Mixed Grill with Chimichurri (FM)

• 1 or 2 eggplants, cut into thick slices
• 2 cups fresh parsley (mostly leave, but thin stems are okay)
• Salt and black pepper
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for grilling
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or lemon juice [Again, I'm using sherry vinegar. I have it on hand.  Why not?]
• 1 teaspoon red chile flakes
• 2 portobellol mushrooms
• 2 summer squash, cut lengthwise into thick slices
• 4 ripe tomatoes, cored but left whole
• 12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast or pork tenderloin, cut in half crosswise and pounded to 1/2 inch thick [latter]
• 1 bunch scallions [nope]

Yeah, I tried to make chimichurri sauce in my low-end blender.  It didn't work.

Chimichurri is made from finely chopped parsley (an alternative version uses coriander), minced garlic, olive oil, oregano, and white or red wine vinegar. Additional flavorings such as coriander, paprika, cumin, thyme, lemon, and bay leaf may be included. In its red version, tomato and red bell pepper may also be added. It can also be used as a marinade for grilled meat. Chimichurri is available bottled or dehydrated for preparation by mixing with oil and water. Somewhat similar sauces are pistou and pesto.

Salt, pepper, oil, garlic, and a crazy amount of parsley.  Drizzle in more oil as the machine is running as well as sherry vinegar.

When it comes to grilling the actual food, it's pretty basically.  Olive, salt, and pepper.

Tenderloin and tomato.

Running up and down the stairs like mad while "hosting" a cookout party in my back yard was pretty exhausting, but I ate bits and pieces when I got the chance and was frankly well on my way to being full once all the cooking was done.
There's a splash of the romesco sauce as well.  My friends thoroughly enjoyed both sauces.  Chimichurri sauce is also a big winner though twice as much a headache because it has twice as much picked parsley in it.

Braised Tofu with Eggplant and Shitake (HCEV)

• 1/4 cup peanut oil or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn
• 1 cup sliced shitake caps (reserve stems for stock or discard) [I know Mark Bittman doesn't like dried Chinese mushrooms, but they've been a favorite of mine since I was a child so....]
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon peeled and minced ginger (optional)
• 1 1/2 pounds eggplant, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks, and salted, rinsed and dried if you like [Before executing the dish, I was considering getting Chinese takeout since I was starving so bad...  In any case, I didn't go through the whole process of correcting preparing eggplant.]
• 1 tablespoon Chile Paste, or to taste (optional) [Let's just go ahead and double that shit.]
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock or water [I used a 1/2 cup of the mushroom-soaking water and then threw boxed chicken stock in there as I seem to do.]
• 2 tablespoons soy sayce
• 1 pound tofu, cut into 3/4 inch cubs
• 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil for garnish (optional)
• Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish (optional) [I do have cilantro on hand at the moment, but we're not talking Southeast Asian food here.]
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds for garnish (optional) [I suppose this would've been nice, but I didn't think to do it.]
• 2 tablespoons minced scallion for garnish (optional)

Mise en place.


Shitake mushrooms over medium high in 2 tablespoons peanut oil.


Fried to a crisp.  Which isn't how I usually like them.


Lift the mushrooms out with a slotted spoon and add the rest of the oil and the ginger, garlic, and eggplant.


Fry until charred.


Add the chili paste and liquid.





Cook until eggplant is tender.  Bittman said I wouldn't need extra liquid but with the pan at medium-high and so little liquid...  I added boxed chicken broth.

Add soy sauce and tofu and heat through.  Stirring the mushrooms at the end.

At some point I though, "Whoa, I'm basically cooking in the same style of food that I ate growing up more or less every day."  Even if my mom never crisp-fried shitakes to my knowledge.
The people at work thought it smelled amazing, but rarely do I encounter a recipe that's truly my thing.
Didn't become a fan of cooking shitakes in this way.

Hot, Sweet, and Sour Chickpeas with Eggplant (HCEV)

• 2 tablespoons neutral oil, like grapeseed and corn (Rather save the grapeseed oil for MMB recipes and corn oil is another thing Michael Pollan has successfully made me feel queasy about. So peanut oil it is.)
• 1 medium eggplant, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2 hot fresh chiles, seeded and minced, or hot red pepper flakes to taste (Used a couple orange habaneros since I love spiciness. Boy, did it hurt when I threw them in the saucepan. I had me, the roommate I was cooking with, and the roommate who had is door open near the kitchen coughing the whole night.)
• 1 sprig fresh curry leaves or dried leaves (Interestingly enough, the Indian supermarket in Central Square on Mass Ave only has fresh leaves and I had to get dried ones from my Indian co-worker last fall when I wanted to make my own curry powder. Too damned tired to drop in and buy some last night.)
• 3 cups black or regular chickpeas, with about 2 cups of their cooking liquid (Used regular here. Oh, Mark Bittman, if only I cared enough to execute this to your highest standards; most of the time I do pretty well.)
• 1 tablespoon Sambar Powder or curry powder (The recipe for Sambar Powder did sound compellingly interesting, but I had some above-mentioned curry powder left that I plan on throwing out in a couple weeks, as per some of Bittman's other advice.)
• 1 teaspoon ground tumeric
• Pinch of asafetida [optional] (I bought a tiny container of this about two years ago at world famous Kalustyan's in Manhattan's Little India. Didn't attempt to wrench open the container until last night. Sure, shit's optional, but Indian food won't taste the same without. Also if you live in Boston, there's no real excuse when there are Indian grocery stores everywhere.)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon tamarind paste or freshly squeezed lime juice to taste
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Chopped cilantro leaves for garnish (I rarely even lie to myself about garnishing anymore by buying fresh herbs. I left out the ingredient below as well.)
• Chopped roasted peanuts for garnish

Mise en place.


Threw the food back in the pan to mix the whole thing up with a splash of Staci Z's lite coconut milk. Going into shopping at the Whole Foods in Symphony, I had to wonder why coconut milk wasn't on the grocery list, and after actually making the dish, it so called out for a bit of richness.
Though sauteing chopped habeneros was a thoroughly intense experience, I thought the dish wasn't overwhelming and had a nice slow burn. Staci differed on this point.