I refuse to believe that summer has come to an end. Literally, I do not want to accept that fact. While I find that I am starting to get more and more depressed about this, I have started to reflect on all of the good things that fall brings to Western North Carolina. Luckily, I live in a beautiful mountainous city that has exceptionally beautiful leaf changes. Soon the colors of the leaves will change into vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges. I also have the opportunity to go to the local apple orchards and pick apples as well as going through different pumpkin patches to find the perfectly shaped pumpkin to carve.
It is this time of year that I have some of my most fond childhood memories. I am lucky enough to say that I have probably the best mother I could ever ask for. She is a lover of holidays and has always made sure that we celebrated each one to the fullest even to this day. She is the type of mom that would hand sew every one of our costumes when my brother and I were kids as well as forcing us to stick our hands into the pumpkin to clean out the guts so we wouldn’t have that fear when we grew up. She would take us trick-or-treating every year and would also dress up as an EXTREMELY scary witch, only to get enjoyment out of causing every one of our friends to look up at her in fear. Most importantly, my mother is the greatest baker. While she takes pride in her apple pie, I highly recommend her pumpkin pie if you ever get the pleasure of trying it. So while this is post is titled “Summertime Sadness” (after one of my favorite singers, Lana Del Rey), I realize that I have a lot to look forward to these next couple of weeks.
I really want to celebrate the last of the summer produce before every dish turns into some sort of squash dish. Luckily, tomatoes and eggplants are still in bloom in my family garden and my mother and I are taking full advantage of them. Using eggplants out of the garden and one of my all-time favorite vegetarian cookbooks, The Moosewood Cookbook, I found the BEST recipe for Baba Ganouj. Keep in mind that you need to start this 3 hours ahead of time because the eggplants will need time to cook slowly. Below is the recipe.
Baba Ganouj
2 medium-small eggplants
Juice from one good sized lemon
1/2 cup tahini
3 medium garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
1/4 cup finely minced scallions
Lots of fresh black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut off the stem ends of the eggplant, and prick them all over with a fork. Place them on an oven rack directly, and them roast slowly until completely popped (about 45 min). When they are sagging, wrinkled, crumpled and completely soft, you’ll know that they are ready. Remove them gingerly from the oven, and wait until cool enough to handle. Scoops the insides out and mash well. Combine with all other ingredients except olive oil. Chill it completely, and drizzle it with oil right before serving.
Remember to give yourself enough time to cook the eggplants! This will make enough for about six people who are using this as a dip rather than a meal. I personally enjoy this after a day of letting all the flavors meld together. I also prefer some more lemon and salt than what is called for, thus I would recommend season according to taste. Enjoy!!
Xoxo Sarah
MyFood MyWay 