Taking Advantage of The Late Summer Harvest

Summer is almost over.  I love winter and I can’t believe I feel sad, but somehow I do.  I’m trying to take advantage of the summer vegetables for as long as I can.  Tomatoes are finally priced somewhere below astronomical at the farmer’s market, so I decided to make homemade sauce.  The tomatoes are very sweet this time of year and I did a simple sauce with onions, garlic, and some red wine.  I love eggplant.  You have to be careful when you prepare it, however, because eggplant soaks up oil like a sponge.  It is also highly acidic so if you are like me and prone to sensitive stomachs, be judicious in the amount you eat or else be prepared to worship at the porcelain goddess. 

Baked Eggplant Stacks with Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato RaguTo make the stacks, I pan fried the eggplant.  To avoid using a lot of oil, I used an extremely hot pan with hardly any oil in it.  I sprinkled the eggplant with salt and pepper and pan fried them until they were golden brown.  I then layered the eggplant with the homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, and basil from my herb garden, and baked the stacks in the oven for about 15 minutes until the cheese had melted.  I served it over pasta that I tossed in garlic and herb infused olive oil, parmesan cheese, and chopped fresh basic.  It was a delicious and fairly easy meal.

 

The Life of a Carnivore (or what we do for love)

I love meat.  I'm not picky on the type...give me beef, venison, chicken, goat, kudu.  You name it, I'll eat it.  At one point in time we had ten different species of animals in our freezer.  When I was in eighth grade I decided I was going to be a vegetarian.  My parents took bets over how long it would last (a month...they both lost).  My always health conscience husband likes meat, but (why I don't know) doesn't like to eat it every night for dinner.  As a compromise we eat fish at least once a week and I try to cook a vegetarian meal just as often. 

Herb Grilled TroutTonight we had herb grilled trout.  I'm the annoying shopper at the market who insists on smelling the fish.  It's the best way to tell if it is fresh (you should also make sure the eyes are clear and the gills, if they are still attached, are spongy).  Fish should never ever ever be "fishy."  If it is, don't buy it.