Eggplant Eggstravaganza

I belong to an organic food buying co-op. Every Tuesday the kids and I go to the Health Food Store and pick up a big box of farm fresh goodies. I usually pick up towards closing time, when the give away box is pretty full. The give-away box is where people put stuff they don't want or can't use. For weeks there we got an extra head or two of collard green. Who gives away collards? People who don't know to cook them with bacon fat apparently. Anyhow, this week I scored some extra red peppers and Ellen told me if I came back tomorrow I could have an extra eggplant.

The next morning I stopped by on my way to story time at the library with the kids. She gave me 4 eggplants! I already had a HUGE eggplant at home. I managed to give away 2 eggplants to some friends at the library. I made a terrific batch of eggplant parmigiana, but now I still have 3 eggplants at home? What do I make now? I'd love to make some hummus and some baba ganoush, but finding tahini in our town is kind of like finding real breasts in Los Angeles.

I wish I knew some good eggplant side dishes, as Lee caught 4 lobster yesterday and we have some lovely grouper that will be our entree tonight. Today I research, but if anybody out there has any good ideas I'd certainly love to hear about them!

Brandy sent me a good Eggplant Parmigiana recipe, so without further ado...

Eggplant ala Brandy

Cut eggplant into rounds. Dip each round in a dish with beaten eggs, then roll each round in a pie pan with seasoned bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese. Put eggplant pieces on a cookie sheet, bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Make your usual sauce, and boil pasta while they bake. Serve with a salad and dinner can be done in 20 minutes! I love that this parmigiana isn't fried! I felt like you could really taste the eggplant flavor. Each round was served on pasta, topped with a bit of sauce and a sprinkle of mozzarella.