PunkMistress said:

Cerebus said:

You can buy the pancakes ya know? Do you eat yours with a plum sauce?

I know, I considered going to the store since I don't have plum, hoisin, pancakes OR mushrooms, but it's late and it's a work night and I'm hungry. Plus I like to be all frugal pioneer woman and work with what I've got. Chris calls me Depression Annie because I save aluminum foil and vegetable scraps and toenail clippings. I'm lying about that last one.

So glad to know you're lying about the last one. Because I was like, "....why?"

I save and reuse foil if it doesn't have food stuck on it. Recycle, renew, reuse.

I save ALL vegetable scraps for soups and soup stocks. Nothing bothers me more than seeing somebody throw away half of a vegetable. Grrr! OK, a lot of things bother me more... but that one really bothers me!

Cerebus said:

PunkMistress said:

I know, I considered going to the store since I don't have plum, hoisin, pancakes OR mushrooms, but it's late and it's a work night and I'm hungry. Plus I like to be all frugal pioneer woman and work with what I've got. Chris calls me Depression Annie because I save aluminum foil and vegetable scraps and toenail clippings. I'm lying about that last one.

So glad to know you're lying about the last one. Because I was like, "....why?"

I save and reuse foil if it doesn't have food stuck on it. Recycle, renew, reuse.

I save ALL vegetable scraps for soups and soup stocks. Nothing bothers me more than seeing somebody throw away half of a vegetable. Grrr! OK, a lot of things bother me more... but that one really bothers me!

Let's be friends.

PunkMistress said:

Cerebus said:

So glad to know you're lying about the last one. Because I was like, "....why?"

I save and reuse foil if it doesn't have food stuck on it. Recycle, renew, reuse.

I save ALL vegetable scraps for soups and soup stocks. Nothing bothers me more than seeing somebody throw away half of a vegetable. Grrr! OK, a lot of things bother me more... but that one really bothers me!

Let's be friends.

Absolutely.

Cerebus said:

PunkMistress said:

I know, I considered going to the store since I don't have plum, hoisin, pancakes OR mushrooms, but it's late and it's a work night and I'm hungry. Plus I like to be all frugal pioneer woman and work with what I've got. Chris calls me Depression Annie because I save aluminum foil and vegetable scraps and toenail clippings. I'm lying about that last one.

So glad to know you're lying about the last one. Because I was like, "....why?"

I save and reuse foil if it doesn't have food stuck on it. Recycle, renew, reuse.

I save ALL vegetable scraps for soups and soup stocks. Nothing bothers me more than seeing somebody throw away half of a vegetable. Grrr! OK, a lot of things bother me more... but that one really bothers me!

I get really annoyed when the master goes to market and brings back so much stuff I can't even fit it into the fridge. I know I won't know what's in there and stuff will spoil in the meantime before I even find it

I shop more regularly and get stuff for meals I plan, my fridge looks poorly stocked, but I amaze him again and again with meals pulled out of "thin air"

PunkMistress said:

PaisleyPark5083 said:

I turn to you all smart people for my dilema of the day?

I can never cook eggplant properly, it always comes out too oily. Tell me, is cooking it with less oil better? But, it sucks up the olive oil so fast, I always tend to add more then I am stuck with oily eggplant. I want to bread it with bread crumbs first, how do I make the bread crumbs stick? Please please help me make one of my all time favorite dishes. I have the sauce down, just not the cooking of the eggplant.

1. Do you "sweat" the eggplant slices first to drain them of excess moisture?

(slice the eggplant, salt it and put it in a strainer for a while. The slices will start to sweat out water. Pat them dry and bread as usual.)

2. If they're coming out oily, the oil is probably not hot enough. The oil needs to be very hot (around 375F), or your food will soak up all the oil. (Oil that's too cool will also make the breading fall off.) Is the eggplant sizzling and bubbling immediately when you put it in the oil? The oil should bubble around it like crazy when you set it in the pan - but not TOO crazy - you don't want it to burn.

I don't use olive oil for frying anything. I love olive oil, but it's too heavy for frying, and has a low smoke point - meaning it burns at a lower temp than other oils.

Peanut oil is my favorite for frying - it makes light, crispy fried foods.

[Edited 7/27/10 9:30am]

I do this as well, loooooove friend eggplant omg yummmmy with pita bread

SherryJackson said:

Baba Ganoush is an AMAZING Egyptian dip my grandma makes....it's kinda like hummus only made with grilled eggplant and tahini. Ever tried it? With some warm pita bread....

yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy, it is nice cold as well, omg

ZombieKitten said:

Cerebus said:

So glad to know you're lying about the last one. Because I was like, "....why?"

I save and reuse foil if it doesn't have food stuck on it. Recycle, renew, reuse.

I save ALL vegetable scraps for soups and soup stocks. Nothing bothers me more than seeing somebody throw away half of a vegetable. Grrr! OK, a lot of things bother me more... but that one really bothers me!

I get really annoyed when the master goes to market and brings back so much stuff I can't even fit it into the fridge. I know I won't know what's in there and stuff will spoil in the meantime before I even find it

I shop more regularly and get stuff for meals I plan, my fridge looks poorly stocked, but I amaze him again and again with meals pulled out of "thin air"

I love doing that. I get this really insane sense of accomplishment every time I pull out a great dinner out of seemingly nothing.

