Grilled Eggplant Lasagna

I was just wandering around the farmer's market near me, gathering the usual things I buy... onions, tomatoes... you know, the normal stuff.  Then I saw them.  The most beautiful dark purple, almost black, eggplant... aubergine if you prefer.

When I had a BBQ at my disposal, I used to love marinating slices of eggplant in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and grilling it.  Some of my friends would make it into baba ganoush - there is nothing like homemade baba ganoush.  My mom makes an eggplant caponata that is amazing.  And of course, there's always eggplant parmesan.  Eggplant is just so versatile.

I will also mention that when I was in Scotland with some dear friends, there was an Indian restaurant below our flat that made the most amazing eggplant recipe... I only wish I could remember the name or find the recipe, because it was a taste of heaven on a fork... I'm not kidding... absolute heaven.

Now... with all those wonderful ideas running around my mind, I bought 2 aubergines to take home and cook.  After a couple days of not being able to make up my mind about what I would turn these beautiful purple nightshades into, I finally decided to make up my own recipe.  So I give you The Lazy Wife's Grilled Eggplant Lasagna.

Normally, I have more pictures, but I wasn't really sure the recipe would turn out that great, so I didn't take pictures till I had the whole thing assembled.  Oh well. 

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Grilled Eggplant Lasagna

Some Like it Hot

Nope. Not talking about the movie... I'm talking about snacks.

My husband really likes spicy chips.  Like the FLAMAS® DORITOS®. They're pretty darn spicy... I can eat like 3 or 4 before my mouth catches on fire... but he LOVES them.  He also likes running, and having an extra pound or five can really make running a pain... literally.  So, rather than run out to the store because my husband was craving a high calorie hot and spicy snack, I made some Spicy Edamame.

I didn't use a recipe for these, so the measurements are approximate and really up to your own taste... but here goes.

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Spicy Edamame

1 bag frozen Edamame (I got mine from Trader Joes)
2-3 cups water
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you want it spicier)

Put the water in a pot. Bring it to a boil and add 1 teaspoon salt and the edamame.  Boil for about 5 minutes (basically follow the instructions on the bag), then strain the edamame.  Place the edamame in a bowl, add the remaining salt, chili powder and cayenne pepper and mix.  Enjoy!

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If you've never eaten Edamame in the pod, you hold one end with your fingers and stick the pod into your mouth up to your fingers, then bite down slightly and pull the pod out to squeeze the beans out of the pod.

Candied Almonds

As I was wondering what to do with my left over evaporated milk, I found a recipe for Candied Pecans that sounded pretty good.  But then I realized that I didn't have any pecans sitting around, and I didn't particularly want to go out an buy any because I'll be moving soon, and the fewer things I have to take with me, the better.  I did have a large bag of almonds though.  So I decided to adapt the recipe to almonds, pecans would work well too, of course.  The original recipe is here.  But I ended up doubling it (but I'll post the original proportions, because really, how often do people need 6 cups of candied almonds?), so that I could use up all the evaporated milk I had, and I added a few more spices, because really 1/4 tsp of cinnamon is not enough.

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Candied Almonds


3 Cups whole Almonds
1 cup sugar (1/2 brown sugar, 1/2 white)
1/4 cup Evaporated milk
2 Tbsp Water
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ginger
1/4 tsp Cardamom
1 pinch Clove
1 pinch Cayenne pepper (if you want a slightly spicy sweet nut)

Hawaiian Sweet Bread

I was kneading bread yesterday, and I started thinking that my arms would probably look a lot better (read: less flabby) if I baked bread every day.  But then I realized that I'd also have to be eating the bread I made that day, which, I think, would cause some pretty intense weight gain.   Unless, of course, my evil plan of baking bread and delivering it to people came to fruition...

I love bread.  And one bread that I have a particular passion for is Hawaiian Sweet bread.  So, of course, when I saw a recipe for it, I decided that I should give it a try (since King's is SO expensive)... and I just happened to have a can of evaporated milk on hand - I don't know where it came from, I certainly didn't buy it - and I REALLY love Hawaiian Sweet bread...  I will admit that my bread isn't exactly like King's Hawaiian, but it does make up for it in cost.

I was trying to make medium sized sandwich rolls, but they puffed up a lot in my oven, so they definitely could have started out smaller.  Also, the recipe I used lied to me in a couple places, so I'm giving you *my* recipe that has corrections/lazy options included.  I found the recipe online, it said that it was a version adapted from The Food of Paradise, but now I can't find the site, so I can't link to it :P

In response to this post, I expect you all to be extremely sad that you don't live with me or close enough to me to get a sample of this bread...

