One of the very first things I did after we relocated to Austin, TX a few weeks ago is sign up for a Community Sponsored Agriculture (CSA) service. I’m all about supporting local agriculture and quality, organic produce, plus it’s so much fun to get a surprise vegetable every now and then that you wouldn’t normally find. So you can imagine how excited I was when my first CSA box included a special favorite of mine: watermelon radishes!
It’s almost two weeks into the New Year, and this is about the time that New Year’s resolutions begin to go south. You made a resolution to work out five times a week, but you got busy one day and skipped a workout; “I’ll make it up in the morning”, you tell yourself, but next thing you know three days have gone by and you haven’t gone back to the gym yet. Or you made a promise to yourself to eat healthier, eat more fruits & vegetables, and eat less junk; you only get one body after all, treat it like it deserves! But you gave in to a couple slices of pizza while out with your friends, or a couple cookies after dinner, or you went to brunch and just had to order some French toast (my personal weakness). Any of this sound familiar?
The new year is all about making resolutions, and I have decided that the perfect resolution for me is to finally break my mini-hiatus from CITK. First it was that I was in Israel visiting my family, then it was the packing, and then the relocating… Next thing I know it, two months have passed. But I am glad to report that I am officially back, reporting live from our beautiful new home in Austin, Texas, and today’s recipe is one of my lifelong favorites.
This blog post’s recipe star is none other than: the eggplant.
Hello, hello! Long time no post, but I promise I haven’t forgotten about you! I just came back from a three week stay with my family in Israel, it was so nice to see them and to spoil my nephew with chocolate and goodies (yep, I’m that kind of aunt). Now we’re back just in time to celebrate Hanukkah, one of my favorite holidays of the year. Part of the Hanukkah tradition is to eat lots and lots of fried goodies, especially donuts a.k.a. sufganiyot. I might have gone a little overboard with the sufganiyot this year… Maybe it’s the jetlag, or you could also blame homesickness I suppose, but I tell you one thing: these oreo-stuffed donuts are so darn good, I guarantee you’ll want to make them year-round.
Ah, the pumpkin pie, a mainstay of every Thanksgiving meal. A good pumpkin pie is absolutely vital. But you’re not going to stop there. No way. “Good enough” isn’t good enough. You demand excellence! You demand a pie that your guests just can’t get enough of no matter how stuffed full of turkey they are. And if you ask me, a crème brûlée is your way of excellence manifesting itself as a pie.