Holy Week Haul: Baked Eggplants with Tomato Sauce April 18, 2008

Hello, everyone. I know that Holy Week came and went, but do indulge me. It was a week of intense cookery, and I feel it would be great to document the entrees I experimented on.

This particular baby I made on Easter Monday (Holidays! Horray for working for the French!), and I have an Italian-born Poppa of a co-worker to thank for. Paul Lazo is one hecuva comedian at work, and knows how to whip up a hearty, healthy meal for his family from scratch. (Believe you me, it takes a lot of talent to to raise and feed four growing daughters well.) Meet him once, and you won’t think twice why his family is a happy one.

I was once looking for simple recipes that were quick and easy on the budget. Bitter melon (ampalaya) and okra were out of the question, since James had sworn off eating the stuff. So, what do we resort to? What’s left in the veggie crisper, of course: eggplants.

Vegetarian Nut Rice and Fish Tonkatsu: Sunday Night Dinners April 3, 2008

Weekends have always been designated cooking days for me. Why? That’s when the boyfriend comes home to crash at my pad after a night of hard tech support labor, and well, it’s the only time throughout the week I get to relish learning how to cook a new dish. For some reason, I decided that it would be a good time to make dinner extra special. (It was also a good excuse to finally bring out the foot-long and six-inch-wide fish fillets I stocked up for Holy Week to good use.)

To add to that, I wanted to introduce my boyfriend to a style of rice I enjoyed as a child with my dad. As a sitar teacher, he took the family and I once to an eclectic concert for the benefit of an Eastern Philosophy institution. I can’t recall anymore if he was one of the acts, but what I do remember singing along to a lively Hare Krishna Hare Rama. (You can just imagine how amazingly fan-tas-tic this all was to an eight year old.) By Intermission, each member of the audience was handed a styrofoam pack containing a full vegetarian meal: soy meat a la barbecue, sauteed vegetables, rice, and Laddu. each entree was pretty much a source of fascination for me, but the rice was especially familiar: it was slightly buttery to the taste, and was mixed in with assorted nuts. My mother successfully duplicated the dish when we arrived home, and usually served it for my dad’s birthday. I wanted to see now how well I could bring it back; call it reminiscing.