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We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.
Anais Nin
We, probably like most of you, gentle readers, did a lot of eating over the holidays, A LOT. Mostly sweets. I think I am sugared out. Gosh, I hope I am sugared out. I really would like to have less of it in my life, after all. My goal this year is to eat one sweet treat a week, no more. Please do a little dance, say a prayer, whatever you can, to send the support I need to get-r-done. I’d appreciate it. So, in keeping with this desire, my first recipe of the year will not be a sweet one, though the next three or four are likely to be. Baby steps!
So eggplant puffs, it is. Are you an eggplant eater? Me, not so much. I normally find the texture and flavor icky, slimy and just plain weird, save in baba ganouj. That is definitely do-able. So why this recipe appealed to me in the first place, I have no idea. A willingness to branch out, perhaps. Thankfully, it worked! The hubster and I found these so very satisfying that we’ve got another eggplant on the ready. Now that is saying something. Try them for yourself – you might be surprised, too.
adapted from Party Food for Vegetarians by Celia Brooks Brown
1 large eggplant, about 1 pound
olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts
20 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
4 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
6 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, peeled and diced fine
1 egg, beaten
Preheat the oven to 450. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and brush with olive oil. Roast for about 30 minutes, until lightly browned and very soft. Let cool, peel off the skin and discard (better yet, compost!). Chop the flesh finely. Reduce the temperature to 400.
Mix the eggplant, pine nuts, olives, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic, and egg together in a bowl. Let rest for 10-15 minutes.
Liberally oil a large cookie sheet. Form the mixture into bite size balls and place on sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden and puffy. Serve hot.
Variation – I think these would also make a fine burger-type sandwich filling. Form into patties and bake until browned.
**I tried the patties, and they were great (on a bun with mayo, grainy mustard, Laughing Cow cheese, and spinach)! Be sure to grease the pan REALLY well – they’re a bit more sticky when in patty form.
Enjoy!
Tags: Cooking and Baking, Recipes
Hello everyone! I hope 2010 is off to a marvelous start in your neck of the woods. We’ve enjoyed a delightful combination of activity, amusement, introspection, and joy. So much so, that I don’t quite know where to begin. Some photos, perhaps then, of our red roof house under a blanket of snow.
We were surprised by it, for there was only rain in the forecast. Sitting in the living room at Bridget’s, it came on rather delicately, a few giant flakes until there were piles of them, and so much laughter and giddiness (Snowsuits! Boots! Hats! Mittens!) on the part of children and adults that my heart filled with joy at their excitement. Snow in the Pacific Northwest is quite different than anywhere I’ve experienced it. The tiniest bit inspires paroxysms of glee!
Back at our house, it was peaceful, of the variety that only a blanket of snow can bring, and the light of evening, exquisite in its beauty.
The more I wonder…the more I love.
Alice Walker
***
May your holidays be filled with much wonder and love, my sweet blog friends. I’ll see you back here in the New Year.
Big Hug,
Colleen
Tags: Quoting
For a long stretch of time last year, I wanted to move to the country. I thought it would be nice to have quiet, to see the stars shine, and a bit more space between me and some of my neighbors, without a view of their varying, ahem, decorating styles (snob). I also thought raising my own livestock, like chickens and a pig, would be fulfilling. I’d know where everything came from, what it was fed, and that it had a good life. I have since changed my mind – loving the easy walk to Hawthorne, Woodstock, and downtown, the lure of the Academy Theater, and best of all, my dear friends who live nearby.
This, however, does not mean that I don’t like to occasionally wax poetic on the virtues of a hobby farm, and so I read about them in wonderful blogs and books like today’s. In Made from Scratch, Jenna Woginrich writes in simple, yet beautiful prose about her life as a homesteader: baking, raising animals, growing vegetables, keeping bees, even making music on a fiddle.
What I liked best about the book is her honesty. She’s never done any of this before, but is willing to “Research, Son” and ask questions (and for help) like nobody’s business. As she writes about her experiences, we learn that, while there are many, many joys to a more earth driven and sustainable life, homesteading isn’t always easy, poetic, or romantic. There are many hurdles and much to learn, like how to plant a sensible garden, keep bears from a bee hive, or to put down an animal in dire pain (the hardest part of all, I think).
It is a wonderfully rewarding journey, even if it was only vicarious. She’s also got a blog if you’d like to see what she’s up to at the moment. It’s pretty interesting: Cold Antler Farm.
