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Post by roan on Feb 14, 2008 22:22:42 GMT 1
They look great! How big are they now? The one on the right is about 6 inches long and is ready to pick. There are two others, each a little behind the other, so we will have a steady stream of them. There are still plenty of flowers, so hopefully we will have a few more off the two plants. |
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Post by roan on Feb 14, 2008 22:24:45 GMT 1
They look wonderful ;D Are they going into a musaca Roan? A Mousaka would be nice, but generally we slice them and fry them in Olive Oil with a little garlic and they turn out quite yummy! That one on the right is going to end up like that on Saturday! ;D |
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Post by debbiem on Feb 14, 2008 23:52:40 GMT 1
That sounds lovely - or a Brinjal Bhajee maybe? I think it's the Brinjal Bhajee that's the aubergine one, isn't it? Very tasty!
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Post by roan on Feb 15, 2008 1:25:39 GMT 1
That sounds lovely - or a Brinjal Bhajee maybe? I think it's the Brinjal Bhajee that's the aubergine one, isn't it? Very tasty! You're right! ;D Here is the recipe: Brinjal Bhajee Ingredients: * 2 onions * 2 green peppers * 3 aubergines * 2 tsp chilli powder * 2 tsp garam marsala * 2 tsp salt * about quarter of a pint of oil for frying * fresh coriander for garnish Chop up the onion and green pepper into about half inch pieces. Chop the aubergine into inch pieces. Put all the chopped vegetables in a bowl and sprinkle on the chilli, salt and garam marsala. Stir around so everything gets a coat of the spices. Heat the oil in a pan big enough to take the vegetables, or use a wok. When the oil is hot add the vegetables and cook on a high heat for about 10 minutes. Now turn the heat down and let the dish simmer for 20 minutes. You can decant off as much of the oil as you want to remove before serving. You will not get rid of it all, nor should you. I have tried straining the oil off using a metal colander but you lose most of the spices that way. Garnish with fresh coriander. |
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Post by debbiem on Feb 15, 2008 10:20:03 GMT 1
What a great recipe for them and very straightforward, thanks roan! ;D
I remember a very longwinded recipe for onion bhajees, loads of spices and tons of stuff involved, I was new to cooking admittedly, bought the lot, it took AGES but ended up with a glutinous mess.
This one I'll definitely try, thanks again!
Do you think you'll be making some with any of your aubergines?
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Post by roan on Feb 15, 2008 11:17:53 GMT 1
What a great recipe for them and very straightforward, thanks roan! ;D I remember a very longwinded recipe for onion bhajees, loads of spices and tons of stuff involved, I was new to cooking admittedly, bought the lot, it took AGES but ended up with a glutinous mess. This one I'll definitely try, thanks again! Do you think you'll be making some with any of your aubergines? Yes, and we have fresh green peppers to put in it too! |
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Post by debbiem on Feb 15, 2008 12:41:42 GMT 1
Lovely!  |
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Post by roan on Feb 16, 2008 9:18:00 GMT 1
Here's our attempt at Brinjal Bhajee  We only used enough Olive Oil to cover the bottom of our non-stick fry pan, used one Aubergine, one onion, two green and one red pepper, some little tomatoes and a couple of meat rissoles we had left over. To this we added two teaspoons of Cajun, two teaspoons of garlic and herb mixed and cooked it on a medium heat until the Aubergine was soft and brown. There was just enough for two of us and it was delicious! |
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Post by 4pygmies on Feb 16, 2008 9:22:19 GMT 1
That looks divine Roan......I am not allowed to make aubergine and meat dishes since I am married to a vegetarian  but I do make a mean tomato and aubergine casserole! Although to be honest I would grow aubergines just to look at them on the plants as they are so pretty, flowers and fruits! |
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Post by roan on Feb 17, 2008 18:17:22 GMT 1
That looks divine Roan......I am not allowed to make aubergine and meat dishes since I am married to a vegetarian but I do make a mean tomato and aubergine casserole! Although to be honest I would grow aubergines just to look at them on the plants as they are so pretty, flowers and fruits! You could make the dish we had without the rissoles, which were just an after thought as we had them left over in the fridge. I am sure the meal would be just as enjoyable. Aubergine and tomato are a nice combination - recipe please!  The flowers are very unusual and the fruit has such a distinctive look. They fill out very rapidly once they get going don't they!~ ;D |
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Post by 4pygmies on Feb 17, 2008 19:02:50 GMT 1
It's a very easy casserole Roan:
Slice the aubergines and salt them if you want to. Meanwhile chop and fry onions and garlic. Add a lot of sliced mushrooms of your choice and cook for a couple of minutes, then add a tin of chopped tomatoes (or fresh ones with some water). I add a dollop of red wine and tomato puree, season with herbs, salt and pepper and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
Then rinse and arrange the aubergines in a buttered casserole dish and add the tomato mix either in layers or just slosh on the top. I usually put a lid on the casserole and put it in the oven for 15 minutes or so until it has got nice and hot all the way through, then remove lid and add a topping of mozzeralla cheese and leave in the oven for another 30 minutes on a medium heat until the cheese is bubbling. Whole Sage leaves decoraring the top are nice.
It's lovely with garlic bread and spinach and watercress salad and steamed broccoli. Or whatever takes your fancy....I always think really good quality sausages roasted at the same time would be tasty with it too.........
