2 Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Quickies

Apparently this has been a thing since the 60s, but I’d never heard of of it. Makes about 2 dozen, and are quite nice. They disappeared when I served them to family.

1 15.25-ounce box of spice cake mix

1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée

You can sprinkle the tops with sugar and cinnamon before baking or mix in raisins, nuts or chocolate chips to the dough.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the spice cake mix and pumpkin in a large bowl and mix until well combined.

Use a 1 1/2 tbsp sized cookie scoop or a heaping tablespoon to scoop the batter into rounded balls and place on the cookie sheet. They don’t spread much, but leave at least an inch between each. Bake until puffed and dry looking, and the quickies spring back when gently pressed, about 12-15 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before using a thin spatula to transfer them to a cooling rack. Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle on the tops before baking

Substitute for “Cream of” Soups

This makes the equivalent of one 10.75 oz can
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour (substitute rice flour for gluten free)
¼ tsp salt, if desired
1 cup liquid of choice (See notes after directions)
seasonings of choice (See notes)

Have all ingredients measured and to hand before beginning.

You make a roux. Put the butter and salt in a small saucepan with a heavy bottom, and melt over low heat. Using a whisk, blend in the flour until mixture is bubbly.

Add a couple tbsp of the liquid to the roux, whisking as you add it. Don’t panic after the first addition – the roux may suddenly look all doughy. Just keep whisking and add a bit more liquid, and it will smooth out. After you’ve added about half the liquid in this manner, you may add the rest all at once, whisking it thoroughly as you do.



Continue cooking and stirring over low heat until smooth and thickened. Makes more than1 cup, but not quite 1 ¼ cups, of a condensed creamy soup. You may use it as such in a recipe, or add an equivalent amount of liquid to serve as a creamy soup.

Notes: What liquids and seasonings to use?

Tomato soup: use tomato juice. Leave out the salt, unless you use no-salt juice. You may wish to add a dash of onion powder or a teaspoon or so of very finely minced onion (sautée the onion in the melted butter before adding the flour). Some like a tiny pinch of sugar or brown sugar to counteract acidity in the tomato.

Mushroom soup: use a combination of milk and mushroom stock, made by simmering mushrooms in water just to cover. I like to use half of each. Sautee a few tablespoons of the mushrooms, chopped, and half a teaspoon of finely minced onion in the melted butter, before you begin to stir in the flour. (If you prefer, you can forego the mushroom stock and use all milk, but in my opinion, it really does make the Best. Mushroom soup. Ever.)

Cream of Celery soup: Saute ½ cup chopped celery and 1 tablespoon chopped onion in the melted butter, until vegetables are tender. Use all milk for the liquid.

Cream of Chicken soup: use half milk, half good quality chicken stock, homemade if you have it. Add a fat pinch of sage or poultry seasoning and a dash of onion powder, or saute a teaspoon of onion in the butter before adding flour. A few tablespoons of finely chopped cooked chicken is a nice touch if you have any on hand. If you decide to use broth made from bouillon cubes please leave out the salt.You may also want to reduce or omit the herbs.

Through Darkness to Light

“Midway upon the journey of our life, I found myself in a dark wilderness, for I had wandered from the straight and true.”

https://open.substack.com/pub/frmatthewdominic/p/through-darkness-to-light

American Chop Suey

American Chop Suey has been an old standby in New England since the Great Depression. Dishes like it, have been family favorites, and my mother made it regularly for dinner. She passed before I had a family of my own never got her recipe and ended up trying one recipe after another. Despite it being such a popular dish in my neck of the woods, I found that not everyone followed the same formula my mother, school cafeteria’s, diners had for decades. It was the proverbial needle in the haystack. Several years ago, I found Elise Bauer’s mom’s recipe Hamburger Macaroni on Simply Recipes and was happy to find that it was the definitive American Chop Suey. It’s a very adaptable recipe, I usually add 1 chopped green pepper as that is what I grew up with, or a few stalks of celery, chopped. You can stretch the recipe to serve 6 by using 3 cups of macaroni. 

