Minty Melon Granita

According to the calendar and the recent fall-ish weather, summer appears to be waning. But I can't allow that. I was so frantically busy during the balmy months of June and July that I didn't do ANYTHING I normally like to do in the summer: no sticky picnics in the park, no junk food binges at street fairs, no boozy beach trips with friends, no exhaustive hikes through the woods with the dog, no staunch refusal to believe that my extremely pale skin will get sunburned if I lay in the sun for just a little while... you get my point.

So of course now I'm determined to fit as much summer as I can into these final weeks of August, and if the fun stretches a bit into September, I'll be a happy camper. (Camping! I didn't go camping either!)

It's melon season here in Philadelphia, and one summer activity I'm happy to report I've been engaging in is consuming my weight in watermelons and cantaloupes these past few weeks. We got a lovely canary melon that in our CSA last week-- so perfect and yellow and fragrant that I thought it deserved a little special treatment. My work has been cranking out melon sorbets, but I don't have an ice cream maker at home. Yet. So what's a melon-loving (pun most definitely intended) girl to do? Enter the granita.

Agitating the granita mixture at frequent intervals as it freezes creates a delightfully chunky texture. I didn't even bother to strain out the solids after I blended the melon because I'm a big fan of that grainy melon texture, but if you prefer a smoother dessert, by all means, strain away.

Granitas make the most perfect little amuse bouches and are a perfect palette cleanser between courses. Mixing in little fruity alcohol (such as gin or a blanco tequila or even a nice white wine) after the granita is frozen would create an extremely refreshing summer cocktail. Or you could just help yourself to a big bowl of the stuff as you watch the sun go down on your little Philadelphia patio. How you spend the waning summer with your granita is, of course, totally up to you.

Bain taitneamh as do bheil!

PREP TIME: about 30 minutes

FREEZING TIME: about 3 hours

MAKES: about eight 1 cup servings

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup organic sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 large sprigs fresh mint, divided
• 1 large or 2 medium sweet melons, such as canary or honeydew, cut into chunks (about 8 cups of melon chunks total)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make mint simple syrup: place sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil mixture until the sugar totally dissolves. Remove simple syrup from stove and stir in one large sprig of fresh mint. Set mixture aside to steep for at least a half hour.
2. Place melon chunks in a blender and blend until a smooth puree is achieved, taking care to break up all large chunks of melon. (If your blender is having trouble, drizzle a little water through the top while it's blending) Add mint leaves from second sprig (about 1/4 cup leaves, stripped from their stems) to melon puree and blend to incorporate little tiny pieces of mint leaves throughout the puree.
3. Remove mint sprig from simple syrup mixture and discard. Stir 1/2 cup of mint simple syrup into melon puree. (You should have mint simple syrup left over-- delicious in mixed drinks, or try using it to sweeten iced tea!)
4. Pour the melon puree into a large baking dish (you want a shallow layer of puree, otherwise it will take forever to freeze) and place in the freezer.
5. Freeze mixture for one hour, then remove and scrape the surface thoroughly with a fork, breaking up any large icy chunks. Repeat the scraping process every half hour or so until mixture is completely frozen, about 3 hours.
6. Serve granita in your prettiest glassware, garnished with a mint sprig. Savor summertime!

Eggplant Parmigiana

Happy days, herbivores-- I've graduated from culinary school! Things are slowly settling back into normal... or a new normal for us, as everything has changed and I feel like I am coming home from a long, long journey.

The end of school was a whirlwind of food and fun and tears and goodbyes... I have a post planned about all of the wonderful experiences I had as school came to an end. But first, a little vintage comfort food, because nothing calms the nerves after an exhilarating/exhausting experience like a classic casserole.

Eggplant parmigiana has gotten a bit of a bad rap for being the greasy, heavy dish filled with soggy eggplant and smothered in cheese that vegetarians are obliged to order at Italian restaurants. But it doesn't have to be that way! Using the fresh produce from our CSA, I made a casserole that is satisfying and comforting without the excess grease. Oh, sure, there's a little bit of frying involved, but using health-supportive coconut oil yields the crispiest eggplant you'll ever bite into. And I've cut the cheese way back because all of those fresh veggies make the dish completely satisfying without extra grease. Many tomato sauce recipes call for added sugar to counter the tomato's acidity, but in this recipe grated carrots add sweetness and extra vitamins to boot.

So indulge in a little comfort-- congratulate yourself for graduating from school, getting that new job, getting married, getting divorced... surely there is a reason in your life to celebrate!

Bain taitneamh as do bheil!

PREP TIME: about 30 minutes

COOKING TIME: about 45 minutes

YIELDS: about 8 one cup servings

INGREDIENTS:

for the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, cut into 1" dice
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 medium carrots, finely grated
• 6-7 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1 28 ounce can plum tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• sea salt & freshly cracked pepper, to taste

for the eggplant:

• 1 large eggplant, cut into 1/2" rounds
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 3-4 twists of the pepper mill
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup milk (I didn't have cow's milk on-hand so I used almond milk, which worked great!)
• 2 cups panko style bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary
• 2 tablespoons dried basil
• approximately 2 cups (you may use more or less, depending on the size of your pan) virgin coconut oil, for frying
• 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced into rounds
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 4 leaves fresh basil, finely chiffonaded

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lay eggplant slices on a baking sheet and sprinkle generously with salt. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat the extra virgin olive oil until the surface begins to shimmer. Add diced onions and saute until lightly browned. Add chopped garlic and grated carrots and saute for 1 minute more, taking care not to let the garlic brown. Add fresh tomatoes, red wine, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme and salt & pepper. Allow mixture to come to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.
3. Simmer sauce until plum tomatoes break down and everything combines into a chunky sauce, about 20 minutes.
4. While the sauce is simmering, prepare the eggplant. Rinse the salted slices off and pat dry.
5. Set up your dredging station: place 3 bowls in a row on your counter. In the first bowl, mix the flour, the salt and the pepper. In the second bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. In the third, toss the panko bread crumbs, the dried rosemary and the dried basil together.
6. Pour the virgin coconut oil into a skillet with high sides-- there should be enough oil in the pan to come halfway up the sides of the eggplant slices. Turn on the heat until the surface of the oil begins to shimmer (alternately, use a thermometer to bring the oil to 300 degrees Fahrenheit).
7. Dip the eggplant slices first in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Dip the slice into the egg and milk mixture and finally into the breadcrumb mixture. Gently place the slice into the hot oil and fry each side until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Place fried eggplant slices onto a sheet tray lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
8. When all eggplant slices have been fried, it's time to assemble the casserole. In the bottom of a 9" by 13" casserole dish, ladle a generous helping of tomato sauce. Place a single layer of the fried eggplant slices on top of the tomato sauce, followed by a sprinkling of the mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Repeat the tomato sauce, eggplant slices and cheese layers until all the ingredients have been used up, ending with a cheese layer on top.
9. Place the assembled casserole in the oven and bake until it is thoroughly heated through and the cheese is melty and gooey.
10. Top with chiffonaded fresh basil and serve with a big green salad. Congratulate yourself on a job well done!