He was also a Wildcatter.
The young, tender, lean one
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Image courtesy of Kitchen Illiterate
Image courtesy of Chezpei.com
Image from Wikipedia
I firmly believe in making a large enough batch of something then using the leftovers for dinner the next night. This recipe is made for this purpose. I serve this as a main dish. If the guys want meat I usually give them slices of a grilled chicken breast. Of course, I serve this with bread of some sort. Usually something on the day old bread rack or whatever I have handy.
Spaghetti with Eggplant, Cheese, and Tomato
1 large eggplant
Salt for eggplants
Vegetable oil for frying
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
½ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can 28 ounces plum tomatoes, with juice
Freshly ground pepper to taste
½ cup fresh basil leaves, torn or chopped in small pieces – from garden or window sill
1 lb spaghetti
½ cup mild feta or coarsely grated ricotta salata cheese
½ cup grated pecorino Romano or parmesan cheese.
Serves 6 - Approximate cost $6.00
1. Cut the eggplant crosswise into slices ½ inch thick. Make a layer of slices on a baking cooling rack or colander and sprinkle with salt. Continue layering and sprinkling until all of the slices are used. Top with a plate and a heavy weight such as a pot. Place the colander/rake over a bowl, sink or baking sheet. Let stand for 1 hour to drain off the bitter juices. Rinse off the salt and dry the slices with paper towels. This can be done a day ahead, placed in a ziptop bag with dry paper towels and placed in the freezer. *
2. In a large frying pan over medium heat, pour in oil to a depth of ½ inch. Add enough of the eggplant slices to make a single layer in the pan. Fry the slices, turning once, until tender and lightly browned on both sides. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Continue until you are done with all the slices.
3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté the onion in the olive oil until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds longer. Be careful not to burn the garlic. YUK. Add the tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until thickened, about 20 minutes.
4. Remove the sauce from the heat. Cut the eggplant into strips and stir them into the tomato sauce along with the basil.
5. While sauce in reducing cook pasta per the instructions. It should be al dente.
6. Drain the spaghetti and pout in large serving bowl. Add the sauce and the cheeses** and stir and toss well.
*Time Saver Tip: Over the weekend I salt & drain then store eggplant for use later in the week. I also bake a half dozen potatoes, make a batch of rice and a couple of pounds of pasta, boil a half dozen to a dozen eggs and bake scones, biscuits and cookies.
**I see nothing wrong with cutting back on the cheese a bit. A good substitute for the feta/ricotta cheese would be cottage cheese.
***Save any leftovers for lunches or minestrone soup the next day.
Quick Minestrone Soup
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry.
2 baked potatoes, peeled and chopped – this is where baking them over the weekend comes in handy
2 cups water, vegetable or chicken broth
1 can beans, drained
Leftover eggplant pasta – roughly chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
1. In large saucepan sauté carrots and celery in the oil until soft. About 5 or 6 minutes.
2. Add stock or water and beans to saucepan. Heat through. About 3 or 4 minutes
3. Toss in potatoes, spinach, leftover eggplant and heat through.
*** You can add more or less water to adjust thickness. Also another can of tomatoes is a nice addition. You can never go wrong with more garlic and onion either.
Enjoy!
M
I'm challenging all of you to send me pictures of your pantry. The real deal. No organizing it before hand. Can you "eat out of your pantry"? (snicker, snicker)
Gunter's Confectionery - Chicago 1920s
A well stocked pantry (there’s an “r” in there guys. Do not confuse this with a well stocked panty. That’s a totally different thing that I will not ever be discussing) will provide a ton of meal options without a whole lot of work and do it cheaply.
I like to do what I call “eat out of my pantry”. (again look for the "R". cue snickering) I define this as only making recipes that I have ingredients in the pantry. This does not mean that I won’t make recipes just because I don’t have every single item in the pantry. I’ve been known (read always) to get creative. When I post a recipe I’ll try to include substitutions that will work. Then you’ll have lots of options available to you.
I don’t suggest running out to purchase tons of stuff in order to stock your pantry. Build up slowly. (Why does this post seem to lend itself to sexual humor? I will so NOT go there) As things go on sale buy as many as you can afford. Just remember that sales are run on cycles. Most staple items go on sale every 6 to 8 weeks. So buy enough to go 10 or 12 weeks and you’ll never have to make that emergency grocery store run. It’s those emergency runs that will kill your food budget.
WallWalla, Washington 1920s
Here is a sample of my pantry (that’s with a "R" again):
Canned Beans = I keep several different types. I pay no more than 50 cents a can and I buy about 20 cans at a time.
Canned Veggies = corn, beets & green beans only because I can’t stand any other type of vegetable that is canned. I pay .50 cents a can or less on these 3 items and buy 10 to 15 cans at a time.
Canned Tomatoes = yeah, yeah these could be a veggie or a fruit if you want to be literal. I buy and use so many cans of tomatoes I gave them their own category (librarian here! We need to categorize). I buy a variety of canned tomatoes such as diced, diced with onions & peppers, stewed, whole, sauce, you name it. I pay .50 cents or less per can and buy 20 cans at a time (I scored, hee hee, last night on tomato sauce for .15cent a can).
Flour = I bake most of all my own breads, cookies, cakes, etc so keeping a good supply of flour on hand is a must. This goes on sale about twice a year; once around Thanksgiving and again in the summer. FYI, you have to store flour carefully to keep the bugs out. If you have a big enough freezer you can place each bag in a zip top bag then stack in the freezer. I don’t have a big freezer yet. I still place each bag in a zip top bag then stack in a cool dark place. For me that is my hall linen closet. You have to get creative when it comes to storage when you buy in bulk. When it went on sale this fall I bought 10 – 5 pound bags. That should last me till the middle of the summer. Each 5 pound bag was .99 cents.
Sugar = It’s the baking thing. I purchased 6 – 4 pound bags for .99 cents each. It has the same sale cycle as flour.
Powdered milk = baking, making cream soups, and casseroles. I buy in the bulk bin.
Canned fruit = I keep cranberry sauce; bought on sale during the holidays. I buy enough for a year. (JR loves it with any chicken dish and I use it to bake with). Peaches and pears; I mostly bake with the canned stuff.
Pasta = I keep a variety of pasta shapes purchased for $1.00 per pound or less. (I got a pasta maker for Christmas. We'll be cranking out some soon.)
Rice = Brown, white, Arborio, & wild rice. I buy it either at Costco or in the bulk bin. I usually buy about 3 months worth at a time.
These are just the staples. If something goes on sale like cake mixes I buy 5 or 6 boxes. (Besides cakes you can make cookies, scones and biscuits out of cake mix. I'll pass this recipe on soon if you want.) Breadcrumbs, nuts, pasta sauce, mayonnaise, oatmeal, Mac & Cheese, crackers, etc these are some other things I buy on sale.
My bathroom started out this color gray. I changed it to this.
And, can you blame me? Every morning for a year I put my makeup on to that hideous color. God knows what I looked like. Probably some sort of scary clown (aren't all clowns scary?). Not that I wear all that much makeup. I am too lazy to wear anything but the bare minimum; foundation (menopausal remember, think blotchy. Not bitchy, that's blotchy. Alright it's bitchy too), blusher, and mascara.
This color is a cheerful, happy, "I'm up and ready to take on the world color." I'm none of those things so at least the bathroom should be.