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Post by roan on Feb 17, 2008 20:17:11 GMT 1
It's a very easy casserole Roan: Slice the aubergines and salt them if you want to. Meanwhile chop and fry onions and garlic. Add a lot of sliced mushrooms of your choice and cook for a couple of minutes, then add a tin of chopped tomatoes (or fresh ones with some water). I add a dollop of red wine and tomato puree, season with herbs, salt and pepper and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Then rinse and arrange the aubergines in a buttered casserole dish and add the tomato mix either in layers or just slosh on the top. I usually put a lid on the casserole and put it in the oven for 15 minutes or so until it has got nice and hot all the way through, then remove lid and add a topping of mozzeralla cheese and leave in the oven for another 30 minutes on a medium heat until the cheese is bubbling. Whole Sage leaves decoraring the top are nice. It's lovely with garlic bread and spinach and watercress salad and steamed broccoli. Or whatever takes your fancy....I always think really good quality sausages roasted at the same time would be tasty with it too......... A neat recipe thanks 4P! Will have to try it. we have plenty of fresh mushrooms around the place, so they will go down a treat! By the way, we can get vegetarian sausages here, can you? |
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Post by 4pygmies on Feb 17, 2008 20:20:59 GMT 1
Yes so can we but my OH isn't keen on them! I told you he was fussy........ ;D
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Post by roan on Feb 17, 2008 20:26:33 GMT 1
Yes so can we but my OH isn't keen on them! I told you he was fussy........ ;D He is very fortunate to have you. Giving up what you like to please him. That's dedication! ;D |
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Post by 4pygmies on Feb 17, 2008 20:30:30 GMT 1
Yes so can we but my OH isn't keen on them! I told you he was fussy........ ;D He is very fortunate to have you. Giving up what you like to please him. That's dedication! ;D I wouldn't call it dedication - more a strong desire to keep the peace and partly laziness as I can't be bothered to cook two different meals every night! I do eat meat but only every so often. I expect I'm the healthier for it too but I would NEVER tell him that... ;D |
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Post by roan on Feb 20, 2008 21:18:13 GMT 1
February 21st Our Aubergines are really getting into their stride now!   Time to try out that recipe of yours I think 4P! ;D |
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Post by maggyd on Feb 20, 2008 21:32:25 GMT 1
Yes so can we but my OH isn't keen on them! I told you he was fussy........ ;D Have you tried quorn 4Ps I use the quorn mince with onions and a tin of tomatoes it tastes just as good as minced steak. |
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Post by 4pygmies on Feb 20, 2008 21:39:02 GMT 1
Yes, we use quite a lot of the stuff! OH likes my quorn lasagne and I use it for Shepherd's pie which smallest likes too. I do think it's quite odd for vegetarians to use meat substitutes but Quorn has saved my bacon many times as I struggle to come up with something for meals every week.... ;D
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Post by debbiem on Feb 21, 2008 0:28:34 GMT 1
Here's our attempt at Brinjal Bhajee We only used enough Olive Oil to cover the bottom of our non-stick fry pan, used one Aubergine, one onion, two green and one red pepper, some little tomatoes and a couple of meat rissoles we had left over. To this we added two teaspoons of Cajun, two teaspoons of garlic and herb mixed and cooked it on a medium heat until the Aubergine was soft and brown. There was just enough for two of us and it was delicious! It looks lovely - haven't you supplied some forks too so we can have a little taste? ;D Those aubergines of yours are coming along wonderfully. |
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Post by roan on Feb 21, 2008 2:53:41 GMT 1
That lot didn't last long! However, we are doing another batch tonight only this time we are going to use fresh green beans, green peppers, aubergines and of course an onion as well as some chicken we have left over in the fridge (never waste anything in our house). BTW I do most of the cooking! ;D
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Post by debbiem on Feb 21, 2008 9:07:25 GMT 1
Sounds lovely. I hate waste too. Yesterday I made far too much rice, aduki beans and curried noodles with garlic, soy sauce etc, for my family who'd all been swimming. I expected them to come back with humungous appetites - they were starving when they got it but there's a limit to how much a stomach can fit in! ;D
The chickens have had some of it but the rest, I think I'll use some of it to go into some beanie veggie burgers tonight.
I've brought the family up to hate waste toobut sometimes, I think, they wish that Mum would just give it all to the chickens! ;D
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Post by roan on Feb 21, 2008 20:48:41 GMT 1
There are times when even with the best will in the world, scarps are left over that cannot be eaten. They go out onto our compost where they are happily gobbled up by our neighbours cats, mice, birds, hedgehogs, whichever gets there first!
Our cat, Mushi, watches over the process, gives the neighbours cats a thick ear and tries to catch the birds and mice, sometimes succesfully. The mice she can have, but we usually manage to rescue the birds! As for the hedgehogs, she has learnt to leave them alone!
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Post by debbiem on Feb 22, 2008 12:52:50 GMT 1
You'd think our chickens would be happy with the prime scraps they get, but a couple of days ago I saw one of them running round with a mouse in its mouth with the rest in full pursuit - I've never seen that before, grisly beyond belief.  I thought the cats were the mousers in our household. ;D |
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Post by roan on Feb 24, 2008 20:25:39 GMT 1
You'd think our chickens would be happy with the prime scraps they get, but a couple of days ago I saw one of them running round with a mouse in its mouth with the rest in full pursuit - I've never seen that before, grisly beyond belief. I thought the cats were the mousers in our household. ;D When we lived in Africa back in the fifties we had a chicken that tried to eat a snake, the trouble was it was too long, so the chicken ran around the garden with the snakes tail dangling out of its mouth! Surprising what they will eat isn't it! ;D |
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but I do make a mean tomato and aubergine casserole! Although to be honest I would grow aubergines just to look at them on the plants as they are so pretty, flowers and fruits!
I thought the cats were the mousers in our household. ;D