Eggplant 2012

Sadly, summer is winding down.  Soon it will be time to get back into the classroom so I had better make good use of the vacation time I have left.

I'm still reading a lot, which makes me happy.  It might be better if I read one thing at a time, but I currently have three things open.  As of today I am reading Foxes of the Desert which is the story of the Afrika Korps battles versus Britain told from the German perspective.  There are worse things to be consumed by but I just love reading Edgar Allan Poe.  Every so often I dig out a collection and read and read and.... I tend to like his mystery/horror stories best.  The third item I have opened is the September issue of Asimov's science fiction magazine.  Anyway that is the reading list, until the next new comic day.

Last week I decided I wanted to make another batch of eggplant.  The process was held up because I wanted to get a larger contained to use for the salting and soaking.  Honestly I am glad I did this.  The container I bought last week has a locking lid (so hopefully no spills when moving it around) and it has a grate.  The grate, a piece of plastic, was the best thing ever.  Putting this in the container while the eggplant was in the water/vinegar mixture with a small bowl on top kept everything submerged. The whole time!  Success!!

I packed up three jars this time.  Next weekend I will sample and see how it is.  After salting the eggplant over night I baked some of the slices (picture above) and marinated them with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and some herbs.  This made a pretty tasty sandwich filling.

Not wanting the weekend to be dominated by the eggplant festival I made these scones but substituting chocolate chips for the dried fruit and because I had leftover heavy cream I made this stew. Good stuff.