Eggplant with Pesto, Tomatoes, and Feta

Makes 4 side dish servings or 2 main dish servings
1 pound eggplant
6-8 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. pesto
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
1-2 tsp. herbes de provence (can substitute basil)

1/4 c. crumbled feta cheese

Remove the prickly stem end of the eggplant.  Slice lengthwise into 1/4" inch wide pieces.  Sprinkle both sides with salt and let sit for 20-30 minutes to "sweat" out the water in the eggplant.  Pat dry.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet.  Place half the eggplant slices in a single layer in the hot skillet and fry for a couple of minutes on each side, adding oil if it all gets soaked up.  While in the skillet, sprinkle eggplant with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Remove cooked eggplant to a 9"x13" glass dish.  Add more oil and repeat process with the rest of the eggplant slices.

Stir together 2 tablespoons of pesto with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to thin out the pesto.  Spoon it onto the eggplant in the dish, and spread it out over the eggplant.

On top of that, layer some thinly sliced tomatoes.  Sprinkle with 1-2 teaspoons of herbes de provence (or basil), then sprinkle the crumbled feta on top.  Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes or until feta is slightly softened (it won't melt) and dish is heated through.

So, we've been on this crazy eggplant kick around here.  I know what you're thinking - Who loves eggplant? - but let me explain.

We have this little family routine every Saturday, where we walk to the farmer's market (a little less than a mile away) and make ourselves spend $20 on anything we want.  It's our own little version of a CSA, minus the paying up front thing.

When we're on our way, we ask Big Girl what she wants to get at the farmer's market.  She typically says "eggplant" (exception listed below) ... What kind of two year old wants eggplant?  Seriously.  We think she just likes the word.

But since it's the farmer's market, and since there is a really awesome spread that the Eggplant Lady has for sale, we always get some.  This week's fruit (vegetable?  no, fruit.  yes.  fruit) was a small, slender, white eggplant about 8 inches long - we got two of them, and Big Girl was so excited.

I did a little pinterest searching to find some inspiration, and found the recipe that springboarded me into the dish I made.  The one thing I was lacking from that recipe was quantities of basil, but I had some pesto on hand so that's what I used instead.

And ...

Wow.

It was so good.  Don't let my novice photography skills fool you: this is a show-stopper.

I ate the equivalent of an entire eggplant.  Yes, that would be four slices of eggplant.  And a small tomato.  I also had two servings of salad, and a couple of slices of bread.  I was really hungry.  And it was just so good.  

So, if you're feeling up for it, I cordially invite you to jump on our weird-wagon over here and get yourself some eggplant.  And a tomato.  And some pesto.  And a little sprinkling of cheese (no feta?  I was thinking parmesan or mozzarella would be good.  Or a mix of cheeses.)

*There was that one time that the Mister asked Big Girl what vegetable she wanted to get from the farmer's market, and she said "sausage."  He explained what vegetables were, listed a good many of them, and asked her again.  She still said "sausage," so that's what they got.

Indian Chicken, Spiced Broccoli, and Simple Bread

You know I don't typically do the whole meal in one post, but since this is what we had all together, I figured I should share it all at once.  Those of us at dinner decided that each part of this meal complemented the other parts, so I was glad that at the last minute I had chosen to do the broccoli and bread (originally I was just going to serve the chicken over rice).  Don't be intimidated by the ginger-garlic paste in the broccoli recipe ... I had some of the paste leftover, which I will use to make more broccoli soon!

Indian Chicken (adapted from the recipe found here)

2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 large onion, diced

1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp. garam masala

1/2 c. plain yogurt

Place all ingredients in the crockpot minus 1 tsp. of the garam masala and the yogurt.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  30 minutes before serving, shred the chicken.  Stir in the yogurt and taste.  Add more garam masala if desired.

