Food, food, glorious food and a slight panic...

Of my own making, but more about that later.
As ever, I was not able to resist the call of a few magazines, and really I buy all sorts and love them all equally, but maybe food magazines are the ones I love most.
In my more lucid moments I wonder why I need them, as there is only so much food a person can eat in a lifetime. I do find them often immensely inspirational, and these two are particular good issues, they are full of spring cooking and I find myself drooling at every page.
I try to eat as many different things as I possibly can and will make a recipe never really more than twice, but sometimes I find myself returning to old friends. About 10 years ago I made Melanzane Parmigiana, I think out of a Swiss cookery magazine and I loved it sooooo much. Unfortunately I never found the recipe again, but lo and behold, there was a recipe in this month's Olive. So, what was a girl to do. I made it last night and found it every bit as gorgeous as my memory. Sometimes you build these things up in your head and it is a let down in the end, but this certainly was not.
So if you like eggplant, try this recipe. We had just a green salad with some black olives with it, but you could have some pasta too and I suppose a nice piece of chicken.

Melanzana Parmigiana

Olive oil
Garlic, 2 cloves, thinly sliced
Chopped tomatoes, 2x 400 gram tins
Cinnamon, 1 stick
Basil, 1 small bunch, shredded
Aubergines (Eggplants), 3 medium
Mozzarella, 2 balls
Parmesan, a handful of grated

Heat the oven to 180 C ( I think that is around 400)/ gasmark 4
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan, add the garlic and sizzle gently for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cinnamon stick and simmer for 15 minutes until thickened. Stir in the basil and season.

Slice the aubergines (eggplants) lengthwise about 1/2 cm thick. Brush both sides with oil, season and griddle, turning them a few times until completely tender. You could also do this in a non-stick frying pan. It is important to get the aubergine (eggplant) as tender as possible, so give it time.

Remove the cinnamon stick and put a few spoonfuls of the tomato sauce in the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Cover with the aubergine and mozzarella ( I used Buffalo mozzarella, as I feel that has more flavour) and repeat, ending with a thin layer of sauce (it will be roughly 3-4 layers). Sprinkle with the parmesan and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until bubbling and golden.

So really, it is a very simple dish, but completely gorgeous!

And now for my panic. This morning I got a message from an Australian girl who I used to work with. Three years ago she moved back to Australia, and we have more or less stayed in touch, when life did not get in the way. Last summer she had a little son, anyway, she is in Holland for 2 weeks and we have arranged to meet for a coffee next week. So far, so good. I am excited to see her and her son, and want to make him a little present. Now, by coincidence there was a whole article in the paper I read this morning with photos of about 9 babies and the gifts they were given at birth. In itself quite lovely, but what shocked me was that of the at least 1000 gifts in total, there were only around 3 handmade ones. To me that seemed a real shame and I decided there and then that whenever I was going to give a baby gift, it would always be handmade. So there, sometimes you make rash decisions. I have no idea what I will make yet, and I have only a few days to do it in. Tomorrow I will be running out to get some yarn... it will have to be knitted, as that is quickest.
There you have it...my panic in a nut shell. It will be alright in the end though, I might even show you the picture.

Sleep well all!