I have been craving Italian food lately so the last time I was at the Vegetable Bin we picked up an eggplant. It has been sitting in the fridge now for over a week and since I was off today decided to have a cook-a-thon. Eggplant Parmesan has been on my mind every since the beautiful purple fruit came to our home and I have dreams of the temperature being below 85 so my mind wanders to soups.
First up was a pot of White Bean Soup. Sometimes I use Navy Beans, sometimes White Beans. To tell you the truth I have no idea what the difference is, all I know is that after cooking it for quite a while it turns into this delicious pot of very smooth white soup with some veggies in it and ham hocks floating around.
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| Not my picture since I have not re-charged the batteries yet. Borrowed from Sandhill Farms. |
Next was the eggplant! I absolutely love warm fried eggplant but unfortunately I hear its not so good for us so Michael's cousin Butch had turned me on to baking instead of frying the eggplant and let me tell you, it tastes delicious! You peel the eggplant, slice it (without cutting you fingers) dip it in an egg wash, into some bread crumbs, onto a cookie sheet you coated with cooking spray, into a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or so and Viola almost as good as fried eggplant eggplant! The rest is even easier (this is one of the few times I use jarred sauce ) spread some sauce into a baking dish, a layer of eggplant, some grated mozzarella, some sauce, eggplant, mozzarella (you get the picture). Top with mozzarella and some fresh grated Parmesan, pop in the oven covered with foil for 1/2 an hour, take the cover off, cook for a few more and you are done! So it is Eggplant Parmesan Hero's for dinner tonight, not the healthiest although there is Whole Wheat Hoagie dough in the kitchen waiting to bake.
One last thought. When I went to buy bread crumbs today, simple ordinary bread crumbs, I was comparing the labels between the store brand and the popular well known brand and found that both contain High Fructose Corn Syrup. Bread Crumbs!!!
Well, HFCS is in the bread, too. I think they sell ones without it at earthfare, because they don't carry anything with it.
ReplyDeleteProbably more expensive, though.
Actually I don't buy bread with HFC in it. You should see me at the grocery store with my reading glasses on checking ingredients!
DeleteI probably will just start making my own.
Dang, who would have thunk it?
ReplyDeleteI love eggplant, but have never cooked it. You are inspiring me to try it!
YOU CAN DO IT!!! It was so easy (other than peeling the dern eggplant) and tastes so good!
DeleteLet me know if you decide to do it and how it turns out!
Yum, this sounds great...we never fry anything at home--though I do LOVE me some fried stuff! Eggplant can be a bit tricky, so congrats on finding a great way to prepare it. And yes, HCFS--it's the devil. And it is in the most incongruous stuff...why???
ReplyDeleteBaking bread is easy and fun. I highly recommend it.
We are like you and just don't fry even though we have been known to hop on down to the Piggly Wiggly and get some fried chicken!
DeleteI love baking bread, there are some Kaiser Rolls well on their way in the kitchen as we speak!
HFC in breadcrumbs? Didn't believe you Colleen, so I checked out the ingredient list on my Progresso breadcrumbs. HFC! Last time I purchase those, so thank you Colleen, for opening my eyes.
ReplyDeleteI know! I even grabbed the Progesso to check them before I bought the store brand thinking "they wouldn't have HFC" but to my chagrin there it was!
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