Roasted Eggplant with Garlic and Olive Oil

This is delicious as a spread on crusty bread. You can scoop it up with a slice, spoon some on like bruschetta or mash it up a bit and spread it on thick.
1 large eggplant
juice of 1 lemon
2 medium garnet sweet potatoes
2 large carrots
5 cloves garlic or more if you like
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon thick sweet soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Peel the eggplant and chop into 1 inch chunks. Place in a bowl, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, and the drizzle with the lemon juice. Fill the bowl with water to cover the eggplant. Drape a paper towel over the top. Press the paper towel down into the water to completely soak it. Let eggplant sit while you prepare the sweet potatoes.
Peel and chop the sweet potatoes and carrots into 1 inch pieces. Place the chopped sweet potatoes and carrots into a large zip top plastic bag. Pour 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil over the veggies and squish it around inside the bag to coat all of the pieces. Peel and chop the garlic coarsely and add to the bag. Massage it into the oil to disperse.
Drain the eggplant and squeeze it a bit to remove as much of the liquid as possible. Add the eggplant to the carrot bag along with the remaining olive oil, salt, pepper, thick soy, Bragg's or soy sauce and garlic powder. Move all of the vegetables around in the bag together to coat completely. Pour out onto a greased sheet pan. Roast in a preheated 350 degree oven for about an hour or until the eggplant is a deep golden brown. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and serve warm.

Roasted Eggplant Stuffed Tomatoes

Ok, I just watched my DVR recording of a dog named Tilly who "paints" pictures by scratching, chewing and licking a carbon paper covered canvas. Her art works sell for up to 2200 dollars.... oh my goodness. Ginger may be in for a new career!
I had a delightful lunch today with Amy Burchstead, her family and farm crew. It was wonderful to sit and chat about community supported agriculture. I just love the family and friends component to building a culture around a farm. I made a roasted vegetable dish tonight that inspired me to get to the computer.
Roasted Eggplant Stuffed Tomatoes
2 medium sized eggplant, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch chunks ( I forgot to peel the eggplant when I made it tonight. I would definitely peel it next time, though it did taste like it was full of fiber...)
4 T olive oil
1/2 t salt
a few grinds black pepper
a sprinkle of garlic powder
a sprinkle of adobo seasoning
a light sprinkle of cumin
Toss all of these ingredients together on a lightly greased sheet pan. Roast at 350 degrees for just shy of an hour.
The tomato part should be done at the same time. Cut 10 plum tomatoes in half and remove all of the seeds and inner membranes. Place cut side up on the same sheet pan beside the eggplant.
Roast for the same amount of time with the eggplant.
Stir the eggplant about 30 minutes into the cooking time. When the veggies smell wonderful and are slightly caramelized, stir once more and remove from oven.
Place all of the eggplant into the bowl of a food processor. Add another sprinkle of adobo seasoning, and garlic powder. Pulse to begin pureeing. Add up to 3 T of water and continue pulsing to create a very thick- almost smooth- paste. Remove the tomato halves from the sheet pan carefully- to keep their shape.
Generously fill the roasted tomato halves with the eggplant puree. Serve alongside some spinach salad or curried chicken salad over spinach with fresh apple slices (like we did tonight)
It was absolutely scrumptious!
Savor. Linger. Enjoy!
-Cynthia

Roasted Eggplant with Garlic and Olive Oil

This seemed like a wonderful night for roast chicken. We will often pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and pair it with a salad for a busy weeknight dinner. Elizabeth was sick again today, so, I was home and could take the time to roast a chicken here. It came out so succulent and delicious! The market had some beautiful garnet sweet potatoes the other day and the eggplant looked fantastic. I wanted something to combine the two for a new side dish. The product was a scrumptuous roasted vegetable trio. The eggplant roasted just long enough that the coating ingredients had just begun to carmellize. Oh my! What a glorious combination of textures and flavors. The house smelled like home. All I need is a dance around the kitchen to make it perfect!
HomeStyle Roast Chicken
5 lb chicken- rinsed
Place the chicken in a roasting pan.
Sprinkle over the entire top of the chicken: garlic powder, salt, pepper, and paprika.
Give it a little spritz with Bragg's Liquid Aminos- this tastes like a light soy sauce.
Roast at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half.

Oven Roasted Eggplant and Sweet Potatoes with Garlic and Olive Oil
1 large eggplant
juice of 1 lemon
3 medium garnet sweet potatoes
2 large carrots
4 cloves garlic or more if you like
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon thick sweet soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Peel the eggplant and chop into 1 inch chunks. Place in a bowl with 1 teaspoon salt, lemon juice and fill with water to cover the eggplant. Cover with a papertowel. Press the paper towel down into the water to completely soak it. Let eggplant sit while you prepare the sweet potatoes.
Peel and chop the sweet potatoes and carrots into 1 inch pieces. Place the chopped sweet potatoes and carrots into a large ziploc bag. Pour 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil over the top and squish it around to coat all of the pieces. Peel and chop the garlic coarsely and add to the bag. Moosh it around to disperse.
Drain the eggplant and press a bit to remove as much of the liquid as possible. Add the eggplant to the bag along with the remaining olive oil, salt, pepper, thick soy and Bragg's or soy sauce. Move all of the vegetables around together to coat completely. Pour out onto a greased sheet pan. Roast in a 325 or 350 degree oven- depending on what you are cooking with it- for about an hour. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and serve warm. You can mash it a bit and add a little more olive oil to make a thick dip/spread for bread.