Archives
I love eggplant, but most of the year I can’t have it for various reasons (too expensive, too out-of-season/icky-looking). It’s been in season for a little while, finally showing up at my local farmer’s market where I scored a lovely, large specimen for less than a dollar.
After looking around, I decided on a recipe called “Middle Eastern Eggplant Spread” that sounded interesting. It’s from a book I checked out a little while ago from the library called The Roasted Vegetable by Andrea Chesman.
Fall is finally here. Pumpkins and other gourds are showing up at the markets and groceries, ripe corn tempts me from a neighbor’s field.
We eat a lot of acorn squash during the fall and winter. It’s an easy, cheap squash with great flavor. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with other squashes while we wait for acorns to come back in season and came across a nifty recipe for butternut squash.
The problem, she explained in her smooth, melodious voice, is that lentils, like boiling potatoes, can take a lot more salt and water than you might expect. The other problem is that when you’re used to foods with a lot of spices, a dish without any spices can be very bland by comparison.
The answers were as follows: Use more salt. Add cumin, maybe some other spices you like. And check the water level to make sure there’s enough liquid.
I couldn’t wait to go home and try this recipe out. I made some changes and it came out beautifully.
Boiled and fried potatoes is a pretty popular way to eat potatoes. My dad, for instance, grew up eating these in the South when he was a kid. My husband also grew up eating them in Latvia and I had them several times there. It’s one of those easy things to do with potatoes that guarantees fully cooked, fluffy potatoes with lots of yummy edges.
I may have just found my new favorite way for making boiled-and-fried potatoes! The rosemary infused into the potatoes, making every bit of potato absolutely fragrant and wonderful. I only wish I’d added garlic, but alas, I forgot. I’ve corrected this oversight in my adaptation below.
This dip is spicy, sweet and tart. It’s easy to make and satisfying. I don’t make it often because I’m liable to take my bowl of dip, a bunch of chopped up pita triangles and eat the entire bowl all by myself. (Although, considering one eggplant is little more than 100 calories, the dip is not so much the problem as the pita!) It is best the next day at room temperature, once the flavors have a chance to blend.
