Man, it is busy around here. Typing and family-tour-guiding kind of busy instead of sewing kind of busy, so no new crafty stuff. But I still have to eat! And I’ve been trying new recipes that for the most part have worked beautifully, which always makes me want to share. So, real quick:
*Eating at the awesome Persian restaurant in LA inspired me to find a recipe for the yummy cucumber yogurt dip I tried there. And, voila, thanks to all recipes, Maast-o Khiar . There are several different takes on it over there, but that link is closest to what I did, though I only used one clove of garlic, and added a bit of shallot. I thought it might need some lemon juice, but once it sat in the fridge for awhile it was just perfect without any additions. Toast up some whole wheat pita pieces and you’ve got a totally delicious summery snack.
*A lovely friend of mine recently took me to The Berkeley Bowl, where I’d never been before. If you live around here and love food and haven’t been, definitely make the trip! We got some Japanese eggplant and I went on and on about how I love the eggplant at the sushi restaurant down the street but have only ever made nasty eggplant and so have given up on the vegetable all together. Well! She found a delicious recipe that makes the eggplant taste EXACTLY like the kind at the restaurant. I tried
it myself this past weekend and it was the first eggplant ever to turn out yum coming out of my kitchen. I am not sure where she found it (she wrote it down for me), so I can’t give credit, but here it is:
Cheryl’s Yummo Eggplant
A few Japanese (or Asian, or Chinese, different stores call them different things, but they are long, thin eggplant which taste sweeter than globe eggplant) eggplant- maybe 4-6 depending on how many people you are feeding
1 T brown sugar
1 T minced ginger
3 T soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar
1/2 t Asian sesame oil
1/4 tsp cornstarch
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 t vegetable oil
Pre-heat oven to 350. Cut eggplant lengthwise and score. Brush with 4 t vegetable oil and grill 5 minutes until lightly browned (I do not have a grill– I have an amazing contraption called “The Griddler” which is a fancy Cuisinart version of a George Foreman grill type thing. So, use one of those, or a grill pan, or just saute it cut side down in a regular pan until it turns golden). Meanwhile, mix together all other ingredients in a little bowl. Place eggplant on foil cut side up, pour the sauce you made over it, wrap it all up in a little foil packet and place in the oven for 10 minutes. You can serve it as-is, or cut it into little yummy cubes. I served it with a Vietnamese chicken dish from this book, and it was the perfect accompaniment.
I have crafty things brewing in my brain which hopefully will take tangible shape when things calm down a bit around here. Hope you are all enjoying lovely summer weather and happy eating too!