Turkishish Eggplant Stew

My mom and little brother went to Turkey recently and returning, they raved about the eggplant dishes. They are now on an eggplant-fix and constantly cooking with it. Being away from home as I am, I googled some Turkish recipes with eggplant and found this lovely stew on an interesting website. Similar to ratatouille, this hearty stew was flavorful for being vegetarian and great on its own for dinner.
Prepare:
-Peel one large eggplant. Cut into large slices, salt, and store in the fridge for 20min-several hours - this is to excise the bitterness. You don't have to do it, I think, with the long thin eggplants, but I'm not sure
-Chop 1 large onion
-Crush several cloves of garlic, the more the better-Chop 1 zucchini, 1 potato, and some hot peppers-Open a can of diced or peeled tomatoes
-Ready either 2 tbsp tomato paste or pepper paste (I used Korean hot pepper paste)
-1/3 cup stock
-salt, pepper, other spices such as cumin, turmeric, Moroccan seasoning, etc
-Chop some fresh parsley (optional)
Cook:
-In a large wok, medium heat, lightly fry garlic, onion, and eggplant in olive oil for about 15 minutes-Mix in the paste until it's all the way through-Add the remaining ingredients (except the parsley), turn to low heat and simmer for about 45 minutes (until potatoes are thoroughly cooked), stirring every 10 minutes or so and making sure you crush and tomato pieces-Add seasonings to taste, garnish with fresh parsley
Tips:
-I thought this was nice, but a bit bland with the original ingredients, which is why I added those other seasonings (cumin, hot pepper, etc) . In the future, I think I might even add more garlic, just to ensure that loveliness
-I think pumpkin, added at the same time as potato, would be an excellent addition, as would sweet potato
-Grated Parmesan would also work well with this dish
-Eat with nice flat bread or some rice

Khichdi

At the farmer's market this weekend I bought a punnet of mung beans on some whim. I don't know why, as I'd never had them before, but thought that I'd seen some interesting recipes that call for mung beans and would give a try. I did some googling and stumbled onto this, poorly arranged, page with lots of interesting recipes, and I opted for Khichari (aka Khichdi). I thought it was very tasty and interesting, though pretty bland. Looking over the article in wikipedia, suddenly it makes sense: it's the first food babies get and it's given to recovering patients! If only I'd known, I'd have changed it even more than I did. Oh well, for next time.
Prepare:
-Ready a cup of mung beans... I think you're supposed to peel them ahead of time, though I didn't. To do that, just soak them in some water for a while, I think-Chop up some cauliflower, carrot, tomato, onion, green onion leaf, and some hot pepper (this is what I was lacking!)-Ready spices: 1 tbsp fresh ginger, 1-2cloves crushed garlic, 1tsp turmeric, 1 tbsp cumin, 1tsp coriander powder/seeds and salt and pepper (I used crushed black and Korean red pepper powder)
-Measure out 1 cup long grain rice
Cook:
-Heat beans in a pot with 5 cups of water until soft, around 5 minutes-Add vegetables (except onions) and rice, bring to boil and lower heat to med-low
-Check when rice is soft (around 15 - 20 min, for me)-Once rice is fairly soft, in a large wok on medium heat, lightly roast onion in 2 tbsp butter/ghee for 2 minutes, and then add coriander, ginger, and garlic-Once onion is soft/translucent, add the pot of rice and vegetables into the wok-Mix in, adding cumin, turmeric, salt, pepper, and green onionTips:
-Well this was definitely bland, I needed to add way too much salt and pepper afterwards but that's okay, because I know I have to fix it for next time. The recipe didn't even call for garlic or onion but I had to add it in. In the future, I will use at least 2 chili peppers in the pot, as well as one in the wok, and up the cumin. I also may consider using a half stock/half water mix for the rice
-The recipe called for adding the vegetables 10 minutes before the rice, but this just made them so reduced that they were nonexistent, so I changed it to be with the rice. If you like vegetables more or less raw, then adjust accordingly. Other vegetables that would probably work well: broccoli, zucchini, and some kind of bean added at the end (chickpeas, for instance)
-Eat with na'an, papadums, or other flat bread

