Eggplant Pasta
It can’t get any easier than that. What do you do if your wife loves eggplant parmiggiano, but you really hate the breading and frying part of it? Here’s the answer. Just dice the eggplant already, fry them in the pan in oil and cover it in the same pasta sauce you’d be using for eggplant parmiggiano. Et Voila. You see, I speak multiple languages.
Oh, some trick in preparing eggplant. Follow the link.
- 1 eggplant
- 1 pound of pasta (spaghetti, penne, you name it)
- 1 pound of pasta sauce
- Pre-heat the oven to 350-375 F
- Peel and dice the eggplant.
- Roast the diced eggplant in a pan.
- Transfer the eggplant into a fireproof dish.
- Add the pasta sauce.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Cook the pasta in parallel
Pulled Sauerkraut Pork
What happens if you go out and buy some pork ribs because you always wanted to see what you can do with them in a crock pot? Right, you forget that you bought them and find them in the fridge at noon of the expiration date. And have no real clue what to do with them. Well, start by heating up the crock pot and throw in the ribs. Good. Done. Now add some barbeque sauce, because that’s what it’s supposed to be. Now what? Click here
Some emergency web research told me to add some Sauerkraut and some vinegar if you live in North Carolina. Two strikes. Sauerkraut works for Germans and guess where I live. The result? People love it. My wife does. Her coworkers do. You will.
- 1½ pound pork ribs
- 8 ounce can sauerkraut
- 1 cup vinegar
- 2 Tbs BBQ sauce
- 1 tsp caraway seed
- salt
- pepper
- Fill the crock pot with the pork ribs
- Add the sauerkraut
- Fill up with 1 cup of vinegar. That should almost cover the meat.
- Add the BBQ sauce and the caraway seeds.
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cook for 6-8 hours on low.
- About 4-5 hours in, pull off the bones.
- Pull the meat into pieces and mix with the sauerkraut.
Cucumber Salad
Got some extra cucumbers? Do you need a side dish real quick. Really feel like having some cukes. Whip up some marinade, chop the cucumbers and ready is a refreshing summer side dish.
- 1 cucumber
- 3 Tbsp vinegar (white, wine or cider)
- 2 Tbsp chopped dill
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon Pepper
- Put sugar, dill, salt and pepper into your serving dish.
- Add the vinegar and whisk until the sugar has dissolved.
- Peel the and slice the cucumber and add it into the dish.
- Mix the dressing and cucumber and let it marinade for 30 minutes, occasionally mixing
Introduction
Cook like a guy. As a 7-year old, my grandma supervised me when I made my first eggs, sunny side up. As a 15-year old I found my lunches wrapped in a towel under the down comforter. It usually was still warm, but sometimes I had to re-heat it in hot water. We didn’t have a microwave. As a 20-year old I was able to make pasta and was soon to learn how to make some basic pasta dishes. I call it my Italian phase. And for the next 25 years, mostly living alone, my cooking skills improved steadily at a leisurely pace of about 2 dishes per decade.
There are a few Italian recipes I picked up and forgot again, there was an experimental mousse-au-chocolate (a failed experiment) and many restaurant visits, home delivery, Chinese takeout, Kebab and Falafel stands and grilled chicken from a cooking trailer. Burritos are great food to go. I mean, to take home. There was steamed cauliflower with cheese and butter, I was perfect in making hotdogs and polish sausages and once a microwave oven came into my life, I made many more culinary discoveries in the prepared foods section.
Life took some lucky turns for me and I got married after a long time of bachelorhood. My wife is a great cook (she’s proofreading, I have to say that) and I continued my training by studying how to dice tomatoes, potatoes and onions. Bagged mixed lettuce and canned artichokes allowed me to make excellent salad. And then I lost my job of 25 years. Which kept me at home and my wife at work. Naturally, I ended up offering to cook. I should have known better.
I still haven’t found a job, but as an IT guy, I am able to set up a website, no problem. But I still have a lot to learn as a cook. Please help !!