Ben’s food humor these days tends toward breaking down names of foods and taking them literally, Amelia Bedelia-style. According to Ben, horseradish tastes like horse, hot dogs taste like dog, monkey bread tastes like monkey, and chicken fingers taste like fingers. Mind you, it doesn’t slow him down any when devouring these items. He just likes playing with the words.
This week, despite its tasting like eye, Ben swung for the fences and asked for ribeye steak on the grill. Considering the obscene amount of beef that he consumed during his birthday week, I tried to steer him towards something healthy-ish. He looked through one of his cookbooks and found a picture of chicken and pasta smothered in a cream gravy. He laid it before me and said quietly, “Just keep an open mind…”
Though secretly amused by his subtle new tool of persuasion, my heart and mind remained closed to this menu choice, and I asked him to try again. He came back with a picture of baked fish, but I didn’t want to stink up the house. We settled on grilled fish, couscous with spiced tomatoes, and eggplant salad.
I like to keep an open mind when shopping for fish, by which I mean I allow price to guide my selection. I know that most people, when choosing fresh fish, may opt to economize elsewhere, but they would miss out on the delightful catfish at Wegmans, which happened to be the best bargain.
Phil grilled the fish like he does all fish – on foil with olive oil and adobo seasoning until it is done – and it was delicious.
The couscous recipe can be found here:
https://bensdaywednesday.com/spectator-sport/
I love eggplant (maybe because it tastes like egg) but nobody else in the family shares my passion. I think the only reason Ben (who is more eggplant agnostic) agreed to the eggplant salad was because he knows that Phil detests it. Just keep an open mind, Phil.
The recipe for the eggplant salad came from Ben’s Aunt Mary, but I scaled it down and used pistachios instead of her recommended walnuts. Just keep an open mind, Aunt Mary.
Eggplant Salad
1 large eggplant
Salt
Lots of olive oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt (not Greek or nonfat)
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
Roasted salted pistachios, lightly chopped
- Cut off the eggplant’s stem, and peel lengthwise in stripes, leaving half the peel on.
- Slice eggplant lengthwise into pieces about 1/3 inch thick. Generously season each piece with salt, stack on a plate, and let them rest 30 minutes to draw out moisture. With a paper towel, wipe off all the salt and moisture from each piece.
- Meanwhile, stir together yogurt and garlic, adding salt to taste.
- In a large, nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Fry eggplant in a single layer, turning when golden brown. Drain on newspaper covered with paper towel.
- To serve, overlap slices on platter, drizzle with dressing, and top with pistachios.
Ben wolfed down his meal, declared that catfish tastes like cat, and asked for seconds.