4 servings

2 cups uncooked macaroni
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
Pinch chili powder
1/2 tsp celery seed
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Get a large pot of salted hot water (1 tbsp of salt for 2 quarts of water) boiling and begin cooking the macaroni as per the directions on the macaroni package. While the water is heating and macaroni cooking, prepare the sauce. In a skillet, brown the ground beef in a tbsp of olive oil on high heat. Stir only infrequently so that the ground beef has an opportunity to brown. When the beef has mostly browned, add the onions to the pan and toss to combine. Cook until the onions are soft, about 4 to 6 minutes. Add the celery seed, a dash of crushed red pepper and seasoned salt. Pour in canned tomatoes, add the Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving a half cup of the pasta cooking water. Mix in the drained and cooked macaroni and the parsley. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add in some of the pasta water if the dish is too dry. Add freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

New England Cornbread

Butter (for the pan)
Flour (for the pan)
3 large eggs

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup oil
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups yellow cornmeal, preferably stoneground
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Heat the oven to 375F, butter a 9x13 baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment and butter the paper. In a bowl large enough to hold all the ingredients, stir together oil, butter and yogurt until smooth, then stir in the eggs. Add in the sugar followed by the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Keep stirring until no pockets of dry ingredients show. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake the cornbread for 35 minutes, or until it is uniformly golden brown on top and firm in the middle (insert toothpick in center to see if it comes out dry). Set on a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Slice the cornbread into 18 squares

Last Hurrah of the Morning Glories

Among my favorite flowers in the garden are the morning glories, they have been prolific, growing up and over the fences, this year the vines are spreading on the ground. A bit of morning cheer and they last from spring til the first frost each year. They are fading, some of the vines have dried and had to be cleared.

I wish I had luck with the moon flowers I tried growing. I had wanted to alternate them with morning glories so I would have the beautiful pale blossoms later in the day with their beautiful scent but they didn't take. I noticed the leaves on the trees in my neighborhood and especially the common (for those not from New England, some cities and most all old towns would have a small park in the center, that was for common usage, in some larger towns a larger common allowed farmers cows and sheep to graze on a market day. Or space for the town militia to muster in the lead up to the Revolutionary War thus the term common) have started to turn, though whether we will have beautiful yellows, oranges and reds on the trees or more brown and tans is anybody's guess. All I see is a hint of dullish color. It all depends on bright hot days, and cooler nights.

Chicken Corn Chowder

This is my family's favorite soup, it's fresh and light tasting, not starchy at all. The soup is thickened by pulsing half the corn kernels to a paste in a food processor. Served with a salad, and you have a meal that will satisy everyone, even your pickey eaters. It's a recipe I adapted in the early '90s from a cookbook I got out of the library, Blue Corn & Chocolate.

Serves 6

2 Tbsp butter
1 large yellow onion chopped
2 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, with leaves, sliced
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 cups or 4 ears of fresh sweet corn kernels, you can use frozen, but fresh is best
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup cooked, diced chicken
1/2 tsp dried sweet marjoram
1/2 cup light cream

Process half the sweet corn kernels in a food processor, ’til they are a coarse paste (do not puree), reserve the other half as is, to add much later in the cooking process). In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low to moderate heat. Add the onions and carrots and sauté slowly, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Stir in the celery and the potato and continue to sauté, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes.

To the sautéd vegetables add the processed corn, the stock, the pepper, sugar and marjoram. Bring to a simmer then lower the heat and cook for about 20 minutes, until potatoes and carrots are tender. Stir in the remaining corn kernels and the chicken, bring back to a simmer and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.  Add the cream, and stir for 5 minutes or less til it is hot again but not boiling, sprinkle with fresh parsley, if you wish. Served as leftovers, it tastes even better the next day and freezes well.

Old Fashioned Hermit Cookies

With September coming my thoughts are more and more turning to fall, the leaves changing color, trips to an apple farm, and fall flavors. Hermits are an old fashioned cookie, traditionally the dough is rolled into logs and baked, then sliced and are called Hermit bars. I just find making them as drop cookies much easier. They are delicious and last a long time if stored in a tin. In olden times New England wives and mothers used to make them and give them to their sea faring fishermen, sailor, sons or husbands or other loved ones to have a piece of home to take with them. With their warm spices they are a familiar touch of fall. When I was a child my mother would pack them for school lunches or picnics, makes about 32 cookies.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1½ tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
¼ cup molasses
1 large egg
2/3 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 375° and line a large baking sheet with parchment. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl or in the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and egg and continue to beat, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula if necessary. Gradually add the flour and spices mixture until just combined. Stir in the raisins. Drop tablespoonfuls of cookie dough on to baking sheet, and bake on the center rack of your oven for 13 minutes, until the edges are barely crisp, you don’t want to overcook them. Remove them from the oven and cool.

Corie Pressley - Overwhelmed By Evil In The World | Here's What To Do

Photographer Jeff Bruno is bringing Christ to the world with digital evangelization

A new LifeSite mini-documentary video chronicles the former musician's conversion and his latest work.

