The New Love of My Life: Grilled Eggplant & Arugula Salad

Well. I'm in love. This is perhaps the best salad I have ever made or eaten. I want to go buy more eggplants and arugula RIGHT NOW, but it will have to wait till I've eaten my other produce. Arugula can be fairly peppery, but don't be tempted to mix it with another green here because it does an amazing job of balancing out the sweet, melt-in-your-mouth eggplant. Please, please make this.

Grilled Eggplant and Arugula Salad

2 medium Asian eggplants (the long thin kind), cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds (could substitute regular globe eggplants, cut into small chunks, but it's nice to have some skin on each piece for the texture)
1/2 large bunch arugula, maybe 1 1/2 cups
1 small wedge lemon
1-2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp olive oil
salt
pepper

Preheat your George Forman grill. Toss the eggplant slices with 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a bowl, until just lightly coated. Arrange the eggplant slices on the grill; it will probably take two batches. Close the grill tightly. Grill about 12 minutes, until there are charred grill marks and the eggplant is very, very soft.
Meanwhile, tear the arugula into small pieces and arrange in your bowl.
When the eggplant is done, arrange it on top of the arugula. Squeeze the lemon wedge over. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp olive oil. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Serves 1

Blackberry Cupcakes

Some might call these muffins, but to me, they are cupcakes. They are now, perhaps, my favorite cake ever. The basic cake recipe uses Clotilde Dusoulier of Chocolate & Zucchini's recipe for Yogurt Cake as a base, but is adapted to best fit blackberries. You could also use other summer fruits--diced peaches or nectarines, or raspberries, maybe. The blackberries remain mostly whole and fairly tart, which is a nice contrast to the sweet cake. The top gets light brown and crispy, and is the most delicious part.

Blackberry Cupcakes

about 56-60 blackberries, thawed at least partway if frozen
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt, NOT vanilla (it will mess with the texture because it has more sugar in it)
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
zest of 1 lemon
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
3 heaping teaspoons cornmeal

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the yogurt, sugar, and lemon zest. Add one egg, beat well; add the other egg and beat well again. Add the oil; beat. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cornmeal; mix just until combined. Do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into your muffin tin, about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way up. Place four blackberries on top of each; they will sink in as they bake. Bake about 35 minutes, until the top and edges are light brown.

You can eat these as-is, or you can top with whipped cream, creme fraiche, sour cream, or yogurt.

Makes 14 cupcakes.

Green Beans with Shallots, Spiced Pistachios, and Blue Cheese

I have time to cook again! For a potluck last night, I made these green beans (no photo because it just didn't occur to me yesterday). The idea came from a figs-green beans-and-hazelnut salad I saw on a restaurant menu; what I actually made turned out to be something entirely different, but equally interesting. It's pretty rich for a vegetable dish, so you don't need that much per person.

Green Beans with Shallots, Spiced Pistachios, and Blue Cheese

1 large bowlful of green beans, about 2lb
3 large shallots, sliced thinly
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/3 cup unshelled pistachio nuts, salted or unsalted
2 tbsp brown sugar
1-2 tbsp fennel seeds, to taste
3-4 grinds fresh black pepper
4 tbsp olive oil, divided

First, make the nut topping. Place the pistachios in a small plastic bag and roll over them a few times with a rolling pin to break them up a bit. In a small frying pan, combine 1 tbsp olive oil, pistachios, sugar, fennel seeds (don't be afraid of using a lot), black pepper, and some salt if using unsalted nuts. It should be enough pepper to make it slightly spicy. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar has melted and coated the nuts and the nuts are fragrant but not blackened--about 4 minutes. Pour into a bowl, and stir with a fork every so often while it cools to keep it from solidifying into one big glob.

Second, cook the green beans: the idea is to get them charred in places and starting to be wilty. The fast method is to boil them for about one minute, drain, and saute in 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high to high heat; you can also skip the boiling and saute them in oil over slightly lower heat for a bit longer, maybe 10 minutes total. When their skins have begun to blister all over, remove them from the heat.

Third, cook the shallots. Saute the three sliced shallots in 1 tbsp oil over medium-low until light brown, stirring frequently; about 7 minutes.

Combine the beans, nuts, and shallots in a serving bowl. Chill until cool. Add half the blue cheese; mix thoroughly. Sprinkle the rest of the blue cheese on top as garnish.

Serves 8 as one of several side dishes.