When life gives you eggplants, don't make what I made.
I received a note this morning in French that I think was asking me to use the eggplants in the fridge for Marie's and my lunch. Well, actually it said "aubergines" so I first had to look it up to see what vegetable I was supposed to be cooking.
When in France, it may seem like a good idea to find an American website online that gives you simple, Grannie-style recipes. There are drawbacks however. For one, we don't have the same ingredients or cooking utensils here. Two, if I didn't even know what an aubergine was, the chances were slim that I could make anything edible out of it, no matter how much butter the recipe called for.
So I tried anyway. I peeled and sliced an eggplant. This being the first time, I couldn't be sure, but I'm pretty sure it was a bit overripe. Then I coated the slices in butter. I made my own breadcrumbs (but I now understand that big chunks of broken crusty bread don't count) and then mixed them with salt and pepper. Then I attempted to roll the slices in the crumbs. It didn't work so I just put the slices on the baking sheet and drizzled crumbs on top. Then it went into the oven.
Since I was planning for disaster, I went ahead and made eggs too. They are my backup in any situation.
I didn't set a timer so when I felt that the eggplant might be ready, I took it out of the oven. I tasted it. I spit it out. But, I decided to just see if Marie might eat it. She's a lot less picky than me. What a success! She loved it, oddly enough. She ate almost a whole eggplant. It was amazing.
So, if anyone was searching for a sure-fire way to win my heart and keep it forever, I've just discovered that you just have to like my cooking. Really like it, not just pretend. Also I decided that I need to learn how to cook something other than eggs and pasta.
This was hilarious. I read it first to myself, while giggling the whole time. Then Lyne Burke came downstairs and I read it out loud to him. I've been trying to get you to learn to cook for years with not much success, you know. Always too busy. By the way, Lyne Burke said to tell you he was proud that you remember how to cook eggs.
ReplyDeleteYou made my day Kaity. I could not help giggling either!!
ReplyDeleteHere is another way to learn French: www.marmiton.org, THE recipe website in French :-)
Re. aubergines in particular, here is my favorite: Aubergines a la mozarella. I tend to cook a simplified version, but it does not matter: any fried version of aubergine is between ok and tasty, whereas boiled ones are immangeable. So you were on the right track!
Another learning from my own experience: seems you dont need to cook a lot to cook pleasant stuff. You know how much i cook... but when i do cook, i use a recipe and apparently ça suffit! no need for long training. I get that from Julien nice comment on my cooking last week.... maybe that's just because he loves me....?
it's like riding a bicycle: also works if you have cooked, and then not cooked for a very long time: no need for re-training. Just need a recipe ;-)
Demain: chou-fleur et steak !
et promis, samedi je ferai les courses.
I don't know how to cook aubergines, and in fact, I don't even know how to say it...but I think based on the smile yours must have been good! You'll have to fix it for me when you get home.
ReplyDelete