Besides the old standby's of cut-up fresh veggies and ff dip, how about some
crackers and a spread? Here's one of my favourites:
Eggplant and mushroom spread.
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 head garlic, diced (6-7 cloves)
1 lb mushrooms, diced (slice them thinly in two directions)
1 med to large eggplant, cut lengthwise into quarters and sliced into 1/8"
slices. I don't peel it, but you can if you want to.
3 or more jalopeno peppers, chopped with seeds left in
1 tsp basil or thyme or mixture of both
salt to taste
Place onion, garlic, jalopenos, herbs and mushrooms into a LARGE pan; I use
a shallow pot. Add a little (less than 1/4 c) water or veg broth to start;
over med-high heat, stir-fry until the mushrooms begin to release their own
liquid. If you salt the mushrooms, you'll speed up this process. Throw in
the eggplant and stir-fry until it starts to turn dark. Cover and leave it
for 5 min at a time, then stir it up and cover again. Repeat until all the
eggplant is very soft and falling apart, about 30 min. The onion should also
be very soft at this point. Some of the pieces left on the bottom of the pan
will get seared; this adds a nice flavour.
If you wish, you can throw 1/2 of the 'mush' into a food processor; I just
mash it with a fork and leave it chunky. This makes a lot, but it goes fast.
If there's any left over, just toss it with pasta the next day. It keeps for
over a week in the fridge.
You can also use it as filling for wontons or other dumplings, or take small
soft tortillas, cut them in half, and roll up the 'mush' as mini-burritos
with one end open. You'd have to hold them together with toothpicks. Great
finger food!
Alla
------------------------------