Banana Bread

Yesterday while walking through the lovely West End Markets, I happened to pass a Vietnamese-bakery stand, where the lady was selling banana bread. I got an instant craving and proceeded to buy several of the ripest bananas I could find in the next stall, eager to bake. Early this morning I went biking and hiking with two friends and, as it was a bit cold and we were hungry and had earned good food, I invited them over for some banana bread. In quick need of a recipe, I searched my favorite site and quickly arrived at this. Well, when a review gets that many ratings, you don't mess around with it. The bread turned out moist and delicious.
Prepare:
-Preheat oven to 350F
-Cream 1/2cup butter with 3/4cup brown sugar in a large bowl-Beat 2 eggs and add to the bowl-Mash 2 cups-worth of ripe bananas (this is a lot more than you'd expect... I'd have anywhere from 5-8 bananas on hand) -Add banana to the liquid mix-In a separate large bowl, sift 1 tsp baking powder, 1 pinch salt, and 2 cups flour-Mix the two together -Put in greased loaf panCook:
-Place in oven and cook for 60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out dry
-Cool for 10 minutes if you can resist putting it piping hot into your mouth!

Tips:
-I would normally add chocolate chips, since I love chocolate, but felt more like a breakfasty-banana bread than a dessert cake. Adding chocolate chips right at the end would work well
-This turned out amazing but my only complaint would be that it was a tiny bit greasy. I would maybe substitute half or 1/3 the butter for apple sauce
-Creaming the butter and sugar was kind of a pain: leave the butter out for a while before you attempt it
-If banana is too plain for you on its own, the addition of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, or vanilla (a tbsp of vanilla yogurt hand in hand) would go well

Update:
I have made this again with a few modifications and am glad to say they were only improvements! Changes:
-Used unsalted butter instead of salted
-Mixed about 1/3 cup of rolled oats with the flour
-Add dried currants and cranberries in the final mix
-Mixed in a cup 1 tbsp water, 2 1/2 tbsp brown sugar, and 1/4 cup of oats and then spread that on the top of the bread before I put it in the oven. It made it nice and crunchy and delicious on top!

Cauliflower Popcorn

I like raw cauliflower so much that, besides for throwing it in stirfrys, I don't do much else with it. Well, I had an excess of cauliflower and bread crumbs from previous cooking, so I decided to give cauliflower "popcorn" a shot. It would make a good appetizer or side dish to a meal.

Prepare:
-Cut cauliflower into bite-sized pieces, brush with olive oil (alternatively, beaten egg)-Prepare bread crumbs. You can use plain but I decided to make it more flavourful and so mixed in Korean pepper powder, cumin, turmeric, salt, dried basil, and shredded Parmesan-Spread on a baking panCook:
-Preheat oven to around 350
-Place in oven for 10-15 minutes, mix up, then bake another 10 minutes
Tips:
-I had extra bread-crumb mix and so decided to not be wasteful. I cracked an egg into the crumbs, and mixed it to make a batter. Then, I sauteed some garlic and onion in olive oil (med heat) and threw the batter in, flipping it after 5 minutes. It made for a nice and tasty patty

Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

Sticky date pudding is a very common Australian/British dessert. Pudding in this sense is not the creamy stuff that we in USA know, but more like a soft and moist cake. Made with fresh dates, this recipe is very delicious and pretty easy: the product being a moist and succulent cake. The sauce is, well, the icing on the cake, but it should be skipped if you suffer from any heart problems. It's creamy and very rich. This recipe came from the awesome employees at Mrs. Flannery's Organic Wholesale Market (via abc.com.au). I know it's crazy for me to have 2 desserts in-a-row without chocolate but, trust me, this one's worth it.