Hummus

My husband was recently bothering me because I had not made hummus last semester.  So, by request, I made hummus today.

Hummus is a Middle Eastern staple food.  When eaten with bread it makes a complete protein, which is awesome especially if you're vegetarian or vegan (though understandably less awesome if you suffer from Celiac disease).  Hummus is actually pretty easy to make.  It relies heavily on taste... so be sure you're tasting as you go.  So, here's my recipe, feel free to play with it and adjust as you like.

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Hummus, ala the Lazy Wife

1 lb bag dried chickpeas (you can, of course, use canned chickpeas, dried are sometimes cheaper)
Water
1 head of Garlic, minced
The juice of 2 Lemons
1/3 - 1/2 cup Tahini (Sesame seed paste)
1/2 cup Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Optional Hand full of Sun Dried Tomato, Red Pepper, Paprika, Basil, Avocado, Chipotle pepper, etc.

For the Hummus purists (No optional extras):
Soak the dry chickpeas in water overnight.  Drain the old water and cover the now plumped peas with water by about an inch over the level of the peas... it's not important to get the water quantity exact for these steps, just to make sure the peas absorb as much water as they need to become soft.  Bring the peas to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer.

My chickpeas have always boil over... but uncovered they smell funny, so choose your poison.

Lower: cooked peas, top left: pea skins, top right: naked peas

Once the chickpeas are soft (30min - 2 hours). It really depends on how much attention I'm paying... when they're soft to the touch (squish one between your fingers after letting it cool and see if it mashes easily) turn off the heat and let them cool.

Hummus with Sun Dried Tomato and dried red pepper

Hummus with olive oil and paprika

When you can handle them, strain the chickpeas and prepare for the "fun" part.  Now, some people just leave them in water and roll them around in their fingers to remove the skins, because the skins, for the most part, rise to the top and can be skimmed off.  I, however, am a perfectionist.  I sit down and watch something while I squeeze the skin off of each and every pea.  My other reason for this is because I do not own a food processor, and mash the peas with a potato masher, and I get a better consistency when I remove every skin.  If you don't care about texture or are blessed with a food processor, then go ahead and remove as much of the skins in whatever way you like.

After removing all the skins, put the peas in a medium to large size bowl.  Add the garlic, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil and some salt, and mash until you get a nice smooth paste.

Some of the ingredient amounts can vary depending on how moist or dry your chickpeas are, and how much you like or dislike certain flavors.  I happen to LOVE garlic, so I used a whole head... just enough to almost give me heartburn.  If you don't like garlic so much, then use 1-5 cloves or whatever you like.

If you find the mashing is not giving you a nice smooth paste, then add a little more tahini, olive oil or lemon juice, depending also on what flavor you think is lacking.  You do have to play with it a little, to get the right taste for your pallet.

If you're feeling a little more adventurous,  you can experiment a little more.

Make the original recipe, but at the end stir in some chopped up sun dried tomato, or some red pepper, or avocado... I know at the farmer's market I used to go to, there was a guy that had all kinds of interesting flavors of hummus.

In most of the Middle Eastern restaurants I've been to, they serve hummus with olive oil and paprika on it.

If you can't find tahini (which I couldn't for a while where I am) I substituted smooth peanut butter!  I know!  Sounds totally crazy, right?!  Well, I did, but I used a little less peanut butter and a little more olive oil and lemon juice, and lots of garlic.  Once it sat for a day in the refrigerator, it tasted pretty much the same as regular hummus, with maybe a little more of a nutty aftertaste.

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The historical origins of Hummus are unknown.  The earliest verified description of hummus comes from 18th century Damascus.  There were probably similar recipes before the 18th century, and in fact, the Egyptians ate a similar dish that used vinegar instead of lemon juice (which was the ingredient that arrived in the middle east later than all the others).  But it is still unknown where or when hummus, as we know it today, was first made.

Chickpeas are GREAT! Chickpeas are a good source of zinc, folate, and protein.  They have a lot of dietary fiber and are a good source of carbohydrates (especially for people that are insulin sensitive/diabetics).  They also contain phosphorus, magnesium and iron.

