3.03.2010

Share your eggplant recipe & organization strategy

A quick post for the afternoon:

The last few times I have purchased eggplant it has become soft and brown. Last time I used it and it tasted fine but it looked pretty nasty. I have one now - and I keep making eggplant bake, but I need something new. What do you do with eggplant?

This is my beans/baking supplies shelf. I'm a neat freak though you would have no idea from looking at this ****! What tips do you have for loose dried beans, chocolate chips, nuts - all in bags? Do you use plastic containers?

15 comments:

  1. I would use plastic containers because we have a lot of mice in our neighborhood. We found that out the hard way!!!

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  2. Oh we love eggplant. And so does Moana!! I just slice it into coins, brush olive oil on each side, then broil for 8-10 minutes (each side) on high. YUM YUM.

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  3. Oh, and all my bags of grains and beans and all that looks exactly like that. I have not found a solution. :(

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  4. I made eggplant parm for the 1st time a couple weeks ago, and I LOVED it. http://sideofsneakers.com/2010/02/19/parm-two-ways/ Taking the extra time to prep the eggplant was completely worth it too!!

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  5. yes plastic containers or tupperware...your life will be much better

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  6. Ha, that looks like my pantry :-). Except I store my tahini in the fridge so that it doesn't separate as much. It's funny because I wanted to post something about organizing the pantry a couple days ago, too. I have a plan to buy lots of storage stuff from Ikea and totally organize the heck out of it.

    On the eggplant...I made some yummy homemade baba ghannouj yesterday. YUMMY!!! It wasn't hard either, just took a while. Here's the link: http://catesworldkitchen.com/2010/02/baba-ghannouj/

    Beware....the same author makes some mad cupcakes!

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  7. I would use plastic containers because they are easy to stack and you you label them as well!

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  8. I'm no eggplant fan but I would use plastic containers too! teacherwoman is right!

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  9. That looks like my pantry! :/ I'm thinking containers might be the only way to make it neat.

    How about eggplant parmesan? Dredge eggplant slices in egg white and parmesan/breadcrumb mix, then brown in a skillet of HOT olive oil. Serve with pasta and tomato sauce.

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  10. Plastic container all the way. We are such freaks for TJ's hummus that we have a ton of them that I put everything in.

    Eggplant - One word: Ratatouille. Here is my stand by recipe, but I usually add way more eggplant and then just whatever else I have in the house. YUMMY - with some fresh bread!

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  11. Opps, I forgot trhe link, here you go... http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_ratatouille.htm

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  12. Moussaka - this recipe looks pretty good:
    http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/moussaka-recipe/index.html
    except I use ground chicken instead of beef - I'm sure you could use ground tofu, if you wanted. For the creamy sauce I use cottage cheese in place of the whole milk/flour/butter step. I would just mix the cottage cheese, maybe add a tablespoon or two of flour, all the spices and eggs, etc. in a bowl and skip the whole heating step (which is to thicken the butter, flour, milk sauce that you've substituted with cottage cheese anyway).

    As for organization, I must have every lined up and looking perfect in our house or I'll melt-down. We have OXO pop-up top plastic containers, but cheap gladware containers would do the trick. In my mind the key is to make sure whatever container you use, use it for everything.I find that deciding what to make for dinner is much more enjoyable when stuff is stacked neatly in uniform containers.

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  13. I heart eggplant!
    Chop it up into one inch cubes, drizzle with olive oil and S&P along with some cherry tomatoes and roast at 400 degrees for about 35 mins or until the tomatoes pop! Then, put the mix into the food processor and puree to your desired thickness.
    At the same time boil some pasta, I like whole wheat. When the pasta is done, pour the eggplant mix over the pasta. If you need to, you can add a little pasta water to thin it out. I also like to add red pepper flakes and parm cheese, yummy!
    And baba ganoosh (sp) is wicked easy - cooking light has some great receipes for that!

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  14. I love eggplant! Here is my favorite recipe: http://thehappyrunner.blogspot.com/2008/10/friday-yummies-lets-give-it-up-for.html

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  15. i love organizing w/ tupperware. being able to see what's in there, stacking them, love it. but i'm a neat freak when it comes to things like this.

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