Gochujang Glazed Eggplant

We have eggplant! Our garden has been successful in a number of ways that it hasn't been in year's past. Firstly, the weed retardant barrier that we put down worked better than ever before--none of us are enthusiastic weeders, me worst of all, and so that has really helped. There are some things that have been so so, but we are actively thinking of planting for the fall, which is a sign that we just don't want it to end. This eggplant is easy peasy and can be made ahead if you are working and having guests over the same day. 1 pound Asian eggplant (about 3 large; preferably Korean, or Chinese or Japanese), halved lengthwise and cut into 4- to 5-inch segments 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2 tablespoons gochujang 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 packed teaspoons dark brown sugar 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 2 garlic cloves, finely grated ½ cup olive oil 4 scallions, trimmed, cut into 3-inch segments, then very thinly sliced lengthwise, white and green parts separated Place the eggplant in a colander set inside a large bowl or the sink. Sprinkle with the salt, toss to combine and let sit for 30 minutes to remove excess moisture. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, add the gochujang, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil and garlic. Whisk to combine, then set aside. To a large nonstick skillet, add the olive oil and the white parts of the scallions. Turn the heat to medium and fry the scallions, stirring often, until crispy and evenly browned, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried scallions onto a paper towel. Reserve a small handful of raw scallion greens for garnish, then fry the remaining scallion greens in the oil until crispy and lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer fried scallion greens onto a paper towel. Remove the skillet from the heat and carefully pour the hot scallion oil into a glass container or measuring cup. After the 30 minutes of salting, dry the eggplant segments with a paper towel. Place the skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of the reserved scallion oil. When the oil starts to shimmer and you see a wisp of smoke, add half the eggplant, cut sides down, and fry until browned and starting to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip once and cook another minute on the other side. Transfer to a plate, add 2 more tablespoons of scallion oil back to the pan, and repeat to fry the second batch of eggplants. (If you are lucky enough to have any scallion oil left, use it to fry eggs or to dress a salad.) Finally, sauce the eggplants: Add the first batch of eggplants back to the pan alongside the second batch. Reduce the heat to medium-low and pour the reserved gochujang sauce over the eggplants. Toss until evenly coated and the gochujang starts to caramelize, about 1 minute. Plate the eggplants on a large platter and garnish with the fried scallions and the reserved raw scallion greens. Serve immediately. (To store for later, transfer to a resealable container and keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. This dish tastes great cold, straight out of the fridge, or at room temperature.)

Keeping Kids In School

Can kids do in person school this year? It seems doomed to failure, especially in places where there is no mask mandate and people are doing pretty much whatever they want. In my university town the college students are back and a quick jog across the library revealed that about 2/3 of students were not wearing masks. Vaccinated or not, they can spread COVID, and last year that was the beginning of the rising death toll. Never a recipe for success when it comes to public health matters. This year our governor is forbidding people from mask mandates, so it is unlikely to go well. The truth is this is exactly what happened in the Spanish flu pandemic. It became clear that wearing masks and keeping apart really slowed the spread of influenza, but after a while, people ignored that, and the second year of the pandemic was far deadlier than the first had been. It was partly because the flu itself got deadlier. Will that happen this time? The current variation is definitely more successful at spreading and there are definitely more children hosptialized, some because they are unvaccinted and some because they can't be vaccinated. None of this troublesome news seems to motivate people to do better, at least at this moment, and soon we will all be heading back indoors.

Second Place by Rachel Cusk

I have gotten a great start on this year's Booker Prize long list, with this being the second book I have read within the first month after it was announced. That said, I wich I had read the end note first. It gives a context for the book, by stating that the novel is in some way paying a debt to the bohemian socialite Mabel Dodge Luhan and her 1932 memoir Lorenzo in Taos, about DH Lawrence’s chaotic stay at her artists’ colony in New Mexico. Apparently in the end he threatening his hostess and her future in some way, the whole thing was so traumatic. In this book there is an L who is the invited guest to the hostess' second place, not her primary dwelling, we are led to beleive, but there is also some aspect of who is going to win, when it isn't a race or a contezst, but somehow it seems like there is a com[petition, and a sadness that underlies the whole narrative. if I had known it was a book built on the framework of another, and what that was I might have felt like I understood it better, but I ended up feeling it was well written and plain weird.

Malted Brownies

My spouse has been baking ever since we binge watched the Great British Bake Off just before and then during the pandemic. We are both health care workers, and he works intensively with COVID patients, so we are doing nothing in our personal life to increase risk. We were vaccinated at the earliest point we could. Consequently, we are eating almost 100% food we made, or someone we know made. This might sound limiting, but it has really been a game changer in our home baking. These are from Dessert Person (or the Epicurious website) and they are fantastic. ¼ cup Dutch process cocoa powder (0.7 oz / 20g) 5 ounces (142g) semisweet chocolate (preferably 64 to 68% cacao), coarsely chopped 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3 oz / 85g), cut into pieces ¼ cup neutral oil, such as vegetable or grapeseed (2 oz / 56g) ½ cup granulated sugar (3.5 oz / 100g) ½ cup packed dark brown sugar (3.5 oz / 100g) 1 large egg (1.8 oz / 50g) 2 large egg yolks (1.1 oz / 32g) 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract ¾ cup all-purpose flour (3.5 oz / 100g) 2 tablespoons malted milk powder (0.63 oz / 18g) (optional) 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (0.11 oz / 3g) 6 ounces (170g) milk chocolate, coarsely chopped (1 cup) Preheat the oven and prepare the pan: Arrange an oven rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8 × 8-inch pan with 2 sheets of foil, crossing one over the other and pressing the foil into the corners and up the sides. Lightly butter the foil and set aside. Bloom the cocoa: In a large heatproof bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and ¼ cup boiling water (4 oz / 113g) until smooth (this will bring out the flavor of the cocoa). Melt the chocolate, butter, and oil: Add the semisweet chocolate, butter, and oil to the bowl with the cocoa mixture and set it over a medium saucepan filled with about 1 inch of simmering (not boiling) water (make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water). Warm the mixture gently, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and let cool until lukewarm. Add the sugars and egg: Whisk the granulated and brown sugars into the chocolate mixture. It will look grainy and you might see some of the fat start to separate from the rest of the mixture, which is normal. Add the whole egg, egg yolks, and vanilla and whisk vigorously until the mixture comes back together and looks very thick, smooth, and glossy. Add the dry ingredients: Add the flour, malted milk powder (if using), and salt and whisk slowly until everything is combined, then whisk more vigorously until the batter is very thick, a full 45 seconds. Fold in the chocolate and bake: Add the milk chocolate to the batter and fold with a flexible spatula to distribute. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading in an even layer all the way