More Eggplants. Hoorah!

Judi picked vegetables for me today. We got another gallon of chili peppers and two big eggplants. Here's an Indian dish I'll make sometime this week. This is recipe that calls for popping spice seeds in hot oil. It gives them a unique taste, and it's fun to do.

Mashed Eggplant With Peanuts And Spices

Eggplant Mixture
1 medium unpeeled eggplant, chopped in large chunks (about 5 cups)Simmer in water about 8 minutes, until very soft, drained and mashed.
2 Tablespoons crushed roasted peanuts
2 Tablespoons fresh coriander leaves (cilantro), chopped

Sauce
In a saucepan, heat:
1 1/2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (you really should use ghee, but it's hard to find around here)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon sesame seed
When the seeds pop, add to the saucepan:
3 Tablespoons onion, chopped
1/4 jalapeño pepper, ground
1/2 small clove garlic, ground
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or chili powder
1/8 teaspoon turmeric

Sauté until the onions are lightly browned.
Add the eggplant mixture to the saucepan; combine, remove from the heat, and serve with basmati rice.

You can make your own ghee if you want to. It takes a bit of time. Indian friends swear that ghee is a healthy fat to use. I wouldn't bet on it, but it's tasty to use once in awhile. The rest of the time I just use olive oil.

Ghee
Ghee is basically butter that has the milk solids and water removed.

1. Melt one pound of unsalted butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat.

2. Once melted, increase the heat and bring to the boil. Once the surface is completely covered with foam, stir gently and reduce the heat to very low.

3. Simmer, uncovered and undisturbed for 45 minutes, or until the milk solids in the bottom of the pan have turned golden brown and the liquid on top is transparent.

4. Remove from the heat and strain the butter through a metal sieve lined with four layers of cheesecloth. You may have to do this several times until it is perfectly clear. Even the smallest of solids left in the ghee will reduce it's cooking properties.

5. Pour the ghee into a glass jar and seal tightly. This can be kept at room temperature for several months, provided no moisture is allowed to enter the ghee (e.g. dipping a wet spoon into it) or for longer if refrigerated. It can also be frozen for up to 1 year.


Now I'm beginning to wonder how many eggplants I'll have this year. I've never had this many good eggplants in my house at once. It's hard to find really good ones in the grocery store, and my garden has never produced many eggplants until this year. I feel absolutely wealthy.

Garam Masala ( sometimes spelled garam marsala)
I buy this by the pound from San Francisco Herb Company. If you can't find it in your supermarket you can make your own blend. Here's a recipe. Coffee grinders do make good spice grinders, but once you've ground spices in it your coffee will be spicy. I have two- one for my husband's coffee and one for spices. My husband doesn't like spicy coffee. Some people do.

1 tbs cardamom seeds
2" stick cinnamon
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

Heat the spices stirring gently in a dry skillet until they begin to smell warm and spicy. Don't burn them. Place all ingredients in a clean coffee grinder. Grind to a fine powder-about 45 seconds. This makes 3 tablespoons

Beautiful Eggplants

This was supposed to be my year of squash, but the squash bugs curtailed what had started out to be a fabulous crop. What I didn't expect was a bountiful harvest of eggplants. I've never had much luck with eggplant. The Japanese beetles seem to come from miles away to eat my eggplants. But this year the bugs have left them alone, and they are producing big beautiful shiny purple fruit. We've had eight already from my four plants and many more are almost ready to pick. Yesterday after work I picked a gallon of okra, a gallon of chili peppers, three big eggplants and a dozen ripe tomatoes. The garden is really rewarding me for my work this year.

Here's a sandwich recipe I adapted from the Food Network.

Eggplant Sandwich with Black Olive Pesto

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium Italian eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
1 cup olive oil
1 loaf focaccia (I love the basil pesto focaccia from Panera Bread)
1 cup Black Olive Pesto (recipe follows)
4 tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 roasted red peppers, peeled and seeded
1 1/2 cups grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Coat each eggplant slice with the seasoned flour.
In a large skillet heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil over medium-high heat and fry the eggplant slices until golden brown on both sides, adding more oil as needed. Remove the eggplant from the skillet and blot lightly on paper towels.

