What are you doing today?

Thank you, SS! Yes, anything I put up as an avatar is a shot that I've taken. I never use others' images, nor do I want to put up a photo of myself -- hate photos of myself! Not into the "selfie" thing at all. LOL! Actually, I had meant to put the avatar image in as today's POTD but forgot about that when I actually did that post.....That way you guys can see the full image. It will be tomorrow's POTD!
 
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Clix Pix said:
Thank you, SS! Yes, anything I put up as an avatar is a shot that I've taken. I never use others' images, nor do I want to put up a photo myself -- hate photos of myself! Not into the "selfie" thing at all. LOL! Actually, I had meant to put the avatar image in as today's POTD but forgot about that when I actually did that post.....That way you guys can see the full image. It will be tomorrow's POTD!
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It's gorgeous; I look forward to seeing the full image tomorrow.

Had a lovely hour long chat (on Skype with my friends in Bristol). And, yes, one particular - very predictable - topic took up far too much of our time.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
It's gorgeous; I look forward to seeing the full image tomorrow.

Had a lovely hour long chat (on Skype with my friends in Bristol). And, yes, one particular - very predictable - topic took up far too much of our time.
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re the bold:

I keep thinking it can't go on like this. I'm engaging in day-long intermittent distractions (often oriented to food) that are putting at least my winter pantry into some disarray, if not also my plans to maintain good health through exercise and attention to nutrition.

Lately I've abandoned oatmeal and taken to toasting pita halves and putting caponata in them, for breakfast.

Aaaaand... so there will not be enough tins of that eggplant relish to last the winter.
 
lizkat said:
re the bold:

I keep thinking it can't go on like this. I'm engaging in day-long intermittent distractions (often oriented to food) that are putting at least my winter pantry into some disarray, if not also my plans to maintain good health through exercise and attention to nutrition.

Lately I've abandoned oatmeal and taken to toasting pita halves and putting caponata in them, for breakfast.

Aaaaand... so there will not be enough tins of that eggplant relish to last the winter.
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Pitta halves; must stock up, as I've long run out.

They are brilliant when one has run out of bread, and the weather is far too inclement to risk venturing out to stock up on bread.

Earlier today, attended an online meeting, and then headed out to pay a few bills, and stock up my beer pantry.

Re food, this week, I have done some serious - and very tasty cooking (vegetarian tom yum, fish rendang, Indonesian spiced rice) - for the first time in around a fortnight, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

And aubergine (eggplant): I doubt that there is a dish in which this delight features that I dislike. Caponata, yum. That is an idea.

Actually, I remember the first time I ever came across aubergine/eggplant in a ratatouille dish served on my first trip to France as a teenager. I was absolutely blown away, bowled over, and wondered where had this cuisine - this taste, this texture, this astounding combination of flavours - been all of my life.

It was an extraordinary epiphany, as, until then, while there were certainly dishes I preferred, some I quite liked, and some I disliked, I had never really seen food as something to be cherished, something that formed part of a culture (very often the part of a country's culture that women get to influence, or have a say in), something to be explored and treasured as part of a culture; and the culture surrounding food in France - the whole family sitting down together to dinner (well, we did that, also) but sitting down for hours, and having intense, interesting conversations, making tie for food and conversation, playing classical music (or other music - but never TV, another rule of my mother's, strictly enforced, and one I adhere to, myself, to this day) in the background, had an enormous influence in how I came to define a cultured life, and in how I chose to live life.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
it.

And aubergine (eggplant): I doubt that there is a dish in which this delight features that I dislike. Caponata, yum. That is an idea.

Actually, I remember the first time I ever came across aubergine/eggplant in a ratatouille dish served on my first trip to France as a teenager. I was absolutely blown away, bowled over, and wondered where had this cuisine - this taste, this texture, this astounding combination of flavours - been all of my life.
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Another Aubergine lover chimes in.

Paired with some meaty sauce and cheese… that is genuine Essau selling his birthright territory for me.

Actually, just sliced, crisped in olive oil and garlic… I'll eat it like chips. 💪
 
I can't always lay hands on eggplant during winter, hence the whole point of having the tinned caponata on hand then. But I love to make ratatouille and caponata from scratch when I have the ingredients. It's insane I'm hitting on my pantry before snow flies.
 
lizkat said:
I can't always lay hands on eggplant during winter, hence the whole point of having the tinned caponata on hand then. But I love to make ratatouille and caponata from scratch when I have the ingredients. It's insane I'm hitting on my pantry before snow flies.
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Preparing ratatouille from scratch is time consuming - especially when I do it the really complicated way, whereby one prepares each vegetable separately, before they go into the oven together in the copper roasting tin - but, when I greedily tuck in, I realise that it is well worth it, as I absolutely adore this dish.

I don't have a really good recipe for caponata (hint, hint), but it is another dish I really like.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
Preparing ratatouille from scratch is time consuming - especially when I do it the really complicated way, of preparing each vegetable separately, before they go into the oven together in the copper roasting tin - but, when I greedily tuck in, I realise that it is well worth it, as I adore this dish

I don't have a really good recipe for caponata (hint, hint), but it is another dish I really like.
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Hah, don't look to me for some long treasured famliy recipe... I tend to grab whatever recipe I can find on the net that has exactly whatever I have on hand to put into a caponata.

