Monday, October 19, 2009

caramelized

While a raw food diet includes many things I love (salad!) it omits many things that are too essential to my happiness. Generally, they can be summarized in one word, the title of this post.

One caramelization, via stovetop:

Astra's tangy stovetop baba ghanoush.

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Oh. Em. Gee.

I slightly adjusted her original recipe with the following alterations to make it for 1 (the general consensus is that when you’re scaling back a recipe, it’s good to scale back strong seasoning flavors since they can be overwhelming on a smaller scale. This combo was SPOT ON!):

- 1 small/medium eggplant instead of 2 large

- 1/2 smallish onion

- 1.5 T olive oil

- 1.5 T honey

- 1.5 T honey

- just shy of 1/2 t. cumin

I also didn’t bother to puree it, since I don’t have a food processor and my blender doesn’t have a place to vent steam (and seriously it was so soft and tender anyway I kind of liked the luscious eggplant lumps!)

This recipe is a KNOCKOUT. Thank you so much for posting it, Astra!

I had half of it for lunch today, with the suggested accompaniment of whole wheat crackers (Akmak represent!). Food porn ahead:

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So luscious! The sweet/tang/smoke balance created from the honey/balsamic/cumin was so deliciously complex. It actually alternately reminded me of Chinese and Indian dishes I’ve had with eggplant. I’m so excited I have leftovers!

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For a well rounded lunch, I had fruit and yogurt. Yum!

More caramelization:

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I have a brussels sprouts TREE! I have been making lots and lots of these bad boys- my general formula is 3 cups sprouts, halved or the huge ones quartered+ 2 t. olive oil+ salt and pepper in a 450* oven for 20 minutes, shaking every 5 minutes. SO GOOD!

I roasted the elements of my dinner earlier in the day, and then nuked ‘em for dinner after my night class. Corn roasted in the cob, chicken breast in a foil packet with lemon, olive oil, s+p and rosemary. Wholesome and tasty!

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I’m telling you, the secret of brussels is to practically burn ‘em!

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8 comments:

Heather S-G said...

I whole-heartedly second that emotion! Caramelization is good. :) Everything looks awesome.

Zach Sonnier said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Astra Libris said...

Oh my, Lele, I am so delighted and flattered that you fixed the eggplant recipe! *blushing* Thank you SO much for the post about the recipe, and for your AWESOME tips about scaling back the recipe! You made my day! :-)

Astra Libris said...

P.S. Huge apologies for the "deleted" comment - I accidentally posted my comment under my fiance's blogger account, which I figured would be rather confusing... Oh dear... My brain, sometimes... *sheepish expression* I just got so flusteredly delighted that you posted about the eggplant! :-)

Erika said...

Totally agree about brussel sprouts, the more well done, the better! The eggplant recipe looks great too!

Unknown said...

oh, love that stove-top baba ganoush!

Anonymous said...

I wish I liked brussel sprouts, I've tried several times, but something about the texture or taste doesn't do it for me.

Yours look delicious though!

Sasha said...

You love your yogurt, don't you : )