eggplant and more

Eggplant
In my head, the blog post today is about dropping off Emily at college and her generation of kids.  That will have to come later in the week because after dropping her off at school I had to come back to the beach to pack the entire house before I smash it down to the foundation in order to rebuild it this year.  Crazy, yes but it is being done.  So instead, today is about a dish I made during Irene.

Josh summed up eggplant perfectly, it absorbs all flavors.  I had a bunch of eggplant and peppers ( spicy and regular ) from the farm.  I chopped up the eggplant into cubes, and chopped the peppers up into small pieces.  I took a 2 inch piece of ginger and just took off the skin. 

In a sauce pan, I poured olive oil about 1/4" up the sides and added all the ingredients.  I continued to stir until the olive oil was almost absorbed, added a little kosher salt too.  Then I added about 1/4 cup red wine vinegar and about 1/4 cup light brown sugar.  I let that get absorbed and then put in about 1/2 cup or more of chicken broth.  Put a lid on the pot and turned it down to simmer.  I let this hang out on the stove for a few hours.  Once in a while stirring what was in the pot and putting in a little more chicken broth is needed.

Once it tasted pretty good, adding in a tad more kosher salt, I took off the top, cranked up the heat and stirred until all the liquid was gone.  Then I strained the mixture to get rid of any access liquids and served. 

So good, so easy and honestly if you put in too much vinegar or not enough sugar or too many peppers or not enough eggplant, it won't matter.  Stays for awhile in the fridge too.  Have fun. 

 

 

Comments (Archived):

  1. ellen

    who are you using for an architect  and decorator? Big undertaking but the easiest way to go. What style? My guess would be large contemporary spaces.

    1. Gotham Gal

      i hate architects. although i have a total appreciation for their ability to visualize something interesting and dynamic, their fundamental understandings of budget, timing, spacial relations and client needs are generally not so great as their egos are larger than everyone else around them. i had an architect for this house and gave them a budget. they came in 40% over the amount we wanted to pay. they were shocked when i talked away and paid them from a clause in the contract so that i now own the intellectual property. i figured out how to get the price down to where i wanted it to be just speaking directly with the contractor.i have worked with one particular designer over the years who is incredibly talented and taught me so much but it was time for her to not only retire but she had no interest in being scrappy anymore. what i mean by that is she only wanted to pay retail (not really retail but full price for her) and her desire to be creative in that sense was far from over. alas.i hope to be working with someone who just started their own company and is looking to make an impact in their own career from this project ( and another one i am undertaking ). no surprises, i like to work with up and comers, scrappy creative thinkers who are trying to use our project for their own personal growth. i like the start-up in every turn of my life. the good news is, as a client, i know exactly what i want, what the rooms should feel like, what the colors should be, what kind of environment i wantto create. modern, warm, airy and comfortable.

      1. Phil Michaelson

        Sounds like such a big undertaking.  What clause allowed you to pay (less than the full amount?) and own the intellectual property?

        1. Gotham Gal

          The last paragraph in the legal documents gave us the opportunity to have a divorce. For a cost, we both walk away and I own the plans. I should own the plans. I paid the architects to perform a job which was to create a space, with my involvement, to build with a budget in mind. They definitely came up with something I was happy with (although needed to be tweaked as it always must be) and the cost was outrageous over something they wouldn’t let go of.I strongly recommend putting a clause like that in all building projects. Also, one of the things we have done as well is create an incentive for a contractor to finish on time with a cash kicker in the end or reducing their payments by a % each week after not completing. Depends on the contractor and the location. The reduction of payment worked in the city but at the beach the cash kicker worked best.

          1. Phil Michaelson

            i like that divorce+IP clause.i structure my deals with tech contractors to have incentive bonuses for a timely finish–and majority due on completion–to get timely results.  i always have trouble getting them to agree to the % reduction for every week late.

  2. ellen

    good luck.  I do not like architects either but here you need at least a structural engineer to stamp plans for the city.  When architects get paid for the plan rather than a percentage of the finished product, they will get real about budget.  Same for decorators also.

    1. Gotham Gal

      agreed. i have someone to do all the stamping, structural stuff, etc. she is fantastic.