A Samhain Supper

I pulled out my Wicca Cookbook for Halloween (or Samhain - pronounced SOW-en - as the pagans call the holiday that takes place from the evening of October 31 through November 1). I found two recipes that I was able to make with ingredients I already had: Chicken-Barley Stew with Herbs; and Eclectic Eggplant, and I managed to time them so that they were both done at the same time!

Using my indispensable cast-iron pot, I sauteed 3 garlic cloves and some chopped scallions in 2 T. of butter, then added cut pieces of boneless, skinless chicken thighs and cooked until brown on all sides. Next I added 3 3/4 c. of water, 3 T. of red wine vinegar, 3/4 c. of barley, and two crushed bay leaves. This was left to simmer for about an hour. I started the preparation of the eggplant about halfway through the cooking of the soup. The eggplant was cut into slices, coated with flour, and then dipped into a mixture of egg, olive oil, garlic salt, and pepper, then coated with bread crumbs. They were placed in a greased baking pan and baked (covered in aluminum foil) at 375 for 15 minutes; then removed from the oven, and topped with tomato slices and shredded mozzarella cheese, then, back to the oven (uncovered) for another 10 minutes. Just before ladling the soup I added some minced fresh sage to it. Everything was served at once and looked gorgeous on our fall-themed table, presented along side some of our homemade mead.

Our first trick-or-treaters arrived just as we were sitting down to enjoy the meal, but it was still plenty warm when we got back from dispensing the candy.  James deemed the soup one of his top five favorites. The red wine vinegar gave it a good tangy taste. This turned out to be a good way for the us to prepare eggplant, too, as we are not big lovers of the purple plant, but occasionally get some in our CSA farm box. All the other flavors worked together to camouflage the taste of the eggplant and next time I would even cook it longer, as we prefer our eggplant really mushy.

A hearty warm meal for the start of the Pagan New Year.

Romantic Farm Box Fare

With the parental visit over, and our daughter away on a sleepover it seemed the time was ripe to for a "nueva receta" from Intercourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook. I had spotted the recipe for basil-eggplant soup when browsing the cookbook earlier this year and marked it with a plan to make it whenever we got some eggplant in our farm box. As it turned out this week's pick-up included just about all the ingredients we needed to make this delicious soup. I started by boiling and peeling some of the fresh tomatoes, and then peeling, dicing and boiling the eggplant. While the eggplant was cooking I sauteed some onions and garlic (also from the farm) in olive oil. I then added the tomatoes and eggplant to the pot with the onions and garlic, and then added 1 3/4 c. chicken stock, a bit of cayenne and some pepper. This was simmered for about half an hour. While the soup cooked I made the basil paste with 2 T. olive oil, 1 c. fresh basil (from the farm) and some feta cheese. These were put in the blender until a well mixed. The soup was then ladled into bowls with a dollop of the basil paste. Paired with some of our own IPA homebrew, and served some bread on the side it was a filling meal. It was a beautiful evening so we ate al fresco.

Eggplant, again?

Yes, like beets, James and I have discovered a special fondness for what we previously considered to be the Rodney Dangerfield of our farm box. From James' exceptional Ratatatatouille, to our tasty eggplant/squash/tomato stifado from the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home, and our son's delight at Eggplant Paremesan we now look forward to getting this funny purple vegetable in our weekly haul. Our latest  recipe discovery comes once again from Deborah Madison: Eggplant with Feta Cheese and Tomato. The name says it all. There aren't many more ingredients than what we find in the title of the recipe. The eggplant was sliced in half lengthwise, scored and fried in olive oil, cut-side down, in our indispensable cast-iron skillet until a nice golden color, then flipped over for frying for a few minutes on the other side. Removed from the pan and placed in a small casserole dish they were sprinkled with the garlic salt provided in the season's first farm box delivery (this was not called for in the recipe, but when you cook a lot, you just know what will be good!) and topped with feta. Finally, I skinned, peeled, and cooked down two large tomatoes into a chunky sauce, which was spooned on top of the feta.The eggplant was then cooked for about 40 minutes at 350 in the convection oven. These turned out to be a delightful, crispy, flavorful, and satisfying meal.