Sick Of Peanut Butter? Try An Eggplant

Oh the things I said I wouldn't do as a parent. I remember thinking I wouldn't give peanut butter sandwiches on-the-go, because kids love bread and peanut butter and both of those are akin to giving them a cupcake. But I give my son these things more than once a week, and it sucks because I know he's not getting much of anything valuable. As any mom feels, I'd rather be giving him more nutrition. I've found some alternatives such as hummus or mashed avocado, but they don't do as well without a refrigerator. In any case, I'm always looking for something beyond peanut butter to put on a sandwich for him.

I had an eggplant that was about to go bad in my fridge today. What to do besides just roasting it and serving it with dinner? It hit me: baba ganoush! I love the stuff, and my toddler is back-and-forth about eating eggplant. This could be a hit (or not). I had never made baba ganoush before because I assumed it was complicated. How wrong I was. It is not! Look how gorgeous ten minutes of work turned out.

I followed this recipe but modified it a bit, as I found the half-lemon, half-tahini recipe to be too lemony for my taste. I was going to sneak it on a sandwich for le toddler to try it, but he was actually happy to eat it right off the spoon. Plus, who doesn't love to say baba ganoush over and over?

Mommy, one. Le Toddler, five.
Today was really a rough day in motherhood. We'll just say that I'm happy to go to the gym now, get out some frustrations, and end one meal on a positive note with this recipe!

Baba Ganoush

Ingredients
1 medium-to-large eggplant
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 - 1/2 cup lemon juice (I was happy with 1/4 cup; start with the smallest amount and add to taste
1/4 - 1/2 cup tahini
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
Olive Oil, Parsley, Cayenne Pepper and Paprika for garnish

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Punture holes in the eggplant using a fork, place it on a cookie sheet in the oven for 45 minutes. Rotate it halfway through. When it's finished roasting, put it in a plastic bag or a tupperwear container and place the lid on it. Let it sit and cool for awhile. After it's cool you should be able to peel it quite easily and remove the top. I peeled it right into my food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients, tasting as you add so you can make it to your liking. Using either a food processor, blender, or mortar, blend and mash the mixture until it's smooth. In the serving bowl, spoon in some olive oil, and sprinkle with the parsley, pepper and paprika as you like. Proceed to give this to your eggplant-resistant toddler, possibly in sandwich form, and be amazed! Or, not.