Aspic, pate and persimmons December 11, 2007

I keep thinking about aspic.

I guess it’s because I am making so much bone broth these days. And feeding Kate broth every day. I know it is so good for her. And she loves it. I often add chicken liver pate to her broth, making it doubly nutritious.

Anyway, I’m thinking she might enjoy aspic. Aspic is broth with added gelatin. The gelatin turns the broth into jelly.

I just read the aspic chapter in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I always thought aspics were so outdated. But now I get it. Broth is great when it’s cold outside. But sometimes you need a cold, nourishing treat for a summer day. And sometimes aspic is good even when it’s not summer — when you’re feeding a baby.

I watched her move a small blob of cantaloupe around on her highchair tray for a good fifteen minutes the other day. She’s developing her fine motor skills. Imagine what she could do with aspic. Is there anything more fun to play with than Jell-o?

I also flipped through the chapter on pates. Another thing I could make for Kate. A way to get good organ meats into her.

It’s a shame so many of these traditional foods have been lost. Mothers used to feed their babies liver and other organ meats. Now they feed them iron-fortified cereal. Personally, I think feeding them cereal sets them up for digestive problems. Unsoaked grains are hard enough for adults to digest — much less babies. I’d rather give her liver.

We got some persimmons in our CSA box last week. They are delicious. Just slice them up and eat raw. I think I’ll puree some for Kate tomorrow.

In fact, I think I’ll soak some persimmons with oats and raisins in raw milk tonight for muesli for tomorrow’s breakfast. According to this recipe on my friend Louisa’s blog.

Eggplant Parmesan Redux: Results December 11, 2007

Tonight I made eggplant parmesan (I posted the recipe yesterday).

Modifications:

I hadn’t soaked my flour so I omitted that. And I forgot to let let the salted eggplant slices sit for an hour so they could weep. I let them sit for half an hour (it was getting late and Seth wanted his dinner).

Also, I fried the eggplant in bacon grease — leftover from lunch (I made bacon, lettuce & tomato sandwiches). There wasn’t quite enough bacon grease in the cast iron skillet so I added some coconut oil.

Anyway, it turned out great. Seth is not shy about telling me about how he really feels about the food I make. He doesn’t hesitate to say something sucks. But he said several times that he loved it.

This was actually the first time I ever made eggplant parmesan, and considering all the changes I made, I’m honestly surprised that it worked.

I will admit that personally I found the eggplant a tad soggy. I think the salting/weeping for a minimum of one hour is necessary. Also, I think the flour would have really made a difference. I had a hard time making the breadcrumbs stick to the eggplant. The flour would have helped that, and would have made it a bit crispier.

I served with a fresh salad of lettuce (red leaf and green leaf) and chopped heirloom tomato, fennel and cucumber, dressed with apple cider vinaigrette. The salad was good but I think adding a little avocado and kalamata olives would have made it even better.