Thai Green Eggplant

I love Thai food.

I also love Curry.

I ADORE Thai Green Curry!

So, This little cutie pie at the market was one I needed to try!

The biggest different between this eggplant and a regular one, is that the "meat" stays really firm when you cook it. This was appealing to me at first, so i bought it.

However, the insides stay firm while the outer layer -and subsequently the skin - still cook. Then you were left with the spongy seedy part in the middle still firm, and the skins falling off. uh oh.

So I would recommend this for a stirfry! But I still like my eggplant melt in your mouth in my Thai food :) SO maybe I'm best staying with the regular purple and Asian eggplants.

Kale

BITTER GREENS!

One of my favourites growing up in an Italian household, was steamed rapini, that was sauteed in olive oil with garlic and chilli flakes.

Unfortunately, one day while shopping for "high iron" foods, the produce boys informed me that the broccolini, rapini, and other assorted bitter greens, actually began to loose their nutrient value the minute they were steamed.

 

http://www.google.ca/images/

So, the first time I tried Kale this year was slathered in salty peanut satay sauce.

Don't get me wrong, it tasted great. However, this wasn't healthy; the reason I was eating it!

Recently, kale is plentiful as a winter season organic and locally grown vegetable (hurray temperate coastal climate!) In my attempts at supporting global stewardship and the local food movement, I bought myself several bunches.

The my second first time "trying" the kale ( I say this because I could actually taste it this time) I was dissapointed. No amount of lemon juice or soy sauce masked that unmistakable bitter taste.

One day not too long after, I miraculously stumbled on Kath eating kale in her daily blog She sauteed it with... MAPLE SYRUP!?

Okay, there was two bunches to go!

It was amazing. my new rule: add a TOUCH of something sweet to the water when you are steaming the kale. DONE.

Or, as I did today with my lunch, I used steamed kale and added a touch of sweet to my salad dressing

 Check out the recipe:

One bunch kale, stemmed, cut, steamed and drained
Three fingers of roasted yam, cold, and cut into chunks
Half a bosch pear
half an avocado (hurray sales! what a treat!)
sprinkle of red onion

Dressing, shaken in a jam jar:
grainy dijon
olive oil
white balsamic
salt
pepper
splash of maple syrup

mmmmmmmmm, you should try it!

Chayote Squash

Well I wasn't sure what to think.

I acquired this baby in a clearance tray for $1.99 at the produce market, along with a chunk of Taro root and another unidentified squash item.



It looks like a pear that was dropped on it's face as a baby.
It was described to taste like a zucchini.
And is said to be crunchy even after cooking in liquid.

But.. if it's good enough for Bobby Flay...

I chopped this into bite sized pieces, sauteed it in olive oil, salt and pepper. After it had cooked I added white balsamic vinegar and let the stove do it's thing. and do you know what?

It looked like pear, tasted JUST like zuchinni, and had absolutely no spongey texture...

It wasn't bad at ALL. I don't think I would buy it to eat as a side, but I will absolutely adding this to a chilli or stew for some "heartiness"

NOTE: It also has a large flat seed on the inside, but this is edible and tastes very similar to the flesh. unfortunately my camera flash ruined the rest of my chayote photos