Citations: Wikipedia: Hummus, Chickpea

The Real Butter Beer

The second to the last Harry Potter movie came out not too long ago.  I was going to post this then, but I forgot for a while... so, without further ado:  Butter Beer

If you want more Harry Potter recipes, you can check out this book (but it's mostly made for young adults and will not contain my recipe for Butter Beer, because I didn't write the book). Also, I don't actually have this book, but it looked like it might be fun.
I started researching Butter Beer after I first read about it in the Harry Potter books.  According to Mugglenet, this is the recipe for Butter Beer:
Ingredients:
1 cup (8 oz) club soda or cream soda
½ cup (4 oz) butterscotch syrup (ice cream topping)
½ tablespoon butter

Directions:
Step 1: Measure butterscotch and butter into a 2 cup (16 oz) glass. Microwave on high for 1 to 1½ minutes, or until syrup is bubbly and butter is completely incorporated.
Step 2: Stir and cool for 30 seconds, then slowly mix in club soda. Mixture will fizz quite a bit.
Step 3: Serve in two coffee mugs or small glasses

This sounds disgusting to me.  I will admit that I haven't tried it.  But I can imagine it.  Maybe for some people it would taste good.  And that's fine, you go ahead and try it, and I'll believe you if you say you liked it.

Also, I know (from reading the Harry Potter books) that Butter Beer is supposed to "warm you up" because it has ALCOHOL.

In the UK, underage drinking does not get quite the same reaction as it does here in he US.  In much of Europe, adults will allow their children a glass of wine with dinner, it's not a big deal.  In some ways, I agree with this method, because it allows the parents to have some influence on their children's first experiences with alcohol.  And really, who would you rather have your kids learning from? You? Or their friends?  I don't have any problem with people disagreeing with me about this...

I also have no problem with people that want a non-alcoholic version because they don't drink.  That's totally fine, you just can't have my Butter Beer, and I'm sorry for that.

I enjoyed Harry Potter.  I enjoyed the books and the movies (though I did want to kill Harry in the 5th book, but I'm not going to talk about that).  Once I knew about Butter Beer, I tried to think how it would taste.  I thought about what might be in it.  But I didn't ultimately have a break through until I read this: Bacon Vodka.

Now, I know you're wondering: "How did you get a break through in making authentic Butter Beer by reading about Bacon Vodka?"  Well, I'll tell you.

At about the same time, a friend mentioned scotch and cloves in a facebook post, which gave me the idea of combining the two because the Bacon Vodka concept was still fresh in my memory.  I went to the store and bought a bottle of whiskey (cheap stuff because I am living on a tight budget).  I added spices I had in my cupboard and let it sit in a jar for several weeks.  I had vaguely forgotten about it until I remembered that Harry Potter was coming out soon and I remembered my ideas about Butter Beer.  I bought some Butterscotch Schnapps and A&W vanilla cream soda.  I added  the Butterscotch Schnapps to the spiced whiskey and then two tablespoons of my spiced butterscotchy-whiskey to a glass and poured in the cream soda.

It was everything I had ever hoped.  It was delicious.  So for the sake of humanity and all that is delicious, here is the recipe.

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To make spiced Whiskey:
1 bottle whiskey
3-5 cinnamon sticks
20-25 whole cloves
1/4-1/2 tsp grated nutmeg (or about of quarter to a half of a whole nutmeg)
1 index finger size piece of ginger (or about 1 tsp ground ginger)

Mix the ingredients into the whiskey (I put it all in the bottle, since I wanted to make a lot of spiced whiskey).  Put in a cool dark place for several (about 6) weeks, until it gets very dark brown.  You can technically leave it for longer than six weeks.  Then strain out the sediment from the liquid.  Or you can just strain it whenever you want to make butter beer and leave the cinnamon sticks, cloves, etc until you get to the bottom of the bottle.

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To make Butter Beer:
1-1 1/2 part Spiced Whiskey
1 1/2-2 parts Butterscotch Schnapps
2-3 Tbsp of the above mixture
1 12-oz can of Vanilla Cream soda


Mix the whiskey and schnapps together, then put 2-3 TBSp of that mixture in the bottom of a cup, pour in the cream soda  and mix well with a spoon.  The exact amounts are somewhat based on your individual taste.  If you like things sweeter, then more schnapps and less whiskey.  Otherwise, vice versa.  You can chill the ingredients first, or leave them at room temperature.  Also, for a creamier option, put 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream in before you add the other ingredients to the cup... it's a really delicious butter beer float!

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Well, there you have it.  Now you can enjoy a delicious drink.  Well, as long as you are ok drinking alcohol, and want to wait several weeks to drink it.  But that's not my fault.  If you were here visiting me, you would be able to taste a delicious drink.  So it's your own fault for not visiting me, obviously.

I'll just go ahead and put it out there: If you visit me at my apartment, I will give you Butter Beer.