs. Wrap and refrigerate about an hour.
To make and bake:
Roll each log into a 6" by 18" or so rectangle. Spread with jam or filling of choice and then liberally sprinkle with chopped nuts - I used pistachios. Brush top with egg wash and liberally top with demerara or other coarse-grained sugar.
Roll and cut into 1" pieces. Place on sheet pans and bake at 350°F (180°C) for about 20 minutes.
Start with your block of dough.
Roll it out to a rectangle. Unless you plan on selling them, don't worry about perfect edges.
Spread with a thin layer of your filling and then spread liberally with chopped nuts.
Roll it up and brush with an egg wash.
Then sprinkle on demerara sugar. I keep a jar of demerara sugar and vanilla beans in the baking cabinet.
Slice into about 3/4-inch pieces and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Bake, cool, and eat!
A really unexpected hit. These came out better than expected and it took a lot of willpower not to just eat every one. Really, really good. I made the rugelach in a roll as opposed to the more traditional rolled wedge. If you wish, you can divide the dough into four circles, roll into 9" rounds, cut into 8 wedges, and top and roll.
My way is easier - and the end result tastes the same!
We really are having some serious fun in the kitchen. And we're going to be eating really well this winter!
Fig Jam
Last week was a whirlwind. It started with a company party and overnight in Philadelphia, brunch with friends the following day, a couple of days of relative normalcy, a train trip to Washington, DC for a Barbra Streisand concert, and then a flight to Manchester New Hampshire for a dear friend's wedding. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
The DC concert came about because I misread the date of the wedding. We had tickets to see Barbra here in Philadelphia on the 20th. I thought the wedding was on the 28th and booked plane, hotel, and rental car accordingly. A couple of weeks later I realized my mistake.
Oooops!
Rebooked the flights, paid the ridiculous change fees, and said goodbye to Barbra.
Then I went online, saw that tickets were still available in DC, and bought them. Used Amtrak points for the train, booked a Hyatt - where I can always schmooze my way into an upgrade - got a hold of our Nonna-Sitter, and sat back, ready for the whirlwind.
And what a whirlwind, it was. The concert was just unbelievable. Mere words cannot describe. It was just great.
And then it was off to Manchester. The flights were a breeze and we got an upgrade on the car to a Jeep SUV. The hotel was where we stayed when we got married back in 2010 and more laughing and schmoozing with the front desk ladies had us in another great room. And then we got to meet up with more friends who came in for the festivities.
Dinner at the Elks club - steak and lobster for $20 - was the rehearsal dinner, or would have been had there been a rehearsal. Huge perfectly-cooked ribeye steaks, 2lb lobsters, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, watermelon, apple turnovers, and for us, an open bar, set the tone for the night. Good food, great friends, a bit of booze, and lots and lots of laughter.
The wedding was perfect. Outdoors, casual, and low-key. We FaceTime'd friends from Seattle who couldn't make it in person - modern technology rocks - and just had a great time. Just perfect.
Monday we drove out to the middle of Nowhere, New Hampshire to meet another dear friend who lives in Vermont for lunch. Another great time. Then it was back to Manchester and to the Irish pub where we had our wedding reception. More laughter and fun. Airport, home, and back to work and reality.
While we were gone the garden exploded and more tomatoes and even more peppers were ready for picking.
I brought home a pound of figs not knowing what I was going to do with them and first thought a pepper and fig jam was in order - and then was reminded about a caramelized onion and fig dish I had once made - so it became a Fig, Caramelized Onion, and Pepper jam.
I caramelized an onion, processed the figs with the peppers and sugar, cooked everything down, and proceeded to start eating it.
Fig, Caramelized Onion, and Pepper Jam
- 1 large onion
- 1 lb figs
- 3 hot peppers - more or less, to taste
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup fig balsamic vinegar
- pinch of salt and pepper
Caramelize onions in skillet with a bit of oil until they are nicely browned.
Meanwhile, process figs, sugar, and peppers in food processor until well-mixed.
Add a hefty splash of fig balsamic vinegar to onions and let it cook down. Add the fig and pepper mixture to the onions and cook until it is thick thick thick.
Stir in a bit more fig balsamic and taste for seasoning, adding a bit of S&P, if desired. Place into a clean, sterile jar, cool, and refrigerate.
First thing I did with it was put it on a chicken breast and served it with a cheesy rice stuffed bell pepper - also from the yard.
I have pounds more peppers I need to get canned before I head off to work, today.
And tomorrow Victor is making pasta sauce form the ton of tomatoes we have in the freezer. I'll jar it when I get home!
So the whirlwind is slowing down and we're back to domestic normalcy for a few more weeks before we head west to my nephew's wedding in California.
But we have some of the best memories of some of the best people on the planet.
We really do lead a charmed life.
Eggplant Rollatini
The eggplants are coming in fast and furious. Every day there are more flowers and more fruit. It's the Summer of Eggplant! And what fun we are having!
Victor made an eggplant lasagne the other day that was beyond stellar. Layers of thinly-sliced eggplant floured and fried, layered with cheeses and sauce... Baked in the oven until perfect.
The most amazing thing about it, however, wasn't that it was outstandingly delicious, it was that Nonna loved it! Not only did she all but lick her plate, she requested it for lunch - twice! She has refused to eat eggplant for the almost 4 years she has lived here - and now she's clamoring for more. It's like a Christmas Miracle in August.
Tonight was an eggplant rollatini that was also beyond stellar. His idea was to just make a small side dish. I saw it and decided it was dinner - hell with the side dish idea!
That's one eggplant. I sliced it thin on my mandoline and Victor took it from there... There are no recipes for things like this. Like the lasagne a few nights ago, you just make it. That being said, here's an approximation of what he did.
Eggplant Rollatini
- 1 eggplant, thinly sliced
- flour
- eggs
- pesto
- ricotta
- grated parmesan
- garlic powder
- parsley
- salt & pepper
- tomato sauce
Dip thin slices of eggplant in flour and then egg. Fry until lightly browned on both sides.
Mix ricotta, parmesan, 1 egg, garlic powder, lots of chopped parsley, and a bit of S&P.
Spread cooked eggplant with pesto and then with ricotta. Roll up and place seam-side down in baking dish. Top with tomato sauce and bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, or until heated through.
If you want to serve them as an appetizer, don't top them with the sauce - have it available on the side.
Totally stellar - no matter how you do it!