201025 Saturday Morning Two Recipes

 oct. 24, Saturday

It's just before six in the morning. The rest of the house is asleep. My young self would be shocked that I went to bed before ten on a Friday night. It's still the best night of the week, party night, but at my age, as the work week ends I am tired and it is a pleasure to go to bed early without an agenda for tomorrow. (Before covid when I was chief cook Fridays were often take-out nights because I was too done to make one more meal. But we haven't had take-out since February 26 and it has become a source of pride to stick to our covid protocol.) So I woke early today and it's just me and the ticking clock. I went out to see the day and not even the eastern sky was light. It was so clear and all the main stars were bright. A neighbour's motion light came on and their tree lit up so I went down to the sidewalk to see what was stirring. It was a possum! I have seen her once before near that house. It is so seldom I see a live one, maybe six times in my life, though I have seen several dead ones on the roads. They are so curious and delightful; I recognized her by her slow, grey body and pointed white face.

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I am used to putting cheese on broccoli. But it feels counterintuitive to put cheese on vegetables all the time. So I pondered other possibilities. Beef and broccoli was a staple on our dinner menu until we gave up beef but I resurrected the recipe sans beef for a delicious alternative to cheese and broccoli. 

Bored with Broccoli (recipe)

Sauté chopped garlic (three to eight cloves) add broccoli spears and after a couple of minutes sprinkle on 2 to 3 Tbsp of light soy sauce, cover and simmer on low for 8 minutes until broccoli is tender to your liking. 

Easy, healthy. 

*****

Another favorite:

Spicy Thai Eggplant (recipe) Serve with rice or alternative. Not a protein source.

Recipe will take 25  to 30 minutes start to finish so time rice and protein to coincide.

I have been making this for a couple of years and I forget where I first found the recipe so with thanks and great respect for its creator, I will put it down as I cook it now.

2 skinny eggplants

1 orange or red sweet pepper

1 large carrot

1 clove garlic

1 slice of ginger root or pinch of powder

Hot peppers, thai green chilis, (small) one or two to taste, or any hot pepper or hot pepper sauce to taste. Use what you know for your liking, or experiment. Remember that any dairy product will sooth an over-heated palate. Many spicy foods are served with sour cream, yogurt or tzatziki for cooling. Children love discovering that a slurp of milk calms the spicy mouth. 

2 to 3 T light soy sauce

2 T brown sugar

2 to 4 servings

Preparation:

Slice carrot thinly.

Cut eggplants into 1 to 2 inch slices, skin on.

Cut sweet pepper into largish squares.

Gather other ingredients.

In large wok, saucepan or deep skillet, place carrot in water to simmer until soft, 8 minutes or so.

Drain and add pepper and eggplant, garlic and ginger. saute 3 minutes.

Reduce heat, add soy sauce and brown sugar, stir. 

Put a lid on and simmer 6 to 8 minutes, stirring sometimes.

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I try to keep recipes to 10 ingredients, because that seems manageable.

If you know your way around custom curry combinations substitute your own where a recipe calls for curry powder. I am still unversed in curry spice combinations so I substitute a curry mix. My favorite is Cool Runnings Jamaican Style Curry Powder, a long way from traditional curries, but it has little or no cumin, an ingredient which, to my taste, is over-used in Mexican and Indian cooking.