Eggplant Caviar

My mom got this recipe from a food blog she loves called Alexandra's Kitchen.  It is for Eggplant caviar

1 large globe eggplant (I used about 1.5 (half of one was no bueno))

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

olive oil

2 shallots

balsamic or red wine vinegar (I used white balsamic)

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley or cilantro*

*I went with parsley, but I over did it a little, an effort, I believe, to brighten up the spread, which truth be told doesn’t look so appetizing without the fresh herbs. The spread tastes incredibly delicious without any herbs, so just be sure to finely chop the herbs, and use as much or as little as you like.

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

2. Peel the eggplant and cut into 1-inch cubes. Place the eggplant in a baking dish, season liberally with salt and pepper, and toss with a generous drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons water, cover tightly with foil, and bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until very soft.

3. While the eggplant is baking, peel and dice the shallots very fine. Let them macerate for at least 10 minutes in about 2 tablespoons of the vinegar. (I let them macerate the whole time the eggplant was roasting.) Peel and mince the garlic and add it to the shallots and garlic. When the eggplant is done, remove the foil, add the shallot and garlic mixture to the pan (or transfer it all to a separate bowl) and mash it all together with a fork. Let it cool to room temperature.

4. Stir in the chopped parsley or cilantro (or a combination of both) and adjust seasoning. Add additional olive oil and vinegar to taste (I didn’t have to add either). Serve on grilled bread.

Korean BBQ Ribs

Take three pounds of boneless short ribs and put in a bag with the following: 3/4 cups soy sauce, 3/4 cup water, 3 tablespoons white vinegar, 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 1 tablespoon black pepper, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 1/4 cup minced garlic, 1/2 an onion, minced. Mix all of the ingredients into a bag, and make sure the sugar dissolves, then put in fridge overnight. The next say, broil the ribs in the oven 5-7 minutes per side.

Frittata

My mom makes frittata regularly. She takes four eggs, some frozen spinach, parmesan and romano cheese, fetta and cottage cheese. This is how the finished product looks like this:

Lasagna

The other day my mom made lasagna. While the noodles were boiling, she cooked up some ground turkey breast and mixed in ricotta cheese and a little bit of parmesan. Then she took the mixture and combined it with spaghetti sauce. Once the noodles were done, she laid them out and put the turkey mixture on them. FInally, she rolled up each noodle like a jelly roll. After lining them up in a glass baking dish, she poured the leftover spaghetti sauce and cream of tomato soup over the rolls and put them in the oven for an hour.

Minestrone Soup

A couple of days ago my mom made minestrone soup. She combined ground beef, spinach, a can of cannelloni beans, a can of diced tomatoes, chicken broth, green beans, noodles and finally, parmesan cheese.

Stir Fry

Tonight my mom made stir fry. First, she cooked the chicken in a pan on the stovetop, and then she mixed it in with an assortment of vegetables consisting of bell peppers, cabbage, broccoli, black beans, and green beans.

Shabbaton Dinner

I spent this weekend in Seattle with some Jewish friends. Since it was an Orthodox event, we ate kosher food. Friday night we ate sweet and sour chicken with fried rice and chow mein. Since Saturday was Shabbat, we had an assortment of cold cuts and bread. Sunday morning was different though. Every year, the Seattle head of NCSY goes all out on Sunday breakfast. There were eggs, waffles, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, smoothies, donuts, potatoes and a chocolate fountain. All of the food was very good.

India Dinner Prep

For the India dinner, my sister and I had to make a lot of lentils. First we took 25 cups of lentils for Dal and put them into 5 different stockpots on the stove to boil. Then, we multiplied all the measurements to come up with a 25 cup serving size. Next, we mixed in all the ingredients. Things like a ton of ginger, onions, ans cumin seeds. The final product was, to quote my sister, "Soupy and delicious."

Pasta Day Three

Today I had Spaghetti Carbonara made by Isabel Gilges. Carbonara is one of my favorite foods, so I enjoyed it very much.

Salad Day Two

Today, in lieu of a salad, I enjoyed a five-month old bunny cookie from Easter. Surprisingly, the cookie was hardly stale and had retained quite a bit of its flavor.

An example of my amazing lack of foresight

The sugar cookie was garnished with yellow sprinkles and the occasional pink sprinkle from another cookie in the same box.