Baba ganoush. Fun to say, isn’t it? And after making my own, I can now say it’s almost as much fun to make. Prep is ridiculously simple — pierce a large eggplant and throw it in the oven. Including making my own tahini, the dish required only 15 minutes of total prep time. Several reviewers complained that at 1/4 cup, the lemon juice was overpowering, so I cut it back to 1/8 cup when making mine and the acidity level was perfect. Get the recipe, adapted from this one, after the jump. — Sarah L.

We’re taking the rest of the week off for the holiday – Have a wonderful one, and we’ll see you on Monday! But for now, click for quick & simple baba ganoush! (more…)

Every year as summer fades, I regret not having taken full advantage of the summer’s Farmer’s Markets. I lament not eating enough ripe tomatoes, not going berry-picking like I’d planned, and missing the season’s sweet corn altogether. And then, I start to envision all of those domestic divas smugly mixing up batches of applesauce (with apples fresh from the u-pick orchard) at this very moment. And for just a moment, I think – hey, I could do that.

Fortunately, it only lasts a moment. I have such fond memories of helping my grandmother with canning projects as a kid. But, as nostalgic as it is, the idea of finding myself elbow-deep in a vat of tomatoes is, well, a little scary. Plus, short of Nana’s legendary apricot jam, most canned foods tend to taste more like survival food than serious cuisine. So, when Canning For A New Generation landed on my doorstep, I approached it with serious caution. But author Liana Krissoff has a way of making the whole process feel utterly do-able, with loads of tips and tricks, and recipes like Honeyed Fig Jam with Sesame Seeds, or Sweet Green Tomato Pickles to convince you it’s time to bring canning into the 21st century. If you’re mourning the end of summer’s bounty, you might want to pick up a copy just in time to whip up a few quarts of Pear Cider to get you through the winter. Can you feel the smug starting to set in? –Becki S.