All by Myself...

...don't wanna be. All by myself, anymoooore! God, I'm so over being stuck in the house by myself this weekend, and it's only Saturday afternoon! E's been on a very long business trip, and I've done a pretty good job of entertaining myself in his absence, like going to the Farmer's Market, going Down the Shore, almost dying on a dilapidated Corkscrew ride, and losing my keys for three days and being locked out of my house and car. It's been awesome. I've also been eating like a pig and somehow still losing weight according to the Wii Fit, so I think I may have actually broken that this week, too. I'm batting a thousand.

Since it's potluck week over at IHCC, I decided to do something I don't normally do and make just enough food. I like leftovers. I love a freezer stuffed to the gills. But I'm all alone after all, so I may as well just cook for me. I found these adorable white eggplants at the Farmer's Market, and even though I've been on eggplant overload the past two weeks, I just had to cook them up using one of Mark's recipes. My copy of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is due back to the library cause some other jackass has it on hold, which means I either have to cough up the dough for my own copy, or refuse to give it up and start racking up late fees. I'm torn. 

Curried Eggplant with Coconut Milk for 2 (or 1 if you wanna be a pig like moi)
Adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, page 296

Ingredients:
1 lb. eggplant (about 2 small eggplants, white, Japanese, whatever!)
salt
Scant 1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
Heaping teaspoon curry paste (I used Pataks Biryani Curry)
1/2 cup coconut milk
Cilantro

Preparation:
If your eggplant is nice and firm, you don't need to peel it, otherwise go for it! Cut eggplant into 1/2 inch cubes and toss with salt.
Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add garlic and curry paste and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Add eggplant and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes, until eggplant begins to release some of the absorbed oil. Continue to cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes. (As Mark notes, this time may vary depending on your eggplant, so keep an eye on it.) Stir in coconut milk and cook another 10 minutes until eggplant is very soft. Adjust seasoning if needed. Serve over rice or with pita, garnished with chopped cilantro.

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P.S. I have to give a shout out to the awesome cooks who make IHCC work like clockwork every week. They are all really amazing with food, and each write lovely food blogs in addition to participating in about a jillion blog roundups and other online foodie endeavors. Thanks Kim, Heather, Deb, and Natashya! Be nice and go see what the other ladies cooked up this week for Potluck Week at I Heart Cooking Clubs!

Eggplant