Roasted Eggplant Pasta

This is a good way to serve eggplant to those who are reluctant to try it.

1/2-1 lb tubular pasta
1 lb eggplant
3 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 cups crushed tomatoes
salt & pepper
1 cup ricotta
1/4 cup fresh basil, minced

Preheat oven to 400. Brush eggplant with 1 tbs of olive oil (I skipped this but would recommend it in hindsight), place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 35-40 minutes, turning 2-3 times, until blackened and soft. Let cool.

Meanwhile heat water for pasta. Once the eggplant is cool, remove the skin and roughly chop the pulp.

When you put the pasta in to cook, heat a large saute pan and add 2 tbs olive oil. Add minced garlic and cook a few minutes, but don't let it burn. Add tomatoes and cook 2-3 minutes, until slightly thickened. Then add eggplant and season with salt & pepper. Heat through.

Toss together the cooked pasta, eggplant & tomato sauce with ricotta and fresh basil. I do this in the saute pan. Does not need Parmesan on top, but you could if you like.

Nora's menu

This is the menu Nora devised last night after hearing Daniel's. Daniel does not like Zucchini or grape tomatoes, but Nora does. She has been reading about Bubble & Squeak in My Naughty Little Sister.

Zucchini
Grape tomatoes
Bubble & Squeak
Currant tomatoes
Potato chips
Peas
Chocolate Cake
Hot Chocolate

Does anyone have a good recipe for Bubble & Squeak? Nora would like to have that.

Daniel's menu

This is the menu that Daniel came up with last night, while driving in the car with Kevin, to pick-up Nora. He did not get as far as dessert.

Grilled cheese
Pasta that looks like grilled cheese (but is not made of grilled cheese and the over-all dish looks like grilled cheese not the pasta shapes)
Tomato soup with nothing in it
Salad with celery and meat
Chicken, browned and then baked, with a sauce.

The sauce is made of salt, raisins and pepper, mixed together, then put in a shaker and shaken over the pan. It is put over of the chicken while it is baking.

Note -- Nora does not like grilled cheese, although she will eat it with tomato soup.

Looking for Oatmeal Cookie recipes

Deirdre's posted oatmeal cookie recipe anticipates this post.
I have been looking for an oatmeal cookie recipe that matches my idea of what an oatmeal cookie should be. This is not as easy as you might think. My idea of what an oatmeal cookie should be involves its being chunky (not thin) and having raisins (but no nuts, I think, and especially not coconut). Somehow none of the recipes I have found (or Deirdre has found for me) has made the cookies I want.
Does anyone on this blog have an oatmeal cookie recipe I can try?

Raisin-Walnut-Oatmeal Cookies

I have not made these so I cannot comment on how they might be:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 oz (8 tbs) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 extra-large egg, room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup raisins (or other dried fruit)
2/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (or pecans or almonds)

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or non-stick liners.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking powder and cinnamon (you could add 1/4 tsp of salt too).

Beat butter unti light and fluffy but your prefered mixing method. Add sugar to butter and cream together well. Scrap sides of bowl occasionally.

Beat egg lightly with vanilla. Add to butter mixture, scraping sides of bowl as needed.

Add the dry ingredients in 3 stages, mixing well after each addition.

Add raisins and walnuts and blend well.

Use a small (1 1/2 in dia.) ice scoop or spoon to drop small mounds onto baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Bake 5 minutes, then switch sheets and bake 6 to 7 minutes more, until set and golden.

Remove sheets from oven and cool on baking sheets on racks. Remove with a spatula to racks.

Makes 3 dozen.

Actual Pink Frosting for Miranda

Line up on kitchen counter:

1 stick of softened butter or container of soft margarine
1 bag confectioner's sugar
1 jar strawberry jam (spreadable fruit in this case)
1 small container of cream

1 bowl
1 tough mixing spoon or spatula

Now put some splotches of softened butter or margarine in the bowl. Add a good pouring of confectioner's sugar and mix vigorously until smooth. Add splotches of jam until you get the colour/taste you like, mixing after each. Mix some more, adding cream splotches to get the consistency you want.

This is the actual way Miranda's frosting was made. Of course it didn't come out perfectly smooth (you want to do things a little less ad hoc if you want smooth frosting: electric mixers are a big help too).

Some of the jam was used straight, in between the layers of Betty Crocker's New Choco-Nougat cake, which is our standard birthday cake and has been since the 1950s.

There will be pictures of Miranda blowing out the candles posted someday. These pictures give a good idea of the colour of the actual pink frosting.

Spaghetti Pie

2 eggs
4 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 1/2 cup cooked spaghetti (7 oz dry)
1 1/2 cups prepared spaghetti sauce, such as marinara
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 lb lean ground meat
2 carrots, grated
1 cup cottage cheese or ricotta
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook spaghetti if it is not already cooked. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9 or 10 inch pie plate.

In a large bowl beat eggs, 2 tsp of oil and Parmesan until smooth. Add cooked spaghetti and 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce. Toss well to coat.

Turn into greased pie plate. With the back of a wooden spoon, press spaghetti over the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate to form a crust or nest.

Heat remaining 2 tsp of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer. Add ground meat and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon until the meat is no longer pink. Stir in the grated carrot until well-mixed. Turn off the heat and stir in the spaghetti sauce.

Spoon cottage cheese/ricotta over the bottom of the spaghetti crust. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella. Top with meat sauce mixture. Cover the pie plate with aluminum foil.

Bake pie for 20 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella. Bake until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Pink Frosting for Miranda

1/2 cup butter, softened
4 strawberries, hulled & cut up
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup half-and-half (or similar)
1 tsp vanilla
In a medium bowl cream butter until pale and fluffy (this could be done in an electric mixer but I wouldn't, of course). Add the strawberries and beat 30 seconds. Add confectioner's sugar (on low if using a mixer), 1/2 cup at a time, until well-blended. Add cream by spoonfuls until blended. Add vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.