Cooking Together and Almost Amish

Hi! I hope I have caught up with all or most of you! Thanks for checking in with me after the storm, just a week ago.
Last week I went to a friend's house to cook his birthday eggplant parm. My friend has been ''in my bubble'' all along and though we keep our distances and do not hug, since everyone is isolating we deem it okay to visit now and then.

This friend LOVES my eggplant parm and I make it every year for his birthday. He is himself a wonderful cook, so we decided it is about time he learned to make it himself. So fun. [Next I better teach him to make the marinara sauce.]

I made the sauce, actually during H Isaias, before the power went. I'll put the recipe at the end, please do not use jarred sauce, ick. But since my stove doesn't get hot enough to easily cook the eggplant and has auto-shutoff at unfortunate moments, we decided to cook the eggplant at his house--outside on his big gas cooker/ grill. What a great idea!
Some of the eggplant are his homegrown, he is so proud of his harvest.

He also made dill pickles with my mom's old Fanny Farmer Cookbook recipe. 

It is odd to cook in someone else's kitchen, especially since this couple moved recently to a new home."I need a knife!?" He hands me a huge bread knife he was using to cut the eggplants. "No I need a little sharp paring knife!" Hands spread, shrug. Next time I brought my own knife, to make the antispasto on the party day
Because this friend has training as a cook and chef, he has very efficient ideas that really worked well.

After we salted, soaked and drained the eggplants.

he had me dredge all the circles ahead of time, layering the floured eggplant on cooky sheets, separated by parchment.

Out on the deck, the grill was going and the olive oil was good and hot in a very large cast iron pan.

It took us about and hour to  cook all the eggplant, but at least we were sitting out under the umbrella, loving the cool ocean breeze.

The very hot gas grill made the eggplant cook without soaking up so much oil.

Sauce warmed, layers made. Each layer includes sauce, grated parm, shredded parm, shredded mozzarella. Voila`!

Cover w foil, bake 45 minutes, remove foil and melt the sliced mozzarella topping til melty.

Refrigerate overnight. Do not eat all while having a taste test.

....

Dinner the next day, socially distancing. Outside.

Notice the perfect layers of eggplant and cheese. Yum!

Steamed broccoli on the side; I always like to add a green side dish, either salad or a green veg.

No pics, but just as yet another thunderstorm loomed, we finished with an amazing ice cream cake from the local little ice cream stand. Best ever, wow.

...........

On a quilty note, I finished hand quilting Almost-Amost Amish, a Humble Quilts sewalong from last year. Some of my utility quilting looks good [even, straight] and some, attempted during Isaias is pretty poor. I decided to leave the big crooked mistakes, a tiny memory of a few brief scary hours during the time of the coronavirus.

The backing is a non-tradtionally-Amish sweet print, which I like---but I also used this fabric for face masks, so it will always bring back bad times, sad memories. Too bad.

....

Mo had dental surgery. I was appalled and so worried. He is home and recuperating, but I'm mostly keeping him in. His teeth and gums were fine last year when he had his check up but over this winter, somehow got infected. He is having scrambled eggs today, many meds. I pray he isn't in pain.

And now I must learn to brush his teeth? I am guessing he will say No, mommy, no no no.

have a good week!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach....

Classic Marinara ~ Plain Sweet* Tomato Sauce

*If you MUST have spicy sauce just add more oregano and red pepper flakes.

3 or 4  large cans of Contadina tomato paste. Try hard to find this brand!

1 large can of Contadina tomato sauce, plain or garlic

[I think they're all 14 oz]

In your heavy dutch oven, saute in olive oil:

1 large sweet onion, mostly very fine mince, 1/4 of the onion in larger dice

AND 2-3 T finely garlic, til softened but not browned.

Add the canned tomato products and 1 C red wine, supermarket wine is fine. and 4+ cans [from the tomato paste] of water. More if needed but not too runny.

Add parsley, dried basil, dried oregano [just a pinch of oregano]; 1 T garlic powder; 1 T sweetener, sugar or whatever you use. 3/4 C grated Parm. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir til combined, decide if you need more water. Cover tightly w aluminum foil and lid and bake 350* for three hours.

This sauce is also perfect for meatballs, chicken parm, pizza, whatever. If you are good at simmering for long periods without scorching, you may cook on your stove top for 3-4 hours.If you insist. But add the parm at the end then, because it scorches easily.