My thought about writing this blog

        Food is the way to bring people together on holidays and on special occasions in life. In America, the commercial stores have created on going sale during the holidays to help the economy throughout the year, starting from New Year, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Passover, Easter Sunday, Mother's Day, Memorial  Day, Father's Day, Independence Day(4th of July), Labor Day, Halloween, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day, Hanukah and Christmas. It is all about eating during the holidays in America.
        My challenge of writing this blog is to cook my way through the International Cookbook in a year; I love to experience a new flavor of the different cuisines around the world. When I read a book about cooking I found out that many cuisines have their own condiments and spices to flavor the food but for the most part the ideas are the same.

Eggplant Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

I made this simple eggplant salad with lemon vinaigrette for dinner. The salad had a great flavor from chopped fresh mint and feta cheese. The salad can be main dish or just a salad depend on the proportion.

2 Servings for main dish, 3 or 4 Servings as a starter.
Time: 45 minutes

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

A freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon plus 1 tablespoon

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 medium eggplants, trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch chunks

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon capers, chopped

1/2 cup red bell pepper diced into 1/2-inch pieces

1 cup plum tomatoes diced into 1/2-inch pieces

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leave

Preparation


Preheat the oven to 425 Fahrenheit

1) Cut the eggplants into 3/4-inch chunks

2) Squeezed the lemon juice into a medium bowl add salt and pepper. Slowly adding olive oil and whisk the mixtures together until well combined.

3) Toss eggplant with 1/3 cup vinaigrette, reserving the rest.

4)Arrange eggplant on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Let eggplant cool ( It can be warm but not hot enough to melt feta or wilt the mint).

5) Whisk together feta, garlic and capers into reserved vinaigrette. Toss together eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and mint leave into the vinaigrette and serve immediately.

Joy of Cooking and Baking

What to begin?