A new beginning

So. Tricia and I decided that we should cook. We've been roommates for over three months and have made nothing but scrambled eggs and toast. In the spirit of Julie and Julia, we've decided to cook our way through a cookbook. This blog is in the hopes that it will guilt us into actually doing it! :)



Day 1. Baba Ghanouj



We have:

Pita Bread (it's been frozen since September but it's probably still fine)

Coriander (it's not ground. that's okay, we'll just dump the pepper out of the pepper grinder and grind the coriander. should we clean it afterwards? we're very resourceful)

Cilantro (3 tablespoons fresh....how much is that dried? 2-ish tablespoons? check)

Paprika (that just worked)

Salt (i know we have 4 canisters of salt, but 2 appear to be missing)



We need to buy everything else. We stopped at Brennans (on the way back from dropping off my car at Meineke because it's overheating even though I just paid Toyota $1000 to fix it 2 months ago) and ate tons of samples of apples, cheese, pears, mangoes, etc.



Eggplant (we asked the stockboy to choose one for us - hard is apparently the way to go)

Plain nonfat yogurt (oh, it was supposed to be nonfat?)

Lemon Juice (I know I have some at work....also from September. maybe getting a new bottle was a good idea)

Garlic Clove ("Do you just peel it?" Our other roommate, Nick, decided he had to help us at this point. He cut off the top - we'd already ruined that for him in trying to peel it - and slammed the cutting board on top of it. he then googled "clove" - do we put the whole thing in? the answer is no.....there are 10 cloves in a head of garlic. Tricia threw two cloves in the blender.....I picked them out saying "I don't like the skin....")

Carrot Sticks (we haven't gotten to them yet......)



We are right now baking the eggplant for 45 minutes. We were supposed to "pierce the eggplant several times", but after a recent issue with a microwave and a potato (that resulted in needing a new microwave), Tricia decided to make sure the eggplant was dead. We also needed tin foil, but only had a two inch strip left. That's okay, the eggplant can just balance on a two inch strip.



Tricia would like to mention that a tin foil roll can be used as a sword. There were demonstrations in the kitchen if you don't believe me. (By the way, speaking of new beginnings, we're going to plant a garden in May as well. We're also exercising. Lofty goals.)



********* <---to indicate time passing.



The eggplant is done baking. Time to add the lemon juice.....directions: "open lid. puncture small hole in top with pin." Huh.



Never fear - Tricia found a push pin. Onward!!



We only need 3 tablespoons yogurt? Good thing we bought 24 ounces.



Can you eat the skin of the eggplant? Let's see! Answer is: Yes!


We blended all the ingredients (puree'd in fact) and ate with pita slices (yes, pita slices are still good after being frozen for 6 months) and carrots.

Survey says:
Tricia and I agree that we would have preferred to eat the eggplant plain. It smelled much more delicious before we added everything else. Still, it was quite simple and tasty. B-