Nature comes to us

In the last two episodes, I again touted the benefits of being in nature and cataloged the fauna I've seen while hiking in Biscuit Run. This week, the fauna came to us. One evening while Brad and I were watching Jeopardy! I heard some loud thumping outside and opened our front door to see this little guy rummaging through our recycling and trying to knock over the trash can, too, to get at the bag of trash that Brad had just dropped in there:

The bear heard the door open and sauntered down our driveway towards the woods behind our house, but not before pausing to eyeball us snapping photos of him through our front door:

He looks to be about a year-and-a-half old, which is kinda cute right now, but I don't want him to make a habit of hanging around our neighborhood rummaging through trash cans (and bird feeders) looking for food when he's all grown up and looks more like this:

This is a shot one of my running buddy's friends snapped in Batesville of the bear that had helped himself to an entire shipment of dog food. Coming across this big boy out in the woods or while running in our neighborhood, as I did the smaller bear one morning the week before last, would be an entirely different story.

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After getting in a big supply of eggplant through her CSA, Andi recently asked if I had any ideas for what to do with it all. I sent her back a few recipes, including one for stuffed eggplant. Grandma Pina used to make this often for Mom and me, because she knew how much Mom loved it. But I hadn't made this dish in about 20 years, thinking it wouldn't go over too well with you all when you were younger, and then there was the bread stuffing and gluten-free problem. But it was well received at Andi's house, so I made it this week (on the evening of the bear's visit) using Mom's child-sized gluten-free bread and it got a big thumbs-up from everyone here as well. I've filled out the instructions a bit, but otherwise this is Grandma Pina's stuffed eggplant like she showed me how to make it.

Step 3: Sautéing the eggplant

Step 4: Equal amounts of bread and eggplant cubes

Step 4: Mixture spooned into eggplant skins

The finished product

Andi's version, with some shredded mozzarella sprinkled on top before baking

Grandma Pina’s Stuffed Eggplant

Time: 1:15

The amount of bread you use is supposed to be roughly equal to the amount of meat you remove from the eggplants. That was easy for Grandma Pina to do because she used unseasoned Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix for the bread and could figure it out after removing the meat from the eggplant. Pepperidge Farm doesn’t seem to make unseasoned stuffing mix anymore, so I just make my own dried bread cubes out of sandwich bread or Mom’s child-sized gluten free bread. 150 grams of bread cubes worked out just right for me, but you may want to start out with a little more than that just in case. To make the dried bread cubes, cut your bread into small cubes and (1) leave it out to go stale for 8 to 24 hours, or (2) bake it in a 300-degree oven on a small sheet pan until the cubes are dry and crisp, about 10 to 12 minutes.

2 medium-large eggplants
7 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 large or 4 medium)
a splash of dry white wine
kosher salt
¼ cup (60 grams) water
? dried bread cubes (see note)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¼ cup (15 grams) grated Parmesan cheese
freshly grated black pepper
~½ cup tomato sauce

    1. Place a rack in the center of the oven; heat to 375 degrees. Bring 4 quarts of water to a roiling boil in a large stockpot. Lightly oil a large baking dish (at least 13-by-9 inches).
    2. Wash the eggplants, trim off the tops, then cut them in half lengthwise. Carefully cut and scoop the meat out of the eggplants, keeping the skins intact. (A curved grapefruit knife helps with this job if you have one.) Leave at least 5 mm (a little less than ¼ inch) of meat attached to the skin so that the shells maintain their integrity through the process of blanching and baking. Cut the meat into small cubes. Dip the skins in the boiling water until just softened but still holding their shape, 1 to 2 minutes only (they'll continue to soften after blanching). Using tongs, transfer the skins to the baking dish.
    3. Heat 3 tablespoons (40 grams) of the oil in a large saucepan or saucier over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, eggplant cubes, and a good splash of white wine. Season with a good pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in a little water if the mixture dries out and starts sticking to the pan.
    4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the water with the dried bread cubes. When the eggplant is done, scrape it into the bowl with the bread. Add the egg, cheese, and a few grinds of pepper. Mix everything together until well combined. Spoon the mixture evenly into the eggplant skins. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil, then a few tablespoons of tomato sauce, over each eggplant half. Bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Serves 2 to 4.