Ode to Joy

#2 of 99......

The Joy of Cooking

It was the second cookbook that I can remember buying for myself. The first was a Betty Crocker baking book that I picked up in college. We'll visit that one another day.

This book was purchased at the beginning of my relationship with my husband. All of the cooking I had done previously was either from magazines or my mother's collection of cookbooks. She didn't have many, and most of them were either Jewish cooking or Chinese. Go figure.

The Joy of Cooking was my go-to for absolutely everything. It covers all the bases, and I used it to make everything from Vichyssoise (Leek and Potato Soup) to Tiramisu. My mother's copy was well used, and looked something like this:

I guess I knew my boyfriend and I were on a serious track, because I went out and bought my own copy of The Joy of Cooking thinking I would need it when we set up our own little home. I can't get over the fact that my version is approaching 20 years old! There have been updated editions since 1997, but I'll stick to mine for nostalgic reasons. 

Unfortunately, the poor book fell by the wayside once I discovered Auntie Ina....and even moreso with the internet becoming the go-to place for recipe ideas. I have to say I am kind of thrilled to pick this one up again, it really is a gem.

That being said, I had to stick to my guns and find something healthy to make.

Luckily, there were plenty of options in my old friend!

I chose Baked Eggplant.

I wanted something relatively easy, and something that my husband (the vegetarian) would eat. This recipe had only a few ingredients and took less than and hour to prep and cook.

As usual, I had to toy with the recipe a bit...I ended up using two larger eggplants rather than four smaller ones. I also chose to use some crushed tomatoes we had from our CSA farm share rather than using fresh as the recipe called for. I tossed in some garlic as well. Those are the only changes. I'll put  the original recipe here, and you can feel free to change it up if you'd like.:

Baked Eggplant

4 oblong eggplants (about 6 ounces each)
3 ounces crumbled fat-free or low-fat feta
3 T olive oil
4 plum tomatoes, seeded, peeled and chopped (or just used canned...about 1 1/4 cups)
1/2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper
1 clove of minced garlic

Halve the eggplants lengthwise. Score the cut surfaces with a knife without cutting through to the skin.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet, then add the eggplant cut size down. Cook at medium heat for about 5 minutes. Turn and cook on the second side for a few minutes. Remove and arrange cut side up in a shallow baking dish.

Sprinkle with ground black pepper and the crumbled feta.

Wipe out the skillet and cook the tomatoes until broken down into a rough sauce. Add salt, pepper and garlic to taste.

Spoon the sauce over the eggplants. Cover and bake until the eggplants are tender, about 35 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle the top with oregano and cook for another 5 minutes more.

Looks pretty good, right?

I ended up crumbling some of my leftover Turkey Sausage on top of it to add some protein. The husband ate it with some crusty bread. The kiddo turned up his nose and ate some Balsamic Chicken instead.

It's going to be a keeper in my house. Just like my trusty copy of The Joy of Cooking!