PunkMistress said:

ZombieKitten said:

I get really annoyed when the master goes to market and brings back so much stuff I can't even fit it into the fridge. I know I won't know what's in there and stuff will spoil in the meantime before I even find it

I shop more regularly and get stuff for meals I plan, my fridge looks poorly stocked, but I amaze him again and again with meals pulled out of "thin air"

I love doing that. I get this really insane sense of accomplishment every time I pull out a great dinner out of seemingly nothing.

Being that I live alone, my fridge almost always looks bare. But that's cause I can't stock up on tons of fresh fruits and vegggies or they'll go bad before I can use them.

Luckily for me, I live on top of a global marketplace that has, among other things, a produce place, a cheese shop, a bakery, etc. It makes me feel very cosmopolitan, buying my fresh groceries a couple of times a week, only what I need for the next few days. It feels so un-american.

PunkMistress said:

ZombieKitten said:

I get really annoyed when the master goes to market and brings back so much stuff I can't even fit it into the fridge. I know I won't know what's in there and stuff will spoil in the meantime before I even find it

I shop more regularly and get stuff for meals I plan, my fridge looks poorly stocked, but I amaze him again and again with meals pulled out of "thin air"

I love doing that. I get this really insane sense of accomplishment every time I pull out a great dinner out of seemingly nothing.

This is how I make my chicken soup, I just throw in all vegetables I have at home at the moment. Plus any uncooked pasta I have on hand. Always a success!!

PaisleyPark5083 said:

PunkMistress said:

I love doing that. I get this really insane sense of accomplishment every time I pull out a great dinner out of seemingly nothing.

This is how I make my chicken soup, I just throw in all vegetables I have at home at the moment. Plus any uncooked pasta I have on hand. Always a success!!

soup is the best thing ever

PunkMistress said:

ZombieKitten said:

I get really annoyed when the master goes to market and brings back so much stuff I can't even fit it into the fridge. I know I won't know what's in there and stuff will spoil in the meantime before I even find it

I shop more regularly and get stuff for meals I plan, my fridge looks poorly stocked, but I amaze him again and again with meals pulled out of "thin air"

I love doing that. I get this really insane sense of accomplishment every time I pull out a great dinner out of seemingly nothing.

Depression Annie, do you also have a rubber band collection? (I do!)

CarrieMpls said:

PunkMistress said:

I love doing that. I get this really insane sense of accomplishment every time I pull out a great dinner out of seemingly nothing.

Being that I live alone, my fridge almost always looks bare. But that's cause I can't stock up on tons of fresh fruits and vegggies or they'll go bad before I can use them.

Luckily for me, I live on top of a global marketplace that has, among other things, a produce place, a cheese shop, a bakery, etc. It makes me feel very cosmopolitan, buying my fresh groceries a couple of times a week, only what I need for the next few days. It feels so un-american.

I'm so jealous. When I was working in the City and commuting via publc transportation I would do exactly that. Partly because there was multiple farmers markets, cheese shops, bakeries and Whole Foods in lunchtime walking distance. But also because I couldn't carry more than a bag or two on my hour long bus ride. I think I made some of the best food I've ever cooked when I was shopping that way. And I usually had enough dinner leftover to be a lunch, so I ended up saving money.

My daughter refuses to eat Eggplant........ she says it is because she is allergic to eggs!

1- Slice it to thin pieces

2-slat it

3-after 10 minutes ,they will start to sweat water...

4-sequeeze them with your hand to get rid of the water

5-drop them in hot oil

heaven

I love eggplants.....

Cerebus said:

CarrieMpls said:

Being that I live alone, my fridge almost always looks bare. But that's cause I can't stock up on tons of fresh fruits and vegggies or they'll go bad before I can use them.

Luckily for me, I live on top of a global marketplace that has, among other things, a produce place, a cheese shop, a bakery, etc. It makes me feel very cosmopolitan, buying my fresh groceries a couple of times a week, only what I need for the next few days. It feels so un-american.

I'm so jealous. When I was working in the City and commuting via publc transportation I would do exactly that. Partly because there was multiple farmers markets, cheese shops, bakeries and Whole Foods in lunchtime walking distance. But also because I couldn't carry more than a bag or two on my hour long bus ride. I think I made some of the best food I've ever cooked when I was shopping that way. And I usually had enough dinner leftover to be a lunch, so I ended up saving money.

That too - I live and work in the city so I don't own a car. So even when I DO shop elsewhere (and I do, they don't have everything I need) I can only take a bag or two. And that's exactly what I do - stop at a farmer's market, the co-op, whatever, on my way home, etc.

seeingvoices12 said:

1- Slice it to thin pieces

2-slat it

3-after 10 minutes ,they will start to sweat water...

4-sequeeze them with your hand to get rid of the water

5-drop them in hot oil

heaven

I love eggplants.....

See, step # 3 and 4 I had never heard before until Erin mentioned this. Now I realize it is an important step in the cooking process.