Eggplants are yum, so is Fiano

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This was the best Burnt Eggplant with Tahini I've made- ooh, cha-cha. Perfectly smoky, perfectly tahini'd, pomegranate molasses'd, and so forth. T concurs. Now, the second dish was a bit less assured but it turned out solidly. I'm not going to post this recipe for you but I will tell you the ingredients because darnit, they were good: fresh lemongrass, Asian eggplants, callaloo, potatoes, ginger, coconut milk, garlic, peanut oil, lime juice, Thai chilis, salt, sugar. Right?? You could not have convinced me it was flour and water the first time I tasted it, despite all this goodness. However, do not underestimate the Italian reflex to massively salt and season everything. You might gag to see the amount of salt you put into salt-absorbing black holes like pasta, potatoes, eggplant for that matter, but I've rarely been sorry to oversalt; I'm often sorry to have undersalted. Lastly, let's talk Fiano di Avellino, one of my very favorite white wines EVER. It hails from Sicily yet oddly enough, I was introduced to it at an Israeli restaurant in Philly. Anywho, Sicily can sure do whites- I guess the varietals there like a hot, volcanic terroir... But back to Fiano. Go find a bottle, don't get the cheapest one, but you don't need to go nuts. It's minerally but not racey, full but not flabby, interesting but not hey-who-cares-what you're eating. The one I found today (at Whole Foods, DC peeps) is the Mastroberardino 2008, and I'm going to head back tomorrow and get some more!

T leaves tomorrow for three days in NYC. Have I mentioned that I'm looking forward to the resumption of school?

I'll never go hungry again...as long as I'm not responsible for growing all our food

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That carrot, pretty and fresh as it appeared, was bitter as get out. I had to spit out my bite. So sad! Maybe it is too young? I doubt it. Farming is HARD! I gotta tell you that when I go to the farmers market now, I do not blink an eye at their prices. Good grief, farming takes a lot of knowledge and a lot of work. Go farmers. At least my potatoes and tomatoes have been wonderful. I am committing to backing away from the gardening efforts until I really have time to commit to learning and tending. You saw it here first, peeps. We just returned from the Natural History Museum where the kids loved the Insect Zoo, thought the Hope Diamond's legend was great but that it itself is totally underwhelming (I concur) and were mesmerized by the skeletons and bones. Then they wanted breakfast for dinner and now are boob-tubing it for a bit.

Now I'm burning eggplant, tending my new batch of ricotta (that resolve really lasted a long time, right) and getting geared up for bathtime. Will figure out dinner in a bit.