Painting, Sunday Drink, Burned Food.

OK plonkers as Lass would say, would you all please look at this picture and tell me what colour you see, predominantly that is. This is from a painting by our sinlaw and he says my monitor needs adjusting, but as it is the same on both my laptop and my desktop, maybe it’s my eyes that need adjusting. Do tell me what colour the bird is.

I had quite a giggle today, Sunday, I have mentioned that I always have a couple of glasses of champers before Sunday lunch (Matt has beer). Today he told me that at 6 this morning, he went to the bathroom and then remembered he hadn’t put the champers and beer in the fridge. As he sleeps in the nude, I had a wonderful mental picture of him running around getting the booze to put it in the fridge. Of course he knew I wouldn’t be too happy if it wasn’t there. D'you think he is scared of me LOL? I guess a picture would not be appropriate.

Spent a fair amount of the weekend working on A to Z Challenge blogs. I seem to be developing a wildlife theme. With recipes of course. Saturday I had a bit of a kitchen disaster. Tried out a recipe and followed the instructions but the cooking time was way too long and I ended up with burnt pork.

Bowling today of course.

This sounds a somewhat different eggplant recipe so I am sharing it with you.

Roasted Eggplant and Feta Dip

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

This roasted eggplant and feta dip gets a kick from a fresh chile pepper and cayenne pepper. There are countless variations on this classic meze (appetizer) in Greece. Out-of-season eggplant or eggplant that has been heavily watered often has an abundance of seeds, which make the vegetable bitter. Be sure to taste the dip before you serve it; if it’s a touch bitter, you can remedy that with a little sugar. Serve with toasted pita crisps or as a sandwich spread.

Serves 12

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, preferably Greek
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 small chile pepper, such as jalapeño, seeded and minced optional
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of sugar, optional

Instructions

1. Position oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source; preheat broiler.
2. Line a baking pan with foil. Place eggplant in the pan and poke a few holes all over it to vent steam. Broil the eggplant, turning with tongs every 5 minutes, until the skin is charred and a knife inserted into the dense flesh near the stem goes in easily, 14 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board until cool enough to handle.
3. Put lemon juice in a medium bowl. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and scrape the flesh into the bowl, tossing with the lemon juice to help prevent discoloring. Add oil and stir with a fork until the oil is absorbed. (It should be a little chunky.) Stir in feta, onion, bell pepper, chile pepper (if using), basil, parsley, cayenne and salt. Taste and add sugar if needed.

Have a great day