Cut the focaccia in 1/2 horizontally and spread the Black Olive Pesto on the inside of both halves. Arrange the eggplant slices on 1 half of the focaccia. Layer the tomatoes and roasted peppers on top and sprinkle with cheese. Cover with the other half of the focaccia, pressing firmly to join.

Cut the sandwich in 2 pieces. Brush each side of the focaccia with olive oil. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and grill both sides until golden and crispy. Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and gooey.

Black Olive Pesto:
1 cup black olives, pitted ( I like oil cured Italian or Tunisian olives for this. Kalamata will do)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic

In a food processor puree the olives, Parmesan, olive oil, and garlic until smooth.
Can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks in an air tight container.

Some Party Food

Yesterday we had our annual staff party at my house. Although there are over sixty people on staff, we only had about 38 people attend. We usually have blue crab for everyone, but this year the crabs are scarce and expensive. So, we had steamed shrimp, bratwurst and chicken. If you eat meat you might like the way my husband cooks brats. He chops up onions and garlic in a stock pot, adds four or five bottles of stout, two or three dozen brats and enough water to cover. He simmers the sausages about twenty minutes. Take them out and grill them until nicely browned. They must be very good, because those who eat meat talk about how great they are for months after the party each year.

For those of us who don't eat meat I made a great rice, roasted corn and black bean salad, a recipe that I posted back on May 30. The guests brought other salads and desserts. I made this salsa to go with tortilla chips. I have so very many chili peppers right now, I'm making salsa every day.

Mango-Papaya-Pineapple Salsa

1 cup ripe papaya, diced
1 cup diced fresh pineapple
1 cup diced ripe mango
1/2 cup chopped red onion
3 finely chopped chili peppers - I used 1 jalapeno, 1 poblano and 1 red thai pepper
2 tablespoons lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons finely minced cilantro
1 teaspoon sea salt
Combine papaya, pineapple, mango, red onion, chili pepper, lime zest, lime juice and cilantro. cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. For best flavor and texture, do not make more than 2 hours before serving.

Here's a simple spread that I made with two of the beautiful eggplants from the garden. I've never had so many wonderful eggplants.

Eggplant Salad
2 medium eggplants, roasted in the oven until soft (Prick with fork and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes)
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic finely minced
teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup finely minced roasted sweet red pepper (also from my garden)
3 tablespoons minced parsley
tablespoon fresh lemon juice
freshly ground pepper to taste

Peel eggplant, remove any big bunches of seeds and mash the pulp with a fork. Add other ingredients. Refrigerate for a few hours to blend flavors. Let it come to room temperature before serving. Serve with pita chips or thin slices of toasted French bread.

Here's the white wine Sangria I served.

Peach Sangria

2 bottles white wine - Spanish is traditional, but we used Australian
1 can Bacaradi Frozen Fuzzy Navel Mix
1 cup peach schnapps or apricot brandy
small bag frozen peach slices
2 litre bottle seltzer
Mix the Bacardi mixer, wine, schnapps and frozen fruit. Refrigerate for about 6 hours to blend flavors. Add cold seltzer just before serving. The frozen fruit should keep it cold enough that you don't need to add ice.

This is the cake my daughter Judi made. It's a favorite with everyone around here. It slices nicely and travels to picnics well.

Kahlua Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix
1/2 c. vegetable oil
6 oz. pkg. chocolate instant pudding
4 eggs
3/4 c. Kahlua liqueur
1/2 c. water

Glaze
6 tbsp. Kahlua liqueur
1 c. confectioners sugar, sifted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 6 ingredients and blend. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Combine 6 tablespoons Kahlua and confectioners sugar. While cake is warm in pan drizzle glaze over the top. Allow cake to cool at least 2 hours before serving.
Yum, yum, yum.