Spiced Broccoli (adapted from The Everything Indian Cookbook by Monica Bhide)

1 1/2 - 2 c. broccoli florets

2 Tbsp. ginger garlic paste (recipe following)

2 Tbsp. flour

1/2-1 tsp. salt

oil for frying

In a bowl, toss broccoli florets with ginger-garlic paste, flour, and salt until evenly coated.  Let florets marinate for 15 minutes.  Heat 1 inch of oil over medium heat; when hot add the broccoli in batches.  Cook on each side until pale brown in color.  Remove to a paper towel to drain.  Continue until all the florets are fried.

Ginger-garlic paste: In a blender, combine 1/2 cup peeled garlic cloves with 1/2 cup peeled fresh ginger and 1 tablespoon of water.  Puree into a paste.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Simple Indian Bread/Chapati (from The Everything Indian Cookbook by Monica Bhide)
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. warm water
vegetable oil for greasing
2 tsp. melted butter

Combine flour and salt.  Add the water slowly, kneading as you go.  Make a soft dough, kneading for at least 10 minutes.  The final dough should be soft and pliable, not sticky.  Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour.  Cut the dough into 12 equal portions and cover again.  Roll each ball of dough into a 5-6 inch circle and cover with a damp cloth again.  Heat a dry griddle on medium heat.  After about one minute, small blisters will appear on it.  Flip it to the other side for about one minute until dough is cooked and dry.
Brush with melted butter and serve warm.

Camping recipes

The lake at Marcy Dam

We made it back from a week of camping in upstate New York!  We realized once we were there that this is the first time that the three of us (four of us counting the Pumpkin, five counting the dog) had been on a family vacation together, just us.  What a blast!  Honestly, I was a little overwhelmed stressed about the thought of getting E to sleep at night, based on previous experiences ... but she was a champ, and only had one night where she woke up multiple times.

View from the summit of Whiteface Mountain,
looking down on Lake Placid

The nights were cool, and the days were comfortable.  This pregnant lady enjoyed a break from the humidity of Connecticut and the noise of the city.  I think we decided that the High Peaks in the Adirondacks will most likely be "our place" to vacation ... but we have yet to try out Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, anywhere in Canada, or the New England coast.  So we'll get back to you on that.

View from Mt. Severance, overlooking Schroon Lake, NY

We enjoyed swimming, hiking, exploring, reading maps, getting a little lost, stopping whenever we felt like it, eating ice cream (OK, I enjoyed eating ice cream.  The Mr. isn't so much into it), not showering, campfires, teaching the kiddo how to collect sticks, and talking about all the things that come to mind when one doesn't have a computer or phone to distract.  It was a really special time for us.

She loves these little sunglasses.  Seriously.
If only we could all look so beautiful.

Looking upriver towards Marcy Dam

From the top of Whiteface Mountain

On our way up a Mt. Severance

And now, as promised ... the results of the food planning for the week!

For breakfasts, we alternated between these two options:
- instant oatmeal with brown sugar, dried fruit, and/or cinnamon
- scrambled eggs with sausage and potatoes - I precooked the sausage and potatoes before we left so all that was involved was warming them up, but I used a pound of bulk loose sausage, not links or patties. Next time around, I will go with the links or patties because they're more easily contained on a griddle, and less likely to fall off of a toddler's fork onto the ground.

Lunches mainly consisted of serious snacking (since we typically had lunch once we had hiked in wherever we were going that day):
- sliced summer sausage
- sliced cheese
- crackers or baguette
- carrots and celery with hummus
- trail mix