Prepare:
-Chop up a bunch of dried, pitted dates (1-1.5 cups, after chopping)
-Ready 100 g (1/2cup) and 150 g (3/4cup) of brown sugar, separately
-Ready 50g (<1/4cup) and 80g (<3/8cup) of butter, separately
-1 cup self-raising flour
-32o ml (1 1/4 cups) of water
-300ml cream (<1 1/4cup) cream
-1 tsp baking soda
-2 eggs, lightly beatenCook Pudding:
-Preheat to 375F
-Heat water to boiling, add dates and cook, stirring and mashing often until it's one uniform goo-Take off heat
-Mix in baking soda and let stand for 5 minutes
-Blend in sugar and butter (1/2 cup and <1/4cup respectively)
-Mix in eggs and flour
-Pour into a loaf oven pan and cook for 1 hour (toothpick should come out dry)-Cool for 10 min
-Serve with sauce on top

Cook Sauce: (this takes ~15-20 min, so start ~45 minutes after you put the cake in the oven)
-In a saucepan/thick frypan mix cream, sugar, and butter (3/4 cup and 3/8 cup respectively) on medium-low heat, stirring constantly-Cook for about 15-20 min, tasting every so often: there should be no sharp butter taste, but rather taste rich and butterscotchy
Tips:
-This is very rich and sweet. You could lower the sugar by almost half, probably, in the cake or the sauce or both and it would still turn out okay, especially if you upped the amount of dates
-Served with fresh, but not sweet, fruit and/or tea and coffee, this would be good
-You could also serve it with a vanilla or banana custard

과일빙수 (Kwah-Il BingSu: Fruit Ice Bowl)

During the summer in Korea, these kinds of dishes are a very popular dessert item to refresh and cool down. Sold in most coffee shops, ice cream parlors, and spas, the exact contents vary but usually accord in a few base ingredients. The most common kind is 팥빙수, Pat BingSu, which has a sweet red bean mixed in. Unfortunately, I didn't have that lying around the house. The other really Korean ingredient that is really necessary is 선식, SunSheek, a cereal powder made from tons of different grains, rice, vegetables, and other dried goodies (website in Korean but a pic with all the contents). If you don't feel like purchasing it, it could be substituted for crushed cereal crumbs/crushed granola/etc. Regardless, it's very easy and tasty and a welcome change from the typical bowl of cereal in the morning.
Prepare:
-Peel and dice the fruits that you like/have: I used kiwi, banana, orange, and dried datesCook:
-Crush several cubes of ice, pour into a large bowl-Add fruit
-Add cereal powder on top-Add 1-2 tbsp of yogurt (I used vanilla)
-Mix up and enjoyTips:
-Other fruits that go well would be strawberry (or any berry), peach, pear, nectarine, or (seeded) grapes
-You could sprinkle some cocoa powder on top for a chocolatey taste, or some crushed mint

Carbonara Pasta

For those of you who think I'm all about the health food, thesedays, this oughta abed your fears. Originally created as a breakfast for Italian laborers, without cream, this pasta has evolved to be a creamy sensation. I had it at my friend Ben's house for lunch a couple weeks ago and it hit the spot in ways I never imagined possible. Mine turned out so delicious and not too greasy for how much fat is in it. There's probably a way to make it more healthy, but why bother?
Prepare (for 2 servings):
-Dice half an onion
-Crush 2-4 cloves garlic
-1-2 chopped chili peppers (optional but I like my spice)
-Cut 2-4 strips of bacon (you should end up with around 1 cup)-Lightly beat 1 egg -Prepare 1/4 cup whole cream
-A handful of pasta... fettuccine works best for this but I only had spaghetti
-Seasonings: fresh/dried basil, crushed red pepper, Parmesan
Cook:
-Set water to boil, add pasta, cook til al dente, drain, rinse in cold water, set aside (this should be done while cooking the sauce)
-In a big, deep fry pan or a wok, add a bit of olive oil and a couple pieces of butter (you read that right; the olive oil stops the butter from burning), medium heat-Add crushed garlic and fry for 1 minute
-Add onion and bacon and fry for about 10 minutes or until bacon starts to crisp-Lift pan off heat, lower heat to medium-low, and add cream (otherwise cream may burn)
-Mix, simmer for about 5 minutes, turn off the heat-Throw in pasta, mix for about 3 minutes-Throw in egg, mix thoroughly for 30 seconds, then serve
-Garnish with basil, crushed red pepper, Parmesan, salt to taste
Tips:
-While it may be heresy, I think this dish would only benefit from broccoli. I'd steam it lightly and add it with the pasta in the cream.
-If you like bacon even crispier, chuck it in a minute or 2 before the onion. Also, I used red onion and you might get a better taste with yellow onion or shallots
-As this is Italian, a nice pancetta would be even tastier than bacon, presumably