The Hungry Engineer

Eggplant, also known as aubergine, is of the same plant family as tomatoes. Like tomatoes, while they are sold as a vegetable, botanically speaking, they are fruits (specifically berries). Most commonly found in the market are the large dark-purple skinned variety; however, more and more varieties are creeping in. There are white specimens, the long and thin Asian eggplants, and miniature varieties as well. Regardless of variety, choose eggplants that are tight-skinned and that feel heavy for their size. They are fairly perishable and taste best when eaten within a day or two of purchase.

Have you ever traveled to a new destination, sampled the food, and then come home with several dishes or food items that you’d really like to recreate? I have a hand full that I’m interesting in replicating from our trip to Hawaii this past summer, and one of those is Coconut Syrup. Our friends (who journeyed to Hawaii several years ago to get married) gushed about the coconut syrup, and once we tried it, we understood why. It’s incredibly sweet and intensely coconut flavored. And should be pretty easy to make … right?

It may seem like a gimmick, but Juan in a Million has been around for too long to be a flash in the pan. Offering up the Mac truck of the breakfast taco scene, the “Don Juan”, it would seem that this place is set up to be a mere Man vs. Ridiculous Amounts of Food showdown. But no, the food is actually pretty darn good.

Collards (and probably greens in general) have an image problem to overcome. When people think of them, what generally comes to mind are tough leaves that have to be boiled for ages with salted pork fat of some kind. The most recent way we’ve been enjoying them is courtesy of Homesick Texan’s recipe for Not Your Grandma’s Collard Greens, as shown here.

If I keep this crap up, my spouse might disown me … but I can’t help myself. He dubiously accepted my homemade coconut extract. He’s been mildly suspicious of my icky looking bread starter. Home cured duck-breast was possibly the last thing he wanted to see whenever he looked in the refrigerator for the past two weeks. I don’t think it’s quite the final straw, but I bet I’m getting close.

I began consuming jicama several years ago when I moved from Missouri (where I had never seen them before) to Texas, where it was plentiful in the supermarkets. Native to Mexico and Central America, it is also known as Mexican Potato and Yam Bean. While I find it in the stores around here year-round, Diana Kennedy writes that they are at their best in late fall.

Several weeks ago, I had planned a pleasant little Thanksgiving meal for four – Sean and I plus our good friends Jeff and Sharon. On the years when we’re all in town for Thanksgiving, we’ll have lunch at their house and dinner at our house. It works out perfectly. Over the week or so preceding the holiday, the count climbed its way up to ten, and so I eagerly planned out a much more ambitious meal.

I knew it would happen eventually and that I would have to figure out what to do about it. But I’ve been chugging along safely for several months now, so I thought maybe it would pass me by. Alas, no such luck. I’ve been tagged with my first meme-type thing. The idea is nice – get to know your fellow bloggers. But broadcast sharing is rather difficult for me, and asking other folks to do something that I find so difficult is nearly impossible. However, it was Jo at The Adventures of Kitchen Girl who tagged me (and here’s a link to her post), and she’s just about the nicest person on the Internet, and that makes it very difficult to say No.

I’ve been reading The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread by Peter Reinhart. Last week, I tried out a bread with a somewhat lengthy pre-ferment (meant to enhance the flavor of the bread). This week, I just went for all out prettiness in my loaf. I decided to try the Marbled Rye.

You’d think that since I’ve been trying to bake better bread here lately, that I’d want to have a nice loaf or two with our Thanksgiving dinner, and I may. But the table just wouldn’t be complete without some nice buttery rolls. I’ve tried making them before, but this year I have a recipe that produces roll that I like on their own, rather than just as a vehicle for sopping up gravy.