02 July 2007
My garden is a ticking bomb. Any day now it's going to explode, and I'm going to be faced with a glut of zucchini, eggplants, and tomatoes. Actually, the tomatoes are still a little way off, but I'll be surprised if I don't have a dozen zucchini on my hands by the end of the week. Here is today's harvest:
The first zucchini and a slender Japanese eggplant. I mentioned before how picking the broccoli was not as exciting as I had expected; well, the eggplant is a different story completely. They're such gorgeous vegetables; it's amazing to think you can grow them in your own backyard. The plant itself is rather small, but it looks like it could produce ten of these slim vegetables.
You know that old saying, 'Never say you don't like cooking Indian dishes at home, because then that's all you'll wind up making for the next five days'? Er, no? Well, it's true. I don't know what the difference is from the last time I tried my hand at these sorts of things, but it's been really enjoyable.
I had today's harvest earmarked for Baingan Chole (Eggplant and Chickpeas) and Coconut Zucchini (made by modifying this recipe). Both zucchini and eggplant can be a bit of a let down on their own, but these dishes really brought out the best in them. And I don't suppose it hurt that there was only about half and hour between the plant and the plate!
I had them with an avocado chapati. These are delicious, and I've found I can make two by combining 40g of mashed avocado with 30g (1/4 cup) of flour, plus spices. I don't need to add any water, though sometimes a bit of extra flour is needed if the dough is too sticky. They're incredibly easy to roll out thinly, which I've always had a problem with when making chapatis or tortillas. And Indira's method of rolling, folding, and rolling out again produces deliciously flaky layers!
In fact, I've been so inspired by the power of the avocado-as-fat-replacement that I'm thinking of trying it out in baking. Chocolate zucchini cake, perhaps?
oh my! all of those recipes look delicious. i wish i had a yard for a vegetable garden too-- i'm coveting your beautiful veggies.
posted by Nancy at July 2, 2007 10:38 PM
I'm definitely bookmarking those recipes. It all looks sooo delicious!
posted by Kait at July 4, 2007 12:31 AM
Yum, yum, yum!
posted by Emma at July 7, 2007 05:27 PM
Wow, you too love Indira's Blog?
I completely adore her simple Indian food recipes...
I have tried quite a few of her recipes and have had a great sucess rate with my choosy daughter and husband :-)
Thanks for linking me.
posted by Arch at July 9, 2007 10:36 AM