Spreading the Gospel through media has never been as accessible as it is today. Join LifeSiteNews on the streets of New York City in its latest mini documentary about photographer Jeff Bruno, a convert to the Catholic faith who first picked up a camera as a means to evangelize, only to become well-known for his artistic ability to memorialize Catholic and pro-life events https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/photographer-jeff-bruno-is-bringing-christ-to-the-world-with-digital-evangelization/

Storm Last Tuesday

Tuesday, the 24th, this was the scene in the parking lot behind my church. The storm drains on this side street must have been clogged. I was grateful that I had been able to park on the Main St. when I needed to drop someone off. The day ended with the sun coming out, drying up with a high of 81°, with much lower humidity.

American Chop Suey

American Chop Suey has been an old standby in New England since the Great Depression, dishes like it, have been family favorites, and my mother made it regularly for dinner. She passed before I had a family of my own never got her recipe and ended up trying one recipe after another. Despite it being such a popular dish in my neck of the woods, I found that not everyone followed the same formula my mother, school cafeteria’s, diners had for decades. It was the proverbial needle in the haystack. Several years ago, I found Elise Bauer’s mom’s recipe Hamburger Macaroni on Simply Recipes and was happy to find that it was the definitive American Chop Suey. It’s a very adaptable recipe, I usually add 1 chopped green pepper as that is what I grew up with, or a few stalks of celery, chopped. You can stretch the recipe to serve 6 by using 3 cups of macaroni. 

4 servings

2 cups uncooked macaroni

1 tbsp olive oil

1 pound ground beef

1 yellow onion, chopped

1/2 tsp seasoned salt

Pinch chili powder

1/2 tsp celery seed

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Get a large pot of salted hot water (1 tbsp of salt for 2 quarts of water) boiling and begin cooking the macaroni as per the directions on the macaroni package. While the water is heating and macaroni cooking, prepare the sauce. In a skillet, brown the ground beef in a tbsp of olive oil on high heat. Stir only infrequently so that the ground beef has an opportunity to brown. When the beef has mostly browned, add the onions to the pan and toss to combine. Cook until the onions are soft, about 4 to 6 minutes. Add the celery seed, a dash of crushed red pepper and seasoned salt. Pour in canned tomatoes, add the Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving a half cup of the pasta cooking water. Mix in the drained and cooked macaroni and the parsley. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add in some of the pasta water if the dish is too dry. Add freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.

Lemon Posset

1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup superfine sugar
juice of one meyer lemon, a regular lemon or other citrus (about 1/4 cup)

Combine the cream and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring just to a simmer over medium low heat and remove from heat. Let stand until just cool, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.

Stir in the lemon juice. Blend well. Divide between 2 goblets or small serving dishes, cover and chill until firm, at least 4 hours and preferably overnight. Garnish with fresh blueberries, if desired, before serving. Recipe may be doubled, tripled, etc with no problem

 

Maple Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Back in 2008, watching an NCIS dvd, with commentary, I heard the actor, David McCallum, who portrays Ducky, the medical examiner, talk about roasting Brussel sprouts in this way. I felt intrigued.. and despite never having liked the vegetable, I gave it a try. They were so good, not the smelly, mushy sprouts of my childhood, but delicious, slightly sweet. Now they're a regular, and not just at the holidays.

2 lbs brussel sprouts
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp maple syrup
sea salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Wash sprouts and remove yellowed and discolored leaves, and slice in half. In a large bowl, whisk together oil and syrup ’til emulsified, then pour in the sprouts. Using your hands rub oil/syrup mixture over all sides of the sprouts until they are completely coated. Spoon the sprouts into a roasting pan, making sure to leave any extra oil/syrup in the bowl. Sprinkle with several good grinds of sea salt & black pepper. Bake in oven between 20 to 30 minutes, until they are caramelized (checking occasionally after 20 minutes. You can also insert a thin sharp knife in and if it inserts easily they are done).

Larb

I read about this Thai

salad in 2008, or '09, and adapted it.. it originally called for grinding a type of rice down to a powder, to use as a thickener, I opted for corn starch. It also called for galangal, which is comparable to ginger. I added in carrots because I felt they complimented the dish. 