The Sicilian-American veggie farmers across the road from us used to do about the same -- with whatever they had left of the day from what they had put out that morning in their farm stand. They'd always send a kid around doorstepping to neighbors some slightly wilted greens or radish or whatever at end of day --but very often also some perfectly fine eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes-- after keeping back a few such items for mamma... and the matriarch would have filled out the ingredents list from the pantry to make a caponata while a pasta sauce simmered awhile longer on the stove.

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This is the caponata template I've tended to use this summer. Word for word. But I add celery for a little more crunch.

Emily's Favorite Caponata
Adapted from Epicurious. Makes about 2 cups. Leftovers are delicious over eggs, spread on panini, or a million other ways.

5 Tb. olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1.5 lb. eggplant, cut into 1/2" dice
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, some of the juices drained, or equivalent amt. fresh tomatoes
3 Tb. red wine vinegar
2 Tb. drained capers
1/4 c. chiffonaded fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
red chile flakes

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add eggplant, onion, and garlic cloves. sauté until eggplant is soft and brown, about 15 minutes. Add diced tomatoes with juice, then red wine vinegar and drained capers. Cover and simmer until eggplant and onion are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Season caponata to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in fresh basil. Taste and see if it needs any salt (capers add a lot of salt). Grind a bit of fresh pepper and add a dash of chile flakes if you want. Transfer caponata to serving bowl. Serve with crackers, pita, or grilled bread.
 
lizkat said:
Hah, don't look to me for some long treasured famliy recipe... I tend to grab whatever recipe I can find on the net that has exactly whatever I have on hand to put into a caponata.

The Sicilian-American veggie farmers across the road from us used to do about the same -- with whatever they had left of the day from what they had put out that morning in their farm stand. They'd always send a kid around doorstepping to neighbors some slightly wilted greens or radish or whatever at end of day --but very often also some perfectly fine eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes-- after keeping back a few such items for mamma... and the matriarch would have filled out the ingredents list from the pantry to make a caponata while a pasta sauce simmered awhile longer on the stove.

------------------------------------
This is the caponata template I've tended to use this summer. Word for word. But I add celery for a little more crunch.

Emily's Favorite Caponata
Adapted from Epicurious. Makes about 2 cups. Leftovers are delicious over eggs, spread on panini, or a million other ways.

5 Tb. olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1.5 lb. eggplant, cut into 1/2" dice
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, some of the juices drained, or equivalent amt. fresh tomatoes
3 Tb. red wine vinegar
2 Tb. drained capers
1/4 c. chiffonaded fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
red chile flakes

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add eggplant, onion, and garlic cloves. sauté until eggplant is soft and brown, about 15 minutes. Add diced tomatoes with juice, then red wine vinegar and drained capers. Cover and simmer until eggplant and onion are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Season caponata to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in fresh basil. Taste and see if it needs any salt (capers add a lot of salt). Grind a bit of fresh pepper and add a dash of chile flakes if you want. Transfer caponata to serving bowl. Serve with crackers, pita, or grilled bread.
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Ah, just wonderful, thank you.

I look forward to trying this recipe.
Alli said:
Eggplant is one of my favorites as well. I frequently throw one in the air fryer until it’s nice and done, then just mash it into a nice baba ganoush, adding in the appropriate oil, spices, and tahini.
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Babaganoush - yum, I love it.
 
I've been having fun playing with new toys and doing some more photography on this dreary, gloomy day which started out with more rain but which has now at least stopped doing that. As promised, I've shared the avatar image in full in the POTD thread, too.

I love Eggplant Parm and, yes, also Baba Ganoush. I think I have had Caponata a couple of times but don't recall much about it so it must not have left an impression to the point where I wanted more...... Odd, since I do like all the ingredients mentioned in that recipe!
 
Clix Pix said:
I've been having fun playing with new toys and doing some more photography on this dreary, gloomy day which started out with more rain but which has now at least stopped doing that. As promised, I've shared the avatar image in full in the POTD thread, too.

I love Eggplant Parm and, yes, also Baba Ganoush. I think I have had Caponata a couple of times but don't recall much about it so it must not have left an impression to the point where I wanted more...... Odd, since I do like all the ingredients mentioned in that recipe!
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I sometimes put olives or mushrooms in caponata too. No clue if that invalidates it for sticklers!
 
We went to Costco today. Didn’t need anything. Just wanted to walk around somewhere. Wound up spending a small fortune, but I got a new pillow (that’s a thread on its own) and some wonderful cheeses including goat and President Brie. Also picked up some croissants for the not chicken salad I made last night. It made the perfect sandwich when we got home.
 
Today? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Okay, maybe going for a quick speed walk around the nearby park. Today is one of those not-so-nice rainy days I despise: constant, cold and crappy.

And maybe calling family later tonight to hear their voices. Owe my cousin and Grams calls.
 
What am I doing today?

1. Watched the Met's broadcast of Alban Berg's Lulu. Utterly superb. Never seen a production I didn't get moved by.

2. Deep cleaning the fridge while listening to I Pagliacci from the Wiener Staatsoper.

3. Waiting for the wine delivery.
 
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