Tag Archives: eggplant

For the love all things grilled and good for you: My Grandmother’s Aubergine

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In the late 1960′s, counter-top microwave ovens began to appear in the kitchens of trendy, modern families. They became the new, revolutionary and very fashionable cooking appliance. Cookbooks published at the time will tell you how to cook a ‘roast’ dinner in the microwave, a souffle, and even ice-cream! Don’t believe me? Check it out. My mum’s microwave cookbook would have you believe that anything can be made in one (it also fails to mention the high risk of lumpy custards and gravies, and porridge volcanos). Basically, the world went a little batty over the invention of the microwave oven.

The sandwich press is my microwave oven. Continue reading →

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Escaping to the Blue Mountains: two soups and a spicy curry

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For the past few days we have been staying in an adorable cottage in the Blue Mountains. We’ll staying the entire week.

Reading a lot, writing a lot. And taking photos.

Today it’s about zero degrees (or so it feels to us, softies that we are), and drizzling rain.

We’ve been pottering around the house in flannelette shirts, red wine in hand, nibbling rum’n’raisin chocolate and playing rummy in front of the fireplace.

While confined to the house, I’ve had the luxury of simmering soup for hours, slow-cooking a curry, and generally appreciating all that is warm and comforting.

Today I’ll share with you the hot and sour soup I whipped up yesterday, a more traditional vegetable and bean soup that sat on the stove for a good two hours before making it’s way into our tummies at lunchtime, and a spicy, creamy, slow-cooked mushroom and eggplant vindaloo. Continue reading →

Ash’s smokey chunky tomato sauce. On an eggplant base with grilled asparagus and a simple salad.

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At work last week I got an email from Ash, saying that he wanted to cook dinner one night and that he had an amazing recipe idea. And it was amazing. I actually stopped, a number of times, during dinner, to say ‘wow, this sauce, just wow’. It was that good. Continue reading →

Fresh and flavoursome ratatouille

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There are very few things that Ash and I disagree on (nawww), but ratatouille is one of them.

I love eggplant, zucchini and olives. Ash is only very slowly being convinced that any of those three vegetables are edible at all. So ratatouille, that features all three, is a bit adventurous for him as yet. Continue reading →

Charred broccoli with white bean mash and grilled vegetable skewers

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This looks so fancy but it is oh, SO, simple. I’ll let you in on a sercret – searing lemon halves is an easy trick to make any plate look gourmet. Do it.

One of our favourite dinners used to be from the Stonesoup – tuna, broccoli and white bean mash. Fast, delicious, healthy and cheap. This is an adaption that subtracts the tuna and adds some grilled vegetable skewers. Call me biased, but I think it’s even better. If you’d like to try the tuna variation, you can find it here. Continue reading →

Roast eggplant with za’atar sauce, and the granola draw!

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Brace yourself for a long post.

First order of the evening, the granola giveaway draw!

The winners are as follows:

  1. Patrice Lowrie
  2. James Allen
  3. Jordan Dunne

I’ll contact each of you to grab your address and get posting those jars!

Second order of the evening, this dish. I splurged on some Maldon sea-salt flakes this weekend, $8 for a box – my lord. So I had to make something fancy for at least one meal this week. Enter this dinner. Continue reading →

Roasted eggplant soup

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(wrinkly, like an old lady's bottom)

I think eggplant is amazing. Just saying.

I find people either love it or hate it, and I think those that hate it simply haven’t had it prepared properly. Mediterranean cuisine includes some of the best eggplant dishes, (baba ghanoush anyone?). In fact, even if you just roast an eggplant (halved, face down on an oven tray until the skin is really wrinkly), scrape out the flesh and smash with plenty of salt and pepper, it’s amazing as a dip. If you wrap a head of garlic in foil, roast it as well for at least 1/2 hour, pop out the cloves and smash with the eggplant, adding a dash of good quality olive oil, even better. Continue reading →

Eggplant rollatini with kickass tomato sauce

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I cooked this meal a while ago for Ash’s mum. I started out to make these eggplant ‘rollatini’s but personally I prefer a tomato sauce with more kick(ass), so the recipe I actually write up here is what I plan on doing next time. And I doubled the spinach (from memory). Continue reading →

Breakfasts of champions – B.L.A.T. and Woozy watermelon slushies

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I call this breakfast a B.L.A.T., but for all I know that could be completely misleading. I’ve never had a B.L.A.T.. And I doubt I ever will. But it tasted good and that’s what counts! I’ve used ‘eggplant bacon’, and that seems like a good enough excuse to label it a B.L.A.T.. You B.L.A.T. eaters out there can tell me how it compares! Continue reading →