(*Raises right hand*) I, Brittany, am a proud Food Assembler.
What am I talking about? Cooking is defined as the “art, science, and craft of using heat to prepare food for consumption.” While I use heat to prepare food for consumption all the time, I am not particularly interested in or good at the “art, science and craft” part. I tend to assemble food into meals because I need to eat food to live. So to me, there is a small but important distinction between Food Assembler and Person Who Cooks. In my 20s, I became an expert in assembling whatever food I had in my fridge into meals – no matter how random – to save money between paychecks. Since then, I’ve refined my food assembling into a lifestyle, and take it as a challenge to see what kind of meals I can conjure up from whatever needs eating in the fridge. That Best Leftovers Ever show on Netflix should really call me.
Anyways, enter my new hero vegetable: the eggplant.
The “incredible, edible” eggplant
I’ve become OBSESSED (note the all caps) with eggplant since moving to the Middle East. I hardly cooked with or ate it at all when I lived in the US, but now I can’t get enough. It’s to the point where I find myself Googling crazy things like “Can I make [insert dish here] with eggplant?” and “What can I make with eggplant and [insert random ingredients]?” Eggplants are meaty, absorb whatever flavors you cook them with, and a great source of fiber and B vitamins. You can sauté them, roast them, fry them, bake them, purée them, stuff them, even turn them into meatballs. Did I mention I was obsessed? What’s not to love? (As long as you’re not allergic to nightshade vegetables, that is!)
While Eggplant Parmesan is a definite favorite, I have specifically made and tweaked this Eggplant Bruschetta recipe so many times that I’ve lost count. It’s such a versatile recipe, which makes it a Food Assembler’s dream. I’ve eaten it for breakfast with hard boiled eggs, for lunch on toasted sourdough brushed with a bit of chili oil, and on top of pasta with a dusting of parmesan cheese for dinner. Not all in the same day, but now that I’m thinking about it, that’s not a terrible idea.
Yes, I’ve also eaten it with mac n’ cheese. Don’t judge me too harshly.
Finding a recipe like this has inspired me to continually tweak and change it. I’ve added zucchini, used balsamic instead of the recommended sherry vinegar, made it with and without capers (with is much better IMHO), added chipotle for spice…the list goes on. The best part? The longer it sits in your fridge, the greater chance the flavors have to gel. It will actually get better day after day. All the more reason to make a big batch of this stuff on a weekend, and eat it throughout your week. You will thank me later.
Now, we all know that cooking is one way to show people that you care about them. When you make food for people, you not only help them fulfill one of their most basic needs but you also give them an opportunity to connect with you. For most of my life, I didn’t feel like I could participate in that very well, even when I tried. Remember the “blue soup” moment in the first Bridget Jones movie? I’ve had quite a few of those. So I realize that Eggplant Bruschetta isn’t groundbreaking stuff, but knowing that I can make this recipe and that people will enjoy it and feel cared for is a big deal to me. I think People Who Cook can sometimes take this feeling for granted. It’s something that this Food Assembler is quite proud of.
Are you a fellow Food Assembler? What are some foods that you’ve discovered or rediscovered and how have you cooked them? And if you’re an eggplant fan like me, what are some other dishes I should try?
