Growing at the Speed of Life - A Year in the Life of My First Kitchen Garden

EGGPLANT

Basic Preparation

To overcome Treena’s dislike of this splendid
plant, I cut ½-inch-thick slices across the girth
and dust with salt (about ¼ teaspoon per slice,
which will be rinsed off later). Then I press the
pieces between two plates (or trays), weigh it
down with a 2- to 3-pound weight and leave
it for 1 hour. The salt leaches out the somewhat
bitter juices. Then I rinse and dry the pressed
slices with paper towels. If the eggplant is to be
broiled or pan-fried, drench lightly in a little
flour mixed with smoked paprika and a spritz of
olive oil to give it a deeper flavor and color.

MEDITERRANEAN



ROASTED EGGPLANT

This recipe makes an excellent entrée, as a
centerpiece for your meal instead of meat. It
also works great as a side dish. (Just cut the
serving size in half to make eight servings in­
stead of four.)
SERVES 4

2 small eggplants, about 4-inches in diameter
1 cup low-sodium pizza sauce
¼ cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 garlic clove, fi nely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 12-inch

baking pan with olive oil.

Remove the stem ends and slice the egg­

plant into ¾-inch slices. Lay the eggplant in the

prepared pan in a single layer. Spoon pizza

sauce on each slice. Bake 30 minutes.

Stir the yogurt and garlic together. Drizzle

the sauce in thin lines on each of the eggplant

slices before serving (you can do this easily by

putting the sauce in a plastic squirt bottle).

Per serving : 95 calories, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 18 g

carbohydrate, 4 g protein, 9 g dietary fi ber, 275 mg

sodium. Exchanges: 3 Vegetable

RATATOUILLE

This was the classic way to serve zucchini and

eggplant even before the movie! This is our all­

time-favorite summer vegetable combination,

made hugely better because the main ingredi­

ents come straight from the garden!

SERVES 6

2 medium (1-pound) eggplants, cut into

2-inch cubes

3 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1 sweet onion, cut into 1-inch chunks

4 garlic cloves, bashed and chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into ½-inch

strips

1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into

½-inch strips

3 medium zucchini, cut into 1-inch chunks

142 • GROWING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE