"eggplant" news and stories

Coffee beans. Photo: Monika Bartyzel

• Co-owner of Seattle's Coffee Works defends a price hike of 50 cents per pound on their espresso blend.
• In a world of tightening budgets and resource concerns, how to make the most of your money and not waste food.
• Fall gets fancy and frugal with art lectures and free appetizers at Hotel 1000.
• To help food safety concerns, the Obama administration has launched a new informative Web site, http://www.foodsafety.gov.
• How to fight the bitter taste in eggplant dip.
• Frank Bruni's "Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater" tells how he went from adult bulimic to New York Times food critic.
• Restaurants: Bastille Cafe & Bar in Ballard is on its way to prime French fare, Greenwood's Aloha Ramen dishes "satisfyingly chewy" noodles and Lola sizzles with Mediterranean meals.
• Recipes: Cool Summer Minestrone; Fresh Corn Omelet with Smoked Mozzarella and Basil; Roasted Eggplant Spread with Onion and Sweet Pepper; Salmon, Red Potato and Green Bean Salad; Smoky Chicken and Three-Bean Salad; Classic Barbecue; Toasted Pecan Rice and more.

Grilled eggplant and olive oil pizza. Photo: Smitten Kitchen.

A slew of youngsters are heading back to school this week, lugging backpacks, breaking in new shoes, sharpening pencils and, if they're lucky (at least a few days out of the year), forgoing the brown-bag lunch in favor of a pizza party. It's enough to make us nearly jealous, except that one of the many joys of adulthood is that we can have pizza whenever we please -- and booze to wash it down with -- no matter the circumstances (or caloric consequences).

For example, when Deb from Smitten Kitchen was craving grilled pizza and the weather didn't agree with her plans for dinner al fresco, she still found a way to make it happen, "Weather be damned!" She busted out a cast-iron panini pan, doused the dough with garlicky extra-virgin olive oil, and piled on the grilled eggplant, olives and provolone. The result, reports the cook, was "hearty, smoky and delicious."

So how'd she get those beautiful cheesy bubbles with her indoor "grill?" Well, since she was "grilling" inside anyway, she put it in the oven for a few minutes. They don't teach that in school.

[Via Smitten Kitchen]

Eggplants. They just hang out in the farmer's market like they own the joint. Big, fat, smug and kingly purple.

And we can't resist them. In an attempt to partake of their charms without heating the heck out of muggy apartments, we were pleased to stumble upon this recipe for Tortang Talong, a traditional Filipino recipe that brings egg and pork into the eggplantian universe.

Yup, egg. No big surprise to see it sneak into the equation, since it's had cross-cultural starring roles in pork-vegetable dishes from Japanese ramen to Korean bibimbap. But watching this video somehow still floored us: "Tortang Talong!" Who doesn't want to brag to her friends that she's whipping that up for dinner? Check it out and let us know if you give it a go.

[Via Howcast]

French vegetable tian. Photo: Eric Diesel.

Bastille Day occurs at the height of summer, when summer vegetables are clamoring for attention from rows and stakes in the garden and tumbling out of bushel baskets in the marketplace. The shiny, waxen skins of eggplant and zucchini beckon the home cook to the pleasures of vegetables fresh from the embrace of sunshine and soil. Fat, juicy tomatoes are plentiful, as are fragrant bundles of leeks and fresh herbs.

Provençal cooking celebrates the earthy traditions of the French countryside and southern France in general, with food as simple and good as bread, wine, cheese. A tian -- a layered, baked vegetable dish that originated in Provence but is also common to city kitchens -- is the perfect complement to this French holiday. Unlike a gratin, a tian does not include bread crumbs or cheese, which allows the juices in the vegetables to evaporate in the oven's dry heat, concentrating their flavors.

Beyond the jump is an original recipe for tian of summer vegetables, which has been streamlined for the home cook while retaining fidelity to the original French dish. Serve this with your Bastille Day poulet, boeuf or pouisson, and watch as wine glasses around the table clink and diners agree: "Vive la France!"

Eggplants are super-perishable, so don't plan on keeping them around for long. They get bitter when overripe, but a bit of salt can help.