Eggplant, the other white-fleshy meat

Rob finally admitted to me the other night that he really doesn't like eggplant. I was holding two beautiful shiny purple globes in my hand, ready to be sliced, when he announced it. "In fact," he said, "I kind of hate it. Sorry." It was heartbreaking to hear from the person that I cook for the most.

Eggplant is one of those vegetables that people tend to love or hate -- that firm consistency and it's an unusual looking veg, that's for sure. But I think that's why I adore it -- it's like the underdog of vegs. I feel like I cook with it just to introduce it's 'other yummy side' to people who are initially turned off by it.

The good news is that I think I've figured out how to include it in meals so that Rob (and others, and you know who you are) might eat them. I hide them with other deliciousness. Pasta Salad with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Basil from Cooks Illustrated Guide to Grilling and BBQ is one way to do this. The eggplant was grilled, fresh tomatoes and basil added to a large warm pot of pasta and sauce. Rob loved it (really). He even scarfed down the leftovers for lunch the next day. My heart has healed. I realize that Cooks online recipes are subscription-only, so I also found a free pirated version (tsk tsk).

The Best Grits, er Polenta, I Ever Made.. Y'all

Once upon a time, before I fell in love with New Mexican chiles, Colorado peaches, and Wisconsin beer (and cheese), I grew up in the South. It wasn't really the 'true South' since we lived on the coast with an expanding flux of New Yorkers and New Jersey folks overtaking the beach-side real estate. However, half of my family was fairly southern-like (my Dad's side has a strong accent), and we all certainly loved southern food, fried and fatty. Every week I was fed grits for breakfast, topped with butter, salt and pepper - as any good Southerner should consume grits. I didn't know what decent oatmeal tasted like, or whatever 'cream of wheat' was (sounded disgusting to me at the time).

I never knew what grits were really made of - corn, sure, but the rest was a mystery. It didn't occur to me that grits are the same as cornmeal. NO! Oh yes, it's true. I never realized that corn, ground into different consistencies, becomes cornmeal, grits, and that I'll-never-cook-hominy. My mom, being a good pseudo-Southerner (she's from LonGisland but moved to the South when she was just a wee one), once made the faux-pas mistake of asking for 'grits' in a snooty Colorado health-food store. 'Oh, you mean 'POLENTA' was the storekeeper's response. Needless to say, my mom rolled her eyes and gave him a glare.

Tonight I cooked Creamy Parmesan Polenta (GRITS!) with Sauteed Cherry Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella Topping. It calls for coarse-ground cornmeal (none of that inferior stone or, god-forbid, quick-cooking). This is one of those rare quick-to-make Cooks Illustrated recipes.

This dish was fantastic. Ok, so it passes one of my important criteria: lots of cheese (2 kinds - whoo hoo!), but the sweetness of the tomatoes combined with buttery, cheesy grits was really really good. Really good. The best grits I've ever tasted. Yo. Y'all.

Eat Your Heart Out, Columbus

Columbus may have 'discovered' America, but I have recently uncovered TWO new things about myself and food. Looks like I win.

I love satisfying salads (those that contain much more than greens). I also love chickpeas. So it's only natural that I would want to make this recipe: Brown Rice and Chickpea Salad from Cooks Illustrated. Being as how it's a Cooks recipe, it's kind of a pain in the ass (fussy), but it was worth it. This was the first time that I've ever used dried chickpeas. Yes, the canned variety worked just fine in the past, why mess with tradition? Well, the only recipes I try to stick to very carefully are those from Cooks. I respect the scientific process and they work hard to determine the best way to fix something. Fine. Dried chickpeas. Soak them for many hours (I remembered ahead of time - yay!), and wait, what's this? I tasted one and huh... these are actually pretty good as is once they've been soaked... [tried a second handful] hmm... nutty, creamy... nothing like those that come out of a can [tried some more]... Oh crap, now I'm going to have to soak chickpeas from here on out [grumble... tasting more] because I could have eaten them all raw. Who knew? Cooks did I suppose.


Anyway, back to the recipe. The salad has a curry-basil sauce that is especially tasty, and you top with toasted almonds (do *not* skip the toasted almonds). This would make a great take-along lunch. Except that Rob is currently busy scarfing down the rest.

I am pleased to announce that I have discovered THE best and easiest way to cook kale. It should have been obvious to me to roast kale since I cook nearly everything else this way. So why didn't I think of this already? Crispy Sesame Kale from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook. The cookbook is really great, and her blog is beautifully scrumptious, so check them both out. Toss the kale with some dark sesame oil and sesame seeds, and throw into the oven for 10 min. Easy, healthy and insanely delicious.

Everyone Loves Eggplant

Or everyone should love eggplant. I certainly have an odd fondness for it, much to the dislike of my family and friends (some of them). I love the texture and how it feels between my teeth (like I said, an odd fondness).



At some point I taught myself how to cook stir-fries. This type of dish is a whole lot of fun to make, as long as you're prepared before the first items hit the pan. Once a stir-fry begins its course, it's cooking in fast-forward high-speed until it's all over. I learned this the hard way -- burning a few in the process. The reason it's so quick is that you cook over high heat. Using peanut oil (THE stir-fry oil of choice, as it has a higher smoking point - meaning that you cook at high heat without it smoking/burning as quickly) makes it uber flavorful.

Tonight I tried a Cooks Illustrated recipe: Stir-fried Eggplant with Garlic and Basil Sauce - very Thai-inspired. It, like many stir-fries, calls for Fish Sauce. Now, in my house I have to hide the fish sauce when I use it. Rob nearly has a gag-reflex every time he thinks that 'vile nastiness' is in the vicinity. So I tend to use it quickly and slyly put it away without his knowledge. Ironically, he usually hasn't a clue that it's in my dishes. He senses something when I start frying with it (it's very odorific), but I just tell him it's vinegar. He believes me. We agreed that this recipe was pretty good - I added some jasmine rice as well.

"I wish it was summer" salad!

Here's one of my most favorite recipes to make in the summer. I make this as a side dish, to take to picnics or just to snack on. It's very very yummy.  I happened to have all the ingredients so I decided why not. Just because it's February, I can have a summer salad!  For Christmas I got an Aerogarden and I have a TON of fresh basil. I really like the garden it so far and I love having fresh, clean herbs to use whenever I need them.

I got this recipe from some magazine a few years ago. I don't remember which one though!

Corn Basil & Orzo Salad

1/2 med. red onion
1/4 cup white wine vinegar (I usually use rice vinegar - I think it tastes better)
2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
6-8 ears of fresh corn
8 oz of Orzo (small, rice like pasta)
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper diced
1 1/2 cups fresh basil

Combine the onion, vinegar, salt & pepper. Let stand for about 15 mins.

Prepare the corn. Cut the kernels off, but not too deep. You should have about 5 cups

Cook the orzo for about 8 minutes and add the corn. Cook until the water return to a boil for about 1-3 minutes. Drain & rinse with cold water

Whisk oil into vinegar & onion mixture. Add orzo, corn bell pepper and basil. Toss until combined. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.