Not going to lie. Until last night, I had never had eggplant. Not only had I never had eggplant, I was discriminating against eggplant. Hard.

But I was a dummy. Because last night I finally got some guts and decided to attempt something with eggplant. And it was damn tasty.

I found the raw eggplant to be mild in flavor with an enjoyable texture.

Did you see how I got all fancy and food critic like on you just then? Nice right?

Seriously though, this was great little appetizer. And, it was a great snack at work today with some dipping veggies.

You will need…

1 large eggplant, ends trimmed and cut into chunks

1 large red onion, trimmed and cut into chunks

1 large bell pepper, trimmed and cut into chunks

6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ cup cilantro, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the eggplant, red onion, bell pepper and garlic.

Toss the veggies with the garlic powder, olive oil and some salt and pepper.

When all the veggies are lightly coated, spread them out on a baking sheet.

Roast the veggies for 45 minutes.

When the veggies are browned but not soggy, remove from the heat.

Let the veggies cool slightly and then add them to the bowl of a food processor.

Add in the curry and red pepper flakes and pulse until pureed.

Then, add in the cilantro and pulse until it is completely combined.

Season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Serve warm or cold with bread, crackers or veggies.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela

Roasted Eggplant Dip

1 large eggplant, ends trimmed and cut into chunks

1 large red onion, trimmed and cut into chunks

1 large bell pepper, trimmed and cut into chunks

6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ cup cilantro, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the eggplant, red onion, bell pepper and garlic.

Toss the veggies with the garlic powder, olive oil and some salt and pepper.

When all the veggies are lightly coated, spread them out on a baking sheet.

Roast the veggies for 45 minutes.

When the veggies are browned but not soggy, remove from the heat.

Let the veggies cool slightly and then add them to the bowl of a food processor.

Add in the curry and red pepper flakes and pulse until pureed.

Then, add in the cilantro and pulse until it is completely combined.

Season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Serve warm or cold with bread, crackers or veggies. 

Well, I somehow managed to survive my first attempt at a three-tiered wedding cake.

Practice wedding cake of course.

Surviving in this case means that all three layers existed, all layers had frosting and at one short time all three layers were stacked.

The fact that the dowels poked through the top of the cake, the sides of the icing were completely messed up and then I could barely get the cake apart are just minor wrinkles that need to be ironed out.

I’m really happy I did a practice run. Not because it made me feel better, but it made me realize I really need to get my butt in gear and do many more practice runs.

And while I do not consider my cake attempt a great success, I do consider these scones a huge win.

You will need…

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling on the top of scones

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ stick cold butter, cubed

1 ½ cup mixed berries (I prefer blackberries and raspberries)

¾ cup buttermilk, plus a little extra to brush the scones with (you can either use this

 recipe, or you can add 1 tablespoon honey and 1 teaspoon orange zest to store bought buttermilk)

 1 teaspoon salt

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl of a food processor or stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Add in the cold butter and pulse until the butter is combined.

If you are in a food processor, move your dough to a stand mixer or large bowl.

Add in the ¾ cup buttermilk and stir to combine.

Then, add in the berries and blend just till the berries are in small pieces.

Drop large spoonfuls of dough on a parchment lined paper.

With a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops of the dough with the remaining buttermilk and sprinkle it with sugar.

Bake until golden brown. About 17-20 minutes.

Serve warm with  orange honey butter

Love and Beer Floats

Angela

Berry Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling on the top of scones

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ stick cold butter, cubed

1 ½ cup mixed berries (I prefer blackberries and raspberries)

¾ cup buttermilk, plus a little extra to brush the scones with (you can either use this

 recipe, or you can add 1 tablespoon honey and 1 teaspoon orange zest to store bought buttermilk)

 1 teaspoon salt

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl of a food processor or stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Add in the cold butter and pulse until the butter is combined.

If you are in a food processor, move your dough to a stand mixer or large bowl.

Add in the ¾ cup buttermilk and stir to combine.

Then, add in the berries and blend just till the berries are in small pieces.

Drop large spoonfuls of dough on a parchment lined paper.

With a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops of the dough with the remaining buttermilk and sprinkle it with sugar.

Bake until golden brown. About 17-20 minutes.

Serve warm with  orange honey butter