When I was a little girl, my father made baked beans from a can on a regular basis and for me, it's one of my most reliable comfort foods. Tonight, standing in line at the grocery store with my dutiful purchases of low-fat yogurt, fibrous cereal and pre-washed arugula, I suddenly got the urge, rather the hunger, for baked beans. Newspaper recipes don't inspire me and I can't seem to work up an appetite for much beyond spaghetti with tomato sauce and the occasional salad. But cooking for one, as I think many of you know, can be tough, too. Part of it was the elephant-in-the-room effect. But we did our very best, I think, tried as hard as we could.īen was a huge part of this website, a loyal eater and regular inspiration for the posts I wrote, so his absence in my life is making blogging harder than I expected. It was a long, hard winter in more ways than one. The truth is, Ben and I parted ways a few months ago.
And writing about cooking when you're not in the mood to eat isn't a lot of fun, not for the writer and not for the readers, either. It's been a long time since I've had much of an appetite for cooking, is the thing.
#SHRINKIT V1.1 HOW TO#
I've been mulling it over for a long time, how to tell you all the news, and as long as I couldn't figure out how to tell it, I thought it best just to keep it to myself. I think it's time for me to spill the beans. Sprinkle on additional red pepper and more mint. Top with beef-eggplant mixture, then with yogurt sauce. Drain pasta and spread on a serving platter.
#SHRINKIT V1.1 PLUS#
In a small bowl, stir together yogurt, remaining garlic (well, I didn't have any remaining garlic, plus I don't like raw garlic, so I left the yogurt garlic-less) and a pinch of salt.ĥ. Let cook until it turns golden brown and smells nutty, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter: the amount is to your taste. Cook pasta according to package directions. Stir in mint and cook for another 2 minutes. Sauté until beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add beef, 1/2 teaspoon salt, red pepper, and black pepper to taste. Add 2 minced garlic cloves and the shallot and sauté until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. In a large skillet, heat remaining tablespoon oil. Spread on a baking sheet, making sure there is room between pieces, and roast until crisp and brown, 15 to 20 minutes.ģ. Toss eggplant with 4 tablespoons oil and a large pinch of salt (I also mistakenly added one minced garlic clove here). Bring a pot of water to boil for pasta.Ģ. Pasta with Turkish-Style Beef, Eggplant and Yogurt SauceServes 4ġ large eggplant, about 1 pound, in 1/2 -inch cubes5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil1/2 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt, more to taste3 fat garlic cloves, minced1 large shallot, minced1 pound ground beef1/2 teaspoon red pepper, preferably Turkish or Aleppo, more to tasteFreshly ground black pepper to taste1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, more to taste1/2 pound orecchiette or penne pasta2 to 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, to taste (I barely used a tablespoon)2/3 cup plain Greek yogurtġ. In the meantime, does anyone want to come over for dinner tonight?
So, yes, it's all very delicious and interesting and all that, but still, I just couldn't get my appetite up.Īm I secretly - even to myself - considering vegetarianism? Was it just too much food (Melissa says this serves 2 to 3 people, but eyeballing my leftovers, I think at least 4 could be happy)? Did I get overwhelmed by the amount of leftovers staring me down? It's a Thursday morning mystery, is what it is. You serve that mixture over boiled pasta (orecchiette would be best) and top it off with browned butter and garlicky yogurt. It just rolls off the tongue so nicely, wouldn't you say? Aleppo pepper!) What you do is roast eggplant at very high heat - a nice little trick in and of itself, since you end up with meltingly soft on the inside, super-crisp on the outside, addictive little eggplant cubes - and then combine that with sauteed ground beef flavored with shallots, minced garlic and a generous amount of Aleppo pepper. I used Melissa Clark's recipe, subbing ground beef for lamb (it's what I had in the freezer). Right? Sounds tasty, doesn't it? The thing is, the meal indeed was pretty good. Especially when it's with a recipe I've been hoarding forever - and something that sounds as good as pasta with turkish-style lamb, eggplant and yogurt sauce. That ever happen to you? You spend a big part of your evening grocery shopping, prepping, and cooking, only to find yourself - twenty minutes later - staring at the half-eaten plate of pasta in front of you, wishing you'd just fixed a salad?
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