Serves 4 - 6, depending on appetites

1 tsp corn starch
3 tbsp lime juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 medium red onion, minced
1 stalk lemon grass, bottom portion minced, or 1 tsp lemon zest
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup julienned carrot, optional
1/4 cup mint, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped, optional
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 lb ground pork, or turkey or chicken
lettuce leaves
2 cups sticky rice (optional)

Poach ground meat of your choice in the broth in a skillet on medium heat, stirring frequently breaking the meat down so it's crumbly and it is cooked through. Add juice, fish sauce, veggies, herbs and seasonings. Stir well for a few minutes so flavors combine. Sprinkle 1 tsp of corn starch and stir well. The corn starch is intended to give a bit of body to the remaining liquid so it coats the mixture, keeping it looking moist and coated with the liquid. Remove from heat and serve, with lettuce leaves alone or include cooked sticky rice.

Vertigo

Prior to last September, I only associated the word "vertigo" with the Hitchcock film, starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak... and then got out of bed one morning, and I felt the room spin as though I was in a barrel. For a bit over a week, I was at the mercy of this condition.. even simple movements like bending, tilting my head, laying down on my back set it off.

Slowly but surely it lessened, and I felt like my old self, but it came back after Christmas. That time it passed after a few days. It reoccurred in January, and my doctor prescribed a medication similar to dramamine, meclizine, that while knocking me out, lessened the symptoms. The vertigo disappeared that time within a week, but in February, it returned with a vengeance, and didn't respond to the medication any longer... which was disheartening, because each recurrence disrupted my ability to get things done...  you don't realise how important the little movements we all take for granted are. Since February, it has come and gone and when each time it returned, it was worse.

I was sent to an ENT, and given a few tests that showed I had meniere's disease.. essentially, a few of the calcium particles we all have in our inner ear that help us balance, got loose.. which cause the dizziness and spinning. I've been getting physical therapy, which has really helped, and I've been vertigo free for almost a week now... and really feel that I will beat this thing. The exercises really help lessen and stave off the bouts of vertigo.

Lazy Daisy Coconut Oatmeal Cake

Anyone else remember the Lazy Daisy cake? My mom made it quite regularly in the '70s. Basically an easy to throw together vanilla snack cake, with a scrumptious brown sugar coconut topping. Tonight while blog hopping, I stopped off at Serious Eats, and found this new take on the Lazy Daisy, an inspired choice of an oatmeal cake base, taken from the pages of a new cookbook, One Bowl Baking by Yvonne Ruperti http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/04/one-bowl-oatmeal-cake.html I plan on making this over the weekend, but I couldn't resist sharing it here tonight.

Ingredients

    For Cake:
    1 cup rolled oats
    3/4 cup boiling water
    1/2 cup milk
    1/2 plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
    8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, very soft
    1 3/4 cup (12 1/4 ounces) packed light brown sugar
    2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    2 large eggs
    1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
    1 1/4 cups (6 1/4 ounces) all purpose flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon cinnamon
    
    For Topping:
    6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, very soft
    3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) packed light brown sugar
    3 tablespoons milk
    2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
    1 cup walnuts (or pecans), chopped

Procedures

    1 Combine oats, boiling water, and milk; let sit 20 minutes. Adjust oven rack to upper and lower middle position and preheat to 350°F. Grease 9- by 9-inch pan.

    2 Add salt, butter, sugar, and vanilla to oat mixture and stir to combine. Stir in eggs and coconut. Add flour, baking soda, and cinnamon to bowl, then stir until completely combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake on middle rack until just set, about 30 minutes.

    3 While cake is baking, mix topping in same unwashed bowl: toss butter, brown sugar, milk, coconut, and nuts to form moist crumbs.

    4 As soon as cake is baked, remove from oven and spread topping over the top. Return pan to oven and increase heat to broil. Briefly heat until topping melts and coconut is lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool.

Baked Cauliflower and Cheese Casserole

This is another family favorite, the kids at first didn't even suspect they were eating their nemesis, the evil cauliflower :) If you'd rather use less dairy, you can substitute stock for some of the milk. If you're tempted to cut out the cream replace it with milk.

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into 5 to 6 cups of
florets
5 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
1 cup of heavy cream
1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese, either shredded or diced I use an 8 oz package of Sargentos Extra Sharp Cheddar
1/2 tsp dry mustard, like Colman's, but you could use 1 tsp of prepared mustard
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the florets and return to a boil, for 2 minutes, you just want to blanch them. Strain, then cut florets into halves or quarters, you want a uniform size.

In a large saucepan, melt 4 of the tbsp of  butter. Sprinkle the flour over the butter and cook 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat, whisking until a roux forms. Add the milk and whisk until the roux dissolves into the milk. Cook sauce on medium-low heat until it starts to thicken. Add heavy cream, mustard, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and then start adding the cheese, a small handful at a time, stirring until each addition has melted in. Once it's thoroughly combined, turn off heat and stir well. You want a smooth sauce, not thick and pastey.

