Mmmm, eggplant!

Hi there, dear reader!

Autumn is creeping up on us and if it ever stops raining for longer than 24 hours it would be great to go out and enjoy the colours and crisper weather. That said, Autumn also means that it's time to start cleaning up the garden and make use of the abundance of produce that comes from that clean-up (and no, I'm not sick of zucchini... yet.)

"When Summer Meets Autumn" ACEO
Copyright Rita Woodburne

This year I grew eggplant and, to be perfectly honest, for the better part of the summer I didn't think I was going to get anything from the plants because of the cool, wet weather and also because due to my back injury a lot of my planting took place about a month behind schedule. Eggplant takes a bit longer to grow than most veggies and it looooves warm, humid weather so this Summer it fell short of a lot of the requirements for successful growing. However, much to my surprise towards the end of August I noticed that there were little eggplants popping up all over the place and last week we enjoyed the first of those little eggplants.

Now I don't know a lot of eggplant recipes and I'm contemplating trying to make baba ganoush but in the interim (and because there was only 1 eggplant that was ripe at the time) I figured I'd try out an appetizer/ side dish with the one that I had. It was super easy and if you like eggplant or want to try it out here's a recipe you may enjoy:

Eggplant & Tomato "Sandwiches"

1 eggplant, sliced into 8 1/4" pieces
1 tomato, cut into 4 slices
4 slices (or rounds if available) of mozzarella or provolone cheese
1 tbsp basil (or fresh basil leaves if available)
2-3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


Pre-heat BBQ on lowest setting.

Take 4 slices of eggplant and lightly brush 1 side with olive oil. Place tomato slice, sprinkle of basil (or 2 fresh basil leaves), slice of cheese on top of each eggplant and season with salt and pepper. Place another eggplant slice on top and secure with a toothpick.

Brush top of eggplant "sandwich" with olive oil and place on grill. Flip carefully after 10 minutes and brush other side with olive oil. Cook another 5-10 minutes, remove from BBQ and enjoy!



These were really easy to make and even the Other Half, who isn't a big fan of eggplant and tries to avoid eating tomatoes because they upset his stomach, hoovered his back and asked if there were more.
Depending on how hot your BBQ runs you may want to keep an eye on them and if you don't have a BBQ I suspect they would turn out just as well in the oven but, again, you'd have to keep an eye on them to make sure they didn't burn and all the cheese doesn't melt out.

So there you have it. Some art and a recipe!

I enjoy eggplant and I'm glad I wound up getting some from the plants even if they are smaller than usual. My next food-related project: Operation Baba Ganoush.

Transmission over.

When the weather turns warm it's time to start the outdoor chores...

So it's another gardening post today and Spring is surely here because I've started my eggplant and tomato seeds. The other sure sign of Spring is that the grocery stores are starting to assemble their outdoor garden centres. They don't have any stock in yet but soon enough I'm sure they'll have stacks of manure, topsoil and flats of flowers ready for buying. The last little bits of snow that are hanging around need to go... now.

Today's post is going to be for those that are starting seeds, although some of this will apply to those that have already started their planting (you lucky folks in the South!) The focus is going to be choosing good soil for starting and the type of care you need to give the seeds for the first few of weeks of growth.

I use peat pots for my seed starting because they're cheap and are biodegradable so when it comes time for planting outdoors I can just dig a hole, plunk them in, fill the dirt back in, water and I'm done. No popping them out of trays and handling them with kid- gloves and running the risk of damaging the root system. Also, because the peat pots are natural as they degrade in the soil they actually wind up improving the soil quality and water retention. Win-win, how can you go wrong?

The first signs of Spring...and finally some colour!

As far as soil goes I use Miracle-Gro potting soil with vermiculite. That said, any good quality potting soil will do, although if it doesn't already have any in it you may want to consider amending the soil with vermiculite to improve the water retention of the soil to avoid having to water frequently.

When it comes time for starting the seeds I've always found the easiest thing to do is fill the peat pot a little over half full and then gently pat the soil down. Place 2-3 seeds in the pot (depending on how large they are) and top off with more potting mix and then gently pat the top layer down. Leave a bit of space at the top to allow for more soil to be added as the seedlings get bigger.
Most of the watering can be done with plain ol' water but it's advisable that once a week you treat your seeds to a dose of compost tea. A weekly watering with compost tea is like super-food for your seedlings and it's something that you can continue to do even after transplanting to the garden. Your plants will thank you for it, trust me.

In order not to over-saturate your seeds, and possibly cause rot, try to avoid using a watering can or water bottle. Instead, head of to your local dollar store and invest in a small spray bottle. This way you can just mist the soil and prevent drowning your seeds. I was fortunate in that this was passed onto me and it has been one of the most useful gardening tools I have:

Sorry 'bout the crummy picture.