We prepared dinners once we made it back to our campsite.  Here's what we had:
- burritos - precooked rice and beans, precooked shredded chicken, salsa, cheese, tomatoes, and peppers - should've brought some sour cream and guacamole, but I forgot.  I would do this one again.
- tortellini pasta with chopped squash and zucchini, with alfredo sauce - I used some packet of instant alfredo mix that  had in the pantry that was really easy to prepare, but it would've been just as easy to have a jar of sauce.  I'd do this again, but maybe add more vegetables, and/or some chicken or sausage.
- gourmet spinach salad - a bag of spinach, seasoned and cooked chicken, 1 chopped tomato, 1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese, sliced carrots and celery, garlic croutons, and 1/2 c. of vinaigrette dressing - the lesson learned on this one is that while a salad is really easy to throw together at home, it isn't the easiest of camping food ... and leftovers get weird really quickly.  It was delicious though, but I probably will try to find something that's more ... confined within itself ... for the next trip.
- grilled bratwurst - this was delicious, and so easy.  Check plus for next time.
- eggplant parmesan - one (1-lb) eggplant, sliced between 1/4" and 1/2" thick (so I guess that'd be 3/8"?), sprinkled with salt and pepper and browned on both sides in olive oil in a skillet.  Top with 1 small jar of marinara sauce (I bought the smallest one I could find at the grocery store, which was somewhere around 8 -10 ounces) and 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese.  Cover and let the cheese melt slightly before serving (though parmesan doesn't really melt like other cheeses ... it does get a little softer).  This was the best dinner we had, in my opinion.  It took all of 15 minutes to prepare (which automatically made it awesome), had few ingredients (ding ding ding!  amazing!), and was filling and delicious.  It would be super easy to do again while camping, but can also be done at home.  We served it with the rest of a baguette we had from that day's lunch.  If at home, it'd also be great with a simple salad or over some pasta.

Here's proof of deliciousness:

She cleaned her plate!  Always a good sign.

It was so good.  Have I said that enough?

We spent one day in the town of Lake Placid, which had nice sidewalks and a beach area, along with some fun shops and an energetic buzz with all the activity going on.  The kiddo grabbed Salem's leash and started walking him ... she got such a kick out of it, and we didn't let on that she was really the one being constrained in the process!

We got the chance to stop and visit a friend's parents on the last night of our vacation.  They were such sweet hosts, and kindly took the time to show us around the camp they live at, the nearby town, and the beautiful lake.  We're thankful that even though being in New England is a bit out of our comfort zone, we're still able to keep ties with friends - and make new friends in the process!

Thanks Rick and Linda for being so hospitable!  Oh, and for letting us shower ... 

And now, a question for you ... have you ever tried cooking outside while camping, or over a fire?  Do you have any suggestions for this new-to-outdoor-cooking lady?

A New Roasted Vegetable

Old friends are awesome.  Old friends are special, and rare, and sweet.  Old friends take you to big-town grocery stores, where you can find things like this:

What a dear, sweet vegetable (not as dear and sweet as long-lasting friendships, but special nonetheless).  Why in the world has this little green gem gotten such a bad name for decades?  I think it's because of a deep cultural inability to do more than boil it into tasteless mush.  So sad.

I haven't yet told you what it is.  I'm going to hold out a little longer.  It's just so cool-looking and tasty, I don't want to negativize the relationship you're forming with the little guys just yet with any of your preconceived notions.

Here's what Longest-lasting Friend and I did with the grocery store find:

1.  Remove the little sprouts from the stem by snapping them off.  Cut off any tough parts of the stem that stayed on the sprout, and remove any small, yellow leaves.  Wash thoroughly.

2.  Give Little Girl a kitchen cabinet full of tupperware to occupy her, and thank Longest-lasting Friend's Mom for having a child-friendly kitchen.

3.  In a bowl, combine vegetable, 2-3 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter, 1 tsp. coarse kosher salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, and 1/2-3/4 tsp. dried rosemary.  Stir with a rubber spatula until fully coated and delicious looking.  Spread onto a baking sheet or roasting pan.  Have you figured it out yet?

4.  Roast in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until browned on the outside and soft (but not mushy) on the inside, stirring every 10-15 minutes.

5.  Enjoy the New Kind of Roasted Vegetable.  See, Little Girl likes them too.

Are you ready?  Brussels Sprouts.  There, I said it.  But they are delicous!  Give them a chance.