Dinner guests who visit the house often have some form of dietary restriction: carb-, gluten-, grain-, or sugar-free, vegetarian, vegan, flextarian, only white-meat chicken-eater, allergies (shellfish, nuts, dairy), etc. You know what I'm talking about. I understand. Am a selective eater myself. [Ed. note: Run away run away run away do not comment I want to live...]

However, this summer has been about streamlining, making things as easy as possible. This dinner is the perfect solution. Have to give props to the BF, who suggested that kebabs would be a good accompaniment. [Ed. note: I can't help myself. I like good food, ok?]

This is especially effective for a dinner-party menu. Serve your favorite hummus for appetizers, follow up with two entrees: Roasted Harissa Spiced Ratatouille and Chicken Kebabs. The ratatouille will satiate the vegan guest and be a nice side dish for the carnivores. FYI, this dish is gluten free, grain free, Paleo and vegan.

Have been on a harissa kick lately, adding it to shrimp skewers, lamb patties, and roasted Japanese eggplant. Harissa is a spicy aromatic North African chili paste made out of hot chili peppers (which are often smoked), roasted red bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and spices like cumin, coriander, caraway and mint. It comes in sauce form or paste, as you can see in photo below. I used a mild harissa sauce for this dish, but next time might opt for the paste, which is spicier and more concentrated. 

Adapted from: Gourmande in the Kitchen
Number of servings: 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini, cut in half and again into thick slices (about 2 inches long)
• 2 red peppers, seeded and cut into big chunks
• 1 medium eggplant, cut into big chunks (Japanese eggplant used here, but use whatever you can get)
• ½ red onion cut into chunks
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  
• 2 tablespoons/30ml extra olive oil
  
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 ½ tablespoons harissa paste (harissa sauce used here)
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes. halved
• 2 tablespoons parsley, roughly chopped
• Rice, quinoa, couscous or cauliflower "rice" to serve

​Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 ºF.
2. Place the zucchini, bell peppers, eggplant, garlic, salt, pepper, 1 ½ tablespoons of the olive oil, harissa, and coriander in a large bowl and toss to combine. Spread the vegetables on a baking sheet. Place tomatoes with remaining ½ tablespoon olive oil in a separate bowl and set aside.
3. Roast vegetables for 15 minutes, remove from oven, add halved cherry tomatoes and return to oven for another 15 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and serve vegetables over whatever starch you desire. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Give me nothing but eggplants and tomatoes until summer ends! This meal embodies everything I love about summer produce. Minimal prep and cooking, with exploding flavors. The BF loved it with saffron rice as a complimentary side dish.

Today, we honor both our mom's birthdays (his was the 3rd, mine the 4th), and this weekend we celebrate Marlowe's recovery from cancer surgery. Life is good.

Adapted from: Feasting at Home
Number of Servings: 2-3
​
Ingredients
Gremolata (Zesty Italian Herb Sauce)

• 1 cup packed Italian Parsley (small stems are fine)
• 1–2 garlic cloves
• Zest of one small lemon, plus 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice (Meyer Lemon is good)
• ½ cup olive oil
• ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt and pepper, more to taste
• Pinch chile flakes (optional)

Eggplant

• 1 large or 2 medium/large eggplants, sliced into ½-¾ inch thick slices (see notes)
• Olive oil, salt and pepper for grilling
• 3–4 tablespoons Gremolata
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• Drizzle olive oil
• Crumbled goat or feta cheese (optional, but highly recommended)

Directions
Gremolata (Zesty Italian Herb Sauce)

1. Place parsley, garlic and zest in a food processor and pulse until chopped.
2. Add oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Pulse again, until uniformly combined but not too smooth.
3. Add chili flakes for a touch of heat, if you like.
4. Store in a jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.

​Eggplant

1. Preheat grill to medium-high (stovetop grill pan was used here. You can also roast them.
2. Slice eggplant into ½-inch thick slices. (If sensitive to bitterness, salt both sides and let sit for 15 minutes, then rinse with water and pat dry.)
3. Brush both sides with olive oil (and salt if not previously) and grill each side for 4 minutes, or until good grill marks appear. Stack in a baking dish or bowl and wrap up tightly in foil so they cook all the way through and become translucent.
4. Toss tomatoes with a pinch of salt, fresh herbs (if you like), and a little drizzle of olive oil.
5. Lay eggplant steaks down on a serving platter. Spoon a little gremolata over each one. Top with the tomatoes.
6. Add crumbled goat or feta, if desired. 

NOTES:

• Gremolata: If you don't have a food processor, you can chop everything very finely and place into a bowl.
• I usually serve ½ of one whole eggplant per person, 2-3 slices.
• Alternatively, you can roast the eggplant steaks, although grilling gives them lovely flavor. To roast, prepare the same way, brushed with oil and place them on a parchment-lined sheet pan, in a 425 °F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until tender and golden. 

She's back.

Yotam Ottolenghi says of this eggplant dish, "I can't think of a more rustically elegant (is that a contradiction in terms?) starter." Contradiction? Hardly.

Ottolenghi is an Israeli-Italian chef residing in London, with a flavor palette that's out of this world. This recipe is adapted from his 2010 cookbook Plenty, and I selected it for today's post because of its gloriously gorgeous colorful presentation, not to mention it's delicious and a perfect easy-to-make dish for your holiday table (or anytime). ​I prepared it for an anniversary dinner party, not as a starter, but as a side dish with grilled lamb chops and naan--it was heavenly.

Another advantage for a dinner party: it can be served at room temperature, meaning it's easier to make ahead of time.

Adapted from: Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
Number of servings: 4 as a starter or side dish

Ingredients
Eggplant

• 2 large and long eggplants (Japanese eggplants were used)
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons lemon thyme leaves (regular thyme will do), plus a few whole sprigs to garnish
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 1 pomegranate (POM brand seeded pomegranates were used, available at Safeway and Trader Joe's)
• 1 teaspoon za'atar en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Za'atar

Sauce

• 9 tablespoons buttermilk
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, plus a drizzle to finish
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• 1 pinch salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 °F. Cut eggplants in half lengthways, cutting straight through the green stalk (the stalk is for the look, don't eat it). Use a small sharp knife to make three or four parallel incisions in the cut side of each eggplant half, without cutting through to the skin. Repeat at a 45-degree angle to make a diamond-shaped pattern.
2. Place eggplant halves, cut-side up, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with olive oil—keep on brushing until all oil has been absorbed by the flesh. Sprinkle with lemon thyme leaves and some salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, at which point the flesh should be soft, flavorful, and nicely browned. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. NOTE: I used Japanese eggplants which are smaller than regular eggplant, so start checking on doneness at the 20 minute mark.
3. While the eggplants are in the oven, cut pomegranate into two halves horizontally. Hold one half over a bowl, with the cut side against your palm, and use the back of a wooden spoon or a rolling pin to gently knock on the pomegranate skin. Continue beating with increasing power until the seeds start coming out naturally, falling through your fingers into the bowl. Once all seeds are in the bowl, sift through them and remove any bits of white skin or membrane.
4. To prepare buttermilk sauce, whisk together all ingredients, taste for seasoning, and keep cold until needed.
5. To serve, spoon plenty of sauce over eggplant halves without covering the stalks. Sprinkle za'atar and pomegranate seeds on top, garnish with lemon thyme, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

Epilogue
Writer Julian Barnes said of mourning, "The thing is—nature is so exact, it hurts exactly as much as it is worth, so in a way, one relishes the pain, I think. If it didn't matter, it wouldn't matter."

A friend sent this line in a condolence letter when my momala passed away, and it has resonated ever since. The grieving is commensurate with the loving, a testament to what’s missing.

This has been a particularly difficult year for my boyfriend (the blog's man behind the curtain, the one behind the editorial notes), who is grieving the passing of his mom, and today is actually the one-year anniversary.

Kathryn Bailey was an accomplished jazz pianist based in the San Francisco bay area, who accompanied everyone from Billie Holiday to the Buddy Morrow Orchestra, Berkeley's Straw Hat Theatre, and Ronnie Cass.

We miss you everyday, Kathy.