Oh yes, a watering spout on one end and a sprayer on the other. Does it get much better than that!? I think not.

To end off this post I'll be posting a recipe... for compost tea.

Compost Tea
(Adjust the amounts based on your own needs)

Place a shovelful of compost into a burlap bag, large sheet of folded over cheesecloth or old pillowcase and tie off the end(s). Steep it in a bucket of water for 2-3 days. Take the sack of compost out and, if necessary, dilute it to the colour of weak tea.
Transfer the compost tea to whatever watering implement you're using and empty out the contents of your "tea bag" into the garden.

You just made compost tea!



So there you have it, a gardening post and a recipe. Although consuming the compost tea yourself is a no-no. (Really, I could just picture someone reading that and trying it out as a mixer at a party or something... I mean, I've heard of people doing stupider things.)

I'll be back later in the week with another art post. I just received some more art supplies in the mail today and I'm itching to start using them. So if you'll excuse me, I have some new toys I'd like to go play with. :D

11 more sugar-filled days...

Walking in a Winter Wonderland, somewhere on the back 40...

Once again, I bring you another cookie recipe. This one is easily one of my favourites because it involves chocolate and mint, a combination I simply adore! This recipe is fairly easy and, like the sugar cookie recipe, provides a multitude of cookies. Enough chatter, here's the recipe for:


Chocolate Mint Truffle Cookies

1 pkg. bittersweet chocolate (if you don't like really dark tasting chocolate, semi-sweet will do)
3/4 cup butter, no substitutions
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
approx 1/3 cup chopped candy canes or mint candies

In one bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. In another large bowl melt the chocolate in the microwave on medium (should take about 2 minutes). Stir chocolate until no lumps remain and then add butter to chocolate and stir until well blended. Stir sugar into the mixture. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until well blended after each egg is added. Add flour and baking powder; mix well.
At this point the dough will be extremely soft and should be refrigerated in a covered bowl for at least 2 hours.

Once the dough is sufficiently chilled, preheat the oven to 350. Take a heaping teaspoon of dough and roll into a ball, approx. 1 inch in size. Place each ball about 2 inches apart on a non-stick cookie sheet.
Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes, taking care not to overbake. After removing from the oven sprinkle immediately (while the cookies are still soft) with chopped candy canes and push down slightly into the cookie. Cool completely and devour. It should make about 3 dozen cookies.

A note on the melting of chocolate...
It is very, and I mean very, easy to burn chocolate. When using the microwave to melt chocolate if you're afraid of burning it stop it halfway through melting and stir quickly then return to melting. This will give you a good idea how far along it is and whether or not you need to run it for a full minute more.
However, don't dilly-dally when you stop it mid-melt, as the chocolate can harden up quickly too and nobody likes lumpy melted chocolate.

These cookies are awesome for when you want to treat yourself, you know, like at breakfast.

Until next week, keep on art-ing and baking!

Mmmmm, sugar....

"Grateful" ACEO can be bid on here.

Copyright Rita Woodburne

Happy Friday!

So in the sugar-induced spirit of the season I've decided to dedicate the next 3 Fridays to posting cookie recipes.
The first recipe is one that I've made many, many times, mostly for family functions. The best part of making these is that they don't take a lot of time, taste really good and are comprised of only 4 ingredients. So, without further ado:

Caramel Squares

1 box graham crackers
1 cup unsalted butter (do not substitute with margarine, it just won't work...trust me)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup (give or take) sliced almonds

Pre-heat the oven to 350 Celsius. Line one cookie sheet with aluminum foil, making sure to cover over the edges of the cookie sheet (this is for easier clean up). Arrange the graham crackers over the entire cookie sheet, overlapping them if necessary.

In a pot over medium-high heat melt the butter and sugar together, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and let boil for 1 minute, continuing to stir constantly. Pour butter/ sugar mixture over graham crackers and then sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. Once done baking let stand for approximately 1 hour to cool, do not cool in refrigerator. Separate crackers into squares and devour.


You can use salted butter if you like the flavour instead but just note that the butter/ sugar sauce will be a bit runnier and may take longer to solidify after removing them from the oven. In addition, I've only ever made these with the almonds but I imagine that chopped pecans would taste pretty darn good too.


So there you have it. I'm still art-ing away and I'm hoping to have some more finished art to show off by next week.
Also, tis' the season for having a short fuse, as can be seen in many a mall parking lot all over North America. So folks, while you're out shopping just remember to breathe, count to 10 or whatever else you have to do to not blow a gasket. Mind your P's and Q's and remember that sometimes just being nice to someone else by holding open a door or saying 'Thank you' can really make their day...and yours. Oh, and never forget:

...to smile. It'll make people wonder what you're up to.

Until next week!