Today is a little cooler (meaning 80's instead of 90's) so it's a good day for baking.
"Waste not, want not."
I took a mental check of the goodies left over from my CSA box...eggplant & a purple pepper, that's it. The eggplant is last because it looks so pretty sitting in the bowl on my counter. Okay that's not entirely true... it's mostly because I've never met an eggplant dish that I've liked. I have somehow convinced myself that they are mushy and tasteless. Granted I've very rarely tried it and the last time I did could've been during my macaroni & cheese phase...what vegetable can stand up to that? So I could be wrong.
Who am I kidding? Macaroni is not and will not ever be a phase. Macaroni if you can hear me, I love you!
I'm a grown up so I'm willing to give it another shot.
It worked for lima beans. I spent many a night as a child at the dining room table with one food obstacle or another preventing me from cleaning my plate, while my siblings were in the next room laughing extra specially loud (Fakers!) at 'Hee Haw' or some other silly family show that ruled the airwaves in the Midwest. Feeling bad my mom would nuke the pile of beans at commercial breaks but eventually they turned into dusty little pebbles. Not wanting them for breakfast (which in hindsight I'm sure my parents never would have followed through with.) I forced them down either my mouth or my trusty dog Macker's. Eventually I learned to smash them up with enough butter, salt and pepper to trick myself into thinking they were mashed potatoes. Now, these fresh, tender little pods are amongst my favorites. This plan is very much the same, sauce and cheese make everything taste better.
I hit the Epicurus bookmark on my smartphone on the way home picking this recipe because it came up first, doesn't serve an army, and the difficulty level was easy.
I took a mental check of the goodies left over from my CSA box...eggplant & a purple pepper, that's it. The eggplant is last because it looks so pretty sitting in the bowl on my counter. Okay that's not entirely true... it's mostly because I've never met an eggplant dish that I've liked. I have somehow convinced myself that they are mushy and tasteless. Granted I've very rarely tried it and the last time I did could've been during my macaroni & cheese phase...what vegetable can stand up to that? So I could be wrong.
Who am I kidding? Macaroni is not and will not ever be a phase. Macaroni if you can hear me, I love you!
I'm a grown up so I'm willing to give it another shot.
It worked for lima beans. I spent many a night as a child at the dining room table with one food obstacle or another preventing me from cleaning my plate, while my siblings were in the next room laughing extra specially loud (Fakers!) at 'Hee Haw' or some other silly family show that ruled the airwaves in the Midwest. Feeling bad my mom would nuke the pile of beans at commercial breaks but eventually they turned into dusty little pebbles. Not wanting them for breakfast (which in hindsight I'm sure my parents never would have followed through with.) I forced them down either my mouth or my trusty dog Macker's. Eventually I learned to smash them up with enough butter, salt and pepper to trick myself into thinking they were mashed potatoes. Now, these fresh, tender little pods are amongst my favorites. This plan is very much the same, sauce and cheese make everything taste better.
I hit the Epicurus bookmark on my smartphone on the way home picking this recipe because it came up first, doesn't serve an army, and the difficulty level was easy.
What you'll need:
1 egg beaten
1/4 Cup skim milk
1/8 teaspoon pepper (add more)
1 Cup crushed saltine crackers
2 Tablespoons dried parsley flakes (add more)
1 medium eggplant, sliced 1/4
15 ounces can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (add more)
3/4 Cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese (add more)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese (add more)
1/4 Cup skim milk
1/8 teaspoon pepper (add more)
1 Cup crushed saltine crackers
2 Tablespoons dried parsley flakes (add more)
1 medium eggplant, sliced 1/4
15 ounces can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (add more)
3/4 Cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese (add more)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese (add more)
We added Red chili pepper flakes to the dry ingredient bowl, the sauce and sprinkled some on top.
How to do it:
In a small bowl, combine egg, milk, and pepper. In another bowl stir together cracker crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and dried parsley flakes. Dip eggplant slices in the milk mixture to coat, then dip both sides in the cracker mixture. Spray a 12 x 7 x 2" baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange eggplant in dish. In a bowl stir together tomato sauce, oregano, and garlic; pour over eggplant. Bake, covered, in a 350 deg F. oven for 40 minutes or until eggplant is tender. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes more.
This is hard to admit, music fan that I am, but my record picks for prep cooking have been sucking lately! Apparently I am NOT a Joan Baez fan...if you are maybe I need a better introduction. Now a staple, Van Morrison's Moondance is bellowing through the house. Tonight I am graced with a lovely co-cook who swiftly opened a chilled bottle of Rose (it's making a comeback!), with 14.6% alcohol volume how could it not? The oven is pre-heated, our assembly line is up and running and Netflix delivered.
It's going to be a good night.
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| Breaded ep with tons of cheese! |
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| The sauced ep...the white part is where I dropped my phone in the sauce trying to take a picture. |
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| Jennifer's stroke of genius: topping it with purple pepper & shallots in a balsamic reduction. |
A half hour and a half bag of shredded mozzarella later....
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| Gooey, saucy, delight! |
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