Grilled Eggplant with Chilli and Garlic

I never once had eggplant growing up - as a girl from a small country town never really had the opportunity. I'm sure my mother never had it growing up, so she would never have cooked with it at home. In fact, I'm not even sure our supermarket had such a vegetable. We were a strictly meat-and-three-veg town, by gum, and the most exotic anybody got in their home kitchens was chow mein.

Oh and that tuna-boiled egg-curry powder concoction with th fancy name of "Indienne" which I'm sure nobody but my mother ever made in the history of the world. I should like to leave that memory behind (sorry mum).

So, back to eggplant. I cannot ever remember the first time I tried it, but I remember thinking it always just looked so weird. Like it couldn't possibly taste good. And didn't you have to salt it for like, half an hour before you even used it? Hm.

Well, try it I must have, because I'm hooked. And I cook a whole eggplant and eat it all by myself like it ain't no thang. I've baked it in coconut milk, palm sugar, lime juice and chili, I've made eggplant parmigiana (which is hilarious as I've never enjoyed parmigiana in any other capacity before), I've oven-roasted it, I've made crumbed versions... but the easiest and the quickest is always just to fry it with some garlic and drizzle it with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. And sometimes, that's all I want.

Ingredients:
olive oil
1 whole eggplant, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sambal oelek
Balsamic vinegar
Sprinkle of sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Put the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Leave for half an hour then rinse and pat dry. Sometimes I don't even bother...

2. Heat olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Even better if you have a barbecue. Add the eggplant and cook for 2-3 minutes until starting to brown.

3. Add a slug more olive oil, the garlic and the sambal oelek. Cook until eggplant is soft and browned, about 8 minutes.

4. Remove to a bowl, drizzle with balsamic, sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper to taste and toss.

5. Put on a plate. Add a little extra balsamic. And olive oil. And more balsamic. Not obsessed at all.....

Memorial Day Barbecue Burger

I think it was sometime in 1987 and I was reading a Babysitter's Club book when it hit me - I'd been born in the wrong country.

For a little girl in a little Australian town, these books filled with tales of cherry-flavored candy and Xerox machines and New York and Tootsie Rolls and Twinkies and grape juice sounded exactly like a glorious wonderland where I needed to be. It started a lifelong obsession love affair with all things red, white and blue. And nothing's changed.

I've always called my mother mom, spelled color without the "u" and preferred Dr Pepper to any other soda. Yes, soda. not soft drink. I may be insane (and don't hassle me about not loving my country, because I do), but it has definitely been the instigator of my deep and abiding adoration of American recipes.

And so, I have adopted all the American holidays as my own, as they're a great excuse to get stuck into some real down-home favourites. Which is why today I've made barbecue burgers for Memorial Day. I may not be American, I may not be in America, but darned if you're not gonna let me cook American!

This recipe is from the National Barbecue Association of America. They seem like they'd probably know what they're doing with a grill.

Easy three-cup barbecue sauce

Combine the following liquids:

1 cup water           
½ cup cider vinegar            
¼ cup canola oil            
¼ cup Worchester sauce           
¼ cup lemon juice            
1 tablespoon honey            
2 dashes of Tabasco Sauce

Add the following items:

1 onion, finely chopped            
4 cloves of minced garlic            
2 cups of ketchup            
1/3 cup of dark brown packed sugar (can substitute molasses)            
1 tablespoon of chili powder            
1 tablespoon of ground cumin            
Optional:  Chopped Jalapeño pepper with seeds removed.

Directions:

1. Pour contents into sauce pan and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes until solution thickens (I boiled mine as I wanted it to be really rich and thick, enough to totally coat my burger).
            •
2. Strain contents through fine mesh and adjust seasonings to taste: salt/pepper/etc. (didn't bother...)
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3. Use immediately or refrigerate up to a week.

I soaked my veggie patty in the sauce for a little bit, before popping on a toasted bun. Too delicious!

Thai Barbecue Eggplant

This really is more Thai than Barbecue, but if we can combine the two well then, hell... everybody wins.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 large eggplant

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic

1 small chili

100g palm sugar

1 tablespoon light soy sauce (fish sauce for all you non-veggie/Thai enthusiasts)

1 tablespoon fried onion (I omitted... too much work)

Fresh coriander/cilantro to serve


Method

1. Peel skin off the eggplant and cut lengthways into quarters.and then lengthways again until you make strips.

2. Heat barbecue plate or frying pan and add a few drops of olive oil. Cook eggplant until golden brown, turning fairly regularly.

Sauce

1. In a small bowl, heat the soy/fish sauce and palm sugar for 20 seconds in the microwave until dissolved.

2. Finely chop the chili and garlic and add to the bowl. Stir in the lemon juice last.

3. Taste sauce and ensure it has a good blend of salty, sweet and sour.


I served it with jasmine rice and it was awesome.

Recipe adapted from Yum Eggplant that appeared in The Courier-Mail. The recipe was originally from Mons Thai Ranaharn in Windsor.

Smoky Barbecue Kebabs

Ever since I bought liquid smoke from here , I have been obsessed with making thick, rich barbecue sauce. The kind you can eat with a spoon.

I got one from the Deen brothers, offspring of one of my ultimate cooking heroes, Paula Deen, and oh my Ford, it is unbelievably good!

So for my friend Miss Yesmin's barbecue, where she's hosting some super-cool veggie heads like me, I present to you the dish that will make non-tofu eaters LOVE it. Even if it's just for one night. I should know, I'm one of them.

OHHHHHHH..... good, right?

The tofu HAS to be Pureland... everything else tastes... um... not as good. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 onion, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons orange juice, divided
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 block of Pureland firm tofu
• 1 cup ketchup, or tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke 
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Method

1. Chop your tofu in half widthways, so you have two even-sized squares. then chop these into five long strips, which you then cube. Don't make them too big, or they won't soak up the marinade properly. For even better soaking qualities, place the tofu on a plate, and put a second plate on top with something heavy on it to squeeze all the water out. Leave for about an hour, and drain.

2. Put the tofu in a shallow dish with the onion, orange juice and garlic. Cover and marinate for at least an hour.

3. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.

4. Thread your marinated tofu onto skewers, and place in one layer on a plate. Pour half the barbecue sauce over, and turn to cover thoroughly.

5. Cook on preheated barbecue, turning every now and then until the sauce caramelises on the outside. Keep basting with the marinade every time you turn them. Don't be shy, now!

6. When the kebabs are done, pour the rest of the sauce over and get busy eating!