I remembered one of my favorite films, Papillon with Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen. Continually surviving the inhumane conditions of the French prison system in French Guiana, he famously declares “Hey you b*st*rds, I’m still here.” Me too. I’m still here. I’m going to look at that movie tonight! Here’s Jessie that I heroically hand-stripped for the first time. It took about 10 days. In this picture I still have the legs to complete but I did a fabulous job on the ears!
It’s way too hot to cook anything meaningful (94F yesterday with a 1000% humidity or almost) and I’ve been eating some of the most horrendous meals that, if someone told my friends what I was eating, they would staunchly deny it, backing it up with their 2nd amendment right 😀
So today, in order to avoid a possible O.K. Corral and health deterioration, I racked my brains for something quick but good to cook and came up with Asian aubergine with leftover steak. I usually make this with ground lamb or veal but I couldn’t be bothered to thaw anything. After browning the garlic, ginger and aubergine, you could just salt it and eat it like that if you can’t be bothered. Confession: I use way more garlic and ginger than I write down in my recipes, out of concern for the “babies” (Caroline) who follow my blog 😀 Hail Mary…..
This is my Dorflinger crystal red wine glass that I bought at an antique fair. I had never heard of Dorflinger crystal/cut glass until, having nothing to do, I visited the local glass factory and museum that used to produce this crystal. Apparently in it’s heyday, this crystal could be found in the inventories of U.S. Presidents and filthy rich scions of the East Coast. Huh! Dorflinger made some beautiful pieces for formal dining and ostentatious display. Resisting the temptation, this time, for gratuitous ostentation, I only bought 2 glasses 😉
This pretty plate was given to me for my photography by my gracious, thoughtful neighbor Christine who is of the British ex-pat persuasion. Thank you Christine.
Spicy Aubergine with Steak
3 tbsp sambal oelek
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp sake
2 tbsp mirin
2 cups of sliced leftover steak
7 tbsp peanut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger, minced
2 large aubergine, cut into chaos chunks
Scallions, sliced
In a little bowl, mix together the sambal oelek, soy sauce, vinegar, sake and mirin. Set aside.
Add 1 tbsp of peanut oil to a skillet and fry the garlic and ginger until brown, then remove from the skillet and set aside.
Wipe out the skillet, add 3 tbsps of peanut oil, then brown half of the aubergine chunks, remove when done, add the last 3 tbsp of oil and brown the other half of the aubergine. Put all of the aubergine into the skillet along with the sauce, steak, garlic and ginger. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with scallions and serve with noodles or rice.
Good that you are still here and not in a Turkish jail. Hope all goes well Rosemary.
Thanks Conor.
Glad to hear it! When are you coming back to Europe? I’m sure all the good food shops in Sens must be going out of business without you.
I always use a minimum of 6 pieces of garlic, unless I’m making allioli which uses raw garlic and more than a couple of pieces will burn your mouth.
Jessie does look very good – nice work!
Thanks Mad. I’ve got to slam dunk my daughter into her college dorm this week, then go up to Boston. After that, I’ll have a better idea of when I can come back and help the food and wine vendors out 🙂
Ha ha – I wish Jade good luck – I’m sure she’ll have a great time in college!
I’m afraid of that.
It’s a right of passage and there will be thousands of others like her. I’m sure she’ll do well 🙂
Right! Her brother went to University College London because he couldn’t think of any place more expensive to study and live. Not knowing the value of a pound, he spent and partied freely. He did graduate but we were poorer than we like to be. Fortunately, we’ve found a very nice school in tiny town Bethlehem, PA for Jade where we afford everything 😀
Yeah – London is almost the most expensive place in the world to live!
I hope Jade will tolerate college food. Friends of mine in Jamaica Plain said it was 98 there & they were heading to Maine. It is in the mid-80s here in Asheville. Your dish looks delicious. The wine glass & plate are grand. And Jessie does look very elegante! Merci beaucoup for all your Dog Days inspirations. Glad you are still there!
Thank you jm. Jade will just eat salad if the food is bad. She’s done that before in boarding schools.
The heat cannot be beat! I’ve definitely been cooking a little differently too, it’s too hot to make a big meal with so many moving parts. Love the simplicity and rustic flavors here!
Thanks Mary. Looking forward to Fall.
Great to see you post! I’m with you, the humidity and temps have been horrid.
Hi Virginia. I hope this weather will be over soon!
Me too! It’s been awful walking the dogs.
Glad to hear you are still here. Me too but just back from Spain stuck up a mountain with no internet and dodgy mobile phone connection. Lovely recipe and the more garlic and ginger the better ☺
Thank you Chica. No internet! Couldn’t do that.
It was hideous. …
Great post!
Thank you!