A Tale of Two Eggplants
When listening to NPR yesterday on our nine-hour drive home from Maine, I learned that former IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will be tried in France on pimping charges. Not terribly surprising given his history of sex scandals but what caught my attention was the line, “this latest news hardly registered with a nation deep into its summer vacation.” Got to love the French, it’s not yet August and they’re off!
This inspired me to make like the Europeans and take the rest of the summer “off” from blogging. I will not post for the next several weeks but I will be experimenting, writing and investigating. I figure that many of you will be traveling and racking up experiences as well, so cooking may be far from your minds. Do know that I will be back in September with some inspiring posts and a plan to grow “Musings of a Sly Rooster” into a bigger, badder vehicle. Please bear with me during this summer hiatus and even spread the word, encouraging your friends and family to subscribe. And to all of you who have been following my journey thus far, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Onto this, my final post before mini-break, how do I transition from Strauss-Kahn to eggplants? Hmmm. Let’s just leave that one alone and focus on the grill which is where every summer meal should be prepared. Afterall, grilling keeps the kitchen cool and embraces the dog days.
Eggplant is a fantastic vegetable to cook on the grill. Its soft flesh benefits nicely from a good char and eggplant’s versatility makes it the perfect accompaniment to any meat you’re throwing on the fire. Eggplant also happens to be an excellent source of fiber and boasts a variety of vitamins and minerals. It absorbs sauce nicely and tastes delicious at room temperature so you can grill your slices, dress the plate and serve whenever you’re ready to sit down to eat.
Following are two treatments for grilled eggplant. The first being Italian and the second, Asian. They taste quite different–the Italian being tart from the vinegar and bright due to the mint, while the Asian is sweeter with the oyster sauce and fried garlic. I couldn’t choose between them so I thought I’d share both and let you be the judge. Enjoy the remainder of summer and emulate the French by tuning out the news.
Marinated Grilled Eggplant with Garlic and Mint
Grilled Eggplant in Garlic Oyster Sauce