Madhu Knits and Cooks

Carrot Top Pesto - Simple Way to Use Carrot Tops!

If you are like me, you are full of guilt about food waste.  Not full enough to actually avoid it, just decently and constantly annoyed with yourself.

At some point, my emotions boiled over and I decided to google "carrot top" uses after I was saddened by a bag-full of leftover tops that were destined for the waste bin.  I settled on a carrot top pesto, a seemingly simple way to combine carrot tops with standard pesto ingredients - basil, olive oil, garlic and parmesan.  I ended up not really following a recipe, but just putting in and blending the portions to my taste.

I also ended up freezing the pesto for future use.  Thankfully, I found an excuse to use it a few weeks later with some frozen, store-bought tortellini.

All in all, a simple way to use up carrot tops with no discernible taste difference compared to regular pesto.  So go forth and use those greens!

Sichuan Braised Eggplant - One Day, I Will Master Eggplant

Another year, another failed eggplant attempt.  Similar to my first failed eggplant attempt a few years ago, this latest effort also centered around a spicy Sichuan-style eggplant.  For this attempt, I used a Serious Eats recipe given my great success with their other Sichuan recipes of late.

Unfortunately, this recipe turned out a bit of a mess - but at least it was better than my 2012 eggplant attempt!  The eggplant was edible, though the texture continued to feel simultaneously under and over-cooked.

Part of the issue may have been using standard eggplant from a relative's garden, instead of the thinner Chinese or Japanese versions called for in the recipe.

In addition, I didn't exactly follow the salt-to-water ratio called for in the brining step, thinking that free-styling it would be sufficient to break down the eggplant cell structure.

I then cooked for the eggplant for longer than called for in the recipe to try to achieve a more cooked texture, but to no avail.

The final flavor of the sauce was excellent though, even though I didn't include the hot vinegar / bird chile mixture simply because I didn't have any bird chiles at home.  I will probably give some version of this recipe another go, but after more research about how to tackle the dreaded eggplant!