In small pan melt remaining 1 tbsp butter and then mix in to the panko bread crumbs until the butter is  thoroughly absorbed. Mix in Parmesan cheese.

Butter a 3 quart casserole, then pour in cauliflower, then pour the cheese sauce over that til cauliflower is covered. Sprinkle the crumb/Parmesan mixture over top, and bake in oven for 35 to 40 minutes, and crumb topping is toasty and brown.

Hot Cross Buns My Daughter Made For Easter Breakfast

Makes 12 buns

Dough
3 cups flour
2 tsp breadmaker yeast
1/4 cup superfine sugar
2-3 tsp mixed spice (cinammon, nutmeg, allspice)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup currants or raisins
1 cup warm milk
2 tbsp butter
1 egg

Flour paste for the cross
1/2 cup plain flour
1/3 cup water

Glaze
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp orange marmalade

Heat the milk gently in a saucepan over medium heat until milk is warm enough to melt the butter. Melt the butter in the warm milk.

Measure and mix all the dry ingredients flour, breadmaker yeast, sugar, spice, salt and dried fruits together. Add the warm milk mixture and the egg to the flour mix and mix until dough comes together. Use floured hands to finish mixing to form a soft dough.

Knead the dough for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth. At this stage, add more flour if the dough is too wet, or add more water if the dough is too dry.

Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set the bowl in a warm, draught-free place (I put it in my oven) for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until dough doubles in size. After proofing, punch the dough down to expel the air, and divide into 12 even portions.

Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Shape each portion into a ball and place in the lined tray about 1 1/2 inches apart. Set the tray aside in a draft free place for 30 minutes for its final rising.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and make the flour paste by mixing the flour and water in a bowl until smooth. Add more water if paste is too thick. Spoon into a ziplock bag and snip off a corner of the bag. Pipe flour paste over tops of buns to form crosses.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the buns are done. When they're
ready, the buns will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Make the glaze by dissolving the marmalade in hot water. Brush the tops of the buns with the glaze while the buns are still warm. The buns are best when fresh out of the oven. You can freeze some, unglazed for later.

Bowtie Pasta with Lamb, Eggplant and Yogurt Sauce

I got this recipe from my friend, Diane, after sampling it when I stopped by to borrow a pan. It's her adaptation of a recipe she saw in the NY Times, that's based on the flavors of a Turkish dumpling dish. She said, the version in the paper called for 6 tbsp of butter, but she cut it down to 2. It's absolutely delicious. She uses zucchini, because her husband hates eggplant. I include her instructions if you wish to use zucchini too.

Serves 2 to 3

1 large eggplant, about 1 pound, cut in 1/2 inch cubes, *can also sub zucchini
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher or coarse sea salt, more to taste
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 large shallot, minced
1 lb ground lamb
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh mint *
1/2 pound bowtie pasta
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup (1, 6 oz container) of  plain Greek yogurt

* Because zucchini has a high water content, if you substitute it for the eggplant, you need to salt out the extra water from the vegetable, otherwise instead of roasting it will turn to mush. Use 1 1/2 lbs zucchini, cut into 1 inch chunks. Sprinkle the zucchini chunks with salt and lay on a double thickness of paper toweling to drain, for 15 minutes. Before coating with oil to roast be sure to blot  off any residual moisture that hasn't drained off the top of the zucchini chunks with dry paper toweling.
* Diane says if she hasn't any fresh mint, she'll cut open a mint (not peppermint) teabag and use 1 tsp of the dried mint

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Bring a pot of water to boil for pasta. Toss eggplant (or zucchini) with 4 tbsp oil and a large pinch of salt. Spread on a baking sheet (lined with foil to save clean up), making sure there is room between pieces, and roast until crisp and brown, 15 to 20 minutes (keep an eye on it). When done, set aside.

In a large skillet, heat remaining tbsp oil. Add 2 minced garlic cloves and the shallot and sauté until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add lamb, 1/2 tsp salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper to taste. Sauté until lamb is no longer pink, about 5 minutes, drain the rendered fat. Stir in mint and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir eggplant into lamb. Remove from heat.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter until it turns golden brown and smells nutty, watching carefully so it doesn't burn, about 2 to 3 minutes. In a small bowl, stir together yogurt, remaining garlic and a pinch of salt, then stir in melted butter.

Drain pasta well, then toss in lamb-eggplant mixture, then yogurt sauce, then spoon onto serving platter. Sprinkle with more mint if you wish. Serve immediately.