Two new AMAZING recipes

Of course they are both from Smitten Kitchen. The first is her eggplant bruschetta. The other night I made her lebanese-style stuffed eggplant. It was ok- not something I'm in a hurry to make again. It took a lot of time and effort and didn't come off the way I expected it to. So I had all of the inner scrapings of several eggplant that I needed to use up. I decided to make the bruschetta and I am so glad I did. It was so delicious. This *might* just be the best thing I've ever made with eggplant (and you know how much I love my eggplant parmesan). Let me tell you how I decided to make it. First of all, there weren't any skins on the eggplant. I'm not sure if this really changed the flavor at all but I think it helped the eggplant pieces to break down a little easier but it's up to you. The skin is very nutritious so next time I think I'll try it skin on. I chopped up kinda small and cooked them in a pot on the stove with a little olive oil. When they cooked down I added a couple of small (think smalled than plum size) tomatoes that were really ripe. Deseed them. Then I added LOTS of feta, the green onion, and only a small amount of the red wine vinegar (I made a melanza salata last week that also called for red wine vinegar but the flavor was overpowering). Add a little salt and pepper and take off the stove when the feta starts to melt. I happened to buy the most delicious onion baguette at the store that day. I just toasted slices and rubbed them with garlic (although this step is not necessary). We took it to the park with some fresh fruit and OMG!!! It tasted so delicious and fresh.

Ok so recipe #2: crispy black bean tacos with feta and slaw.
I was looking for something vegetarian since I've been eating so much meat here. This sounded good (and incredibly fast and easy) so I thought I would give it a try. Of course when I got to the store, I didn't consider the fact that there is a place in the world that does not sell black beans. Since I had all the stuff to make this already in my buggy- and since I couldn't really think of anything else to make- I headed to the meat section and picked up a chunk of beef. I rarely ever buy beef ( I made lasagna for Andrew this year for the first time and we've been married 7 years) so this was going on a limb- especially for a whopping 10 euro for only a pound and a half- think 15 bucks! Anyway it turned out amazing. I even heard moaning sounds from my family as they at it. Eden and Fox kept pointing to it and asking what it was- "It's not chicken?" they say. I marinated the beef a few hours in a little olive oil, the juice of one lime, 2 tsp of soy sauce, a little water, and a T or so of Montreal Steak seasoning (no they don't have this here- a friend shared some with me. I use this at home in DC for making thai chicken). I don't have a grill here so I put it under the broiler until it was medium/medium rare- oh, and I sprinkled a generous helping of more steak seasoning on both sides before broiling. Flip it once. So, I made the slaw (only I added a T of mayo) and was generous with the feta. Put it all together in a tortilla and toast your taco in a pan on the stove for a couple of minutes on each side. Really, I think you'll love it. I look forward to trying it with the black beans for a vegetarian version of it that would also be a lot cheaper and quicker to make. I served it with corn on the cob and some fresh fruit.
Next up, I'm trying her whole wheat raspberry ricotta scones. I'll let you know how they turn out, but I bet they're gonna be good.