Thursday, August 26, 2010

Eggplant Fries

I have way too much time on my hands. Way too much.



I don’t start school for another couple of weeks, so I am left to my own devices during the day. Good for me, bad for my parents. I have been volunteering to make dinner for the past week giving me something to do for the day. Look up recipes, see what we have in the refrigerator, and make something for human consumption. It’s been fun.



But, we are all paying for it. The first night, I made a mean summer veggie pizza with homemade tomato sauce, summer squash, onion, mushrooms, and a ton of cheese. The next night, I steamed an artichoke and made some garlic butter for dipping while Dad barbecued some tri-tip. The night after, I made Eggplant Parmigiana and so on went the week. By the time Sunday came rolling around, Mom was begging for something less rich. I could tell she was right (I was feeling a bit sick myself after all the butter we had eaten…) so I began to comply until got home grown vegetables from a family friend.




Eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash –the standard summer garden. The eggplant was the softest, and needed to be used first. I was all out of eggplant recipes (all I knew how to make was Parmigiana), so thank goodness for the power of Google!




This was the first site that popped up and had the best variety of recipes: http://www.eggplantrecipes.net



And the first thing to catch my eye was the Eggplant French Fries. It makes the softest, most tender eggplant I have ever tried. Stinking good!

Ingredients:
A large eggplant or 2 medium eggplants
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
Flour (gluten free if needed)
Cornmeal (or G-free Breadcrumbs)
Canola oil

Prep:
Cut up eggplant into thin strips and steam for 20-30 minutes.
Mix egg and milk together. Once the eggplant is done dip it in the batter.
Mix the flour, breadcrumbs/cornmeal, salt, and pepper. After the eggplant is dipped, dredge in the flour mixture.
Fry in hot canola oil for three minutes or until golden brown. Eat hot.

Enjoy!!!! It is a tasty treat. 

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Intro the blog

As you may see in the earlier posts, this was a class assignment for AP Literature in my senior year. We were required to blog on ideas, books, and articles brought to us in class. Now that it is no longer required, I feel like continuing writing online for fun.

So here we are. I should tell you, I'm interested in many things so it might end up here eventually, but I'm primarily focusing on my favorites-reading, knitting, and cooking. I started knitting when I was twelve-and-half after my mother bought me a teach-yourself-how kit. Cooking is a recent favorite; I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease (a severe allergy to Gluten), so it was practical to learn how to avoid eating wheat, barley, and rye. It's been pretty fun learning some new tricks in the kitchen. Reading has been a life long hobby--I love love love new books! It's a family obsession...

But that's enough. Hopefully this blog is enjoyable for all and please do comment. :)