Yum... Yum... YUM!!!

I never thought I would put these two things together... Yum and Eggplant. Really. I didn't think it was possible and especially not in my kitchen. But this week, it happened and I have an empty 9x13 to prove it. Yes, we had a little help from 2 friends, but I did write 9 X 13, do you know how much eggplant that is?

Anyway, my story begins here.

Spring 2012 ~ Garden

No, there are not any eggplants planted in these raised beds, because this Olson didn't think that would be a good choice for our family. The eggplants come later.

Those little raised beds became this...

Kale plants are towering over my "cheesy" girls.

That would be brussel sprouts among which Gracie could easily hide.

Beyond the Kale... tomato plants and the next part of my story.

I've wanted to make my own tomato sauce (canning is something I think I want to tackle someday... just not this day), but so far this season haven't had enough tomatoes to do that. Not so this week...

These tomatoes and peppers became this...

Can you smell it?

The recipe I used for my sauce was from cooks.com... Fresh Tomato Spaghetti Sauce. The recipe called for 3 Tbsp of sugar, but my fresh garden tomatoes were SO SWEET, the sauce didn't need it.

Now comes the eggplant... sorry no pictures. Daryl's boss gets veggies from a local farm and she had some extra eggplant. Last week Daryl grilled it and we all enjoyed it (did I just say that?), especially Elizabeth. So when Amy asked if I wanted some more, I decided to try eggplant parmesan. I invited our lovely friends and neighbors, Andrew and Becky (way more adventuresome vegetable eaters than us) to join us for supper. (We love our friends... but deep down I was really afraid of too many leftovers:-). )

The recipe I used was from allrecipes.com... Eggplant Parmesan II. This recipe calls for baking the breaded eggplant rather than frying it. I took the advice of several reviewers and salted the peeled and sliced eggplant first for 30 minutes. After rising and patting it dry, I breaded it and baked it for 20+ minutes (rather than 5 on each side). The girls ate some of the eggplant as chips after it was baked. That was a good sign.

I assembled the eggplant parm as the recipe called for using my homemade sauce rather than store bought.

Oh.My.Word. My husband ate seconds and maybe thirds. Hannah ate everything on her plate and devoured the "leftover" eggplant "chips". (the other two have been on a bit of an eating strike... even with their "favorite foods) Our friends and I also had several helpings. The dish was empty at the end of the meal.

I would definitely make this meal again. Did I just say that about... EGGPLANT? Come to think of it, it is a rather pretty vegetable.

Image from http://www.wrensoft.com/zoom/demos/fruitshop/index.html