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.
