Afternoon Lunch Fantastic

First off, when did I start writing a blog about food?  I came on this thing with all of the intentions to write about all kinds of home stuff.  Apparently, all I make time for is eating and/or cooking.  Hm.  Good to keep up with the cooking but time to get going on all of those projects I just dream about!

Second, I made a ridiculous lunch today.  I had a bunch of stuff I had to cook up in the fridge, et voila.  A mound of end of summer whoa.  Thick slice of heirloom tomato + thick slice of pan fried eggplant + leeks & garlic cooked up in (eek) butter + fresh basil + over medium fried egg + polenta + balsamic = lunchtime pride.

Some of the colorful ingredients…

The finished product!

I used to be pretty phobic of runny eggs.  Recently, as in in the past few months, I started to see the value of egg yolk as a sauce.  It really worked here!  I’d also never cooked eggplant before, and it turned out, miraculously.  And seriously, butter is a leek’s best friend.  Just a little butter with some leeks adds a richness to things that suggest that the whole concoction was prepared in butter even when it wasn’t.  I didn’t expect the finished product to be so light, but it really was.  One egg isn’t overdoing it, and the rest is basically veggies with two small slices of polenta.  I love being satisfied without feeling stuffed!

I also wasn’t too adventurous in my cooking until I lived with my latest roommate, Amber.  That lady can cook, and she just tries anything!  She’s done enough that she can imagine how things will taste, so usually when she goes for it it’s pretty close to perfect.  I really have her to thank for being such a great example of an adventurous cook.  I’m learning to imagine things together almost like I imagine something I do decorating wise before I do it.  It’s a really important part of my creative process!

Next on the list is to replace those awful plates.  Ack! Hahaha….

Love & other indoor sports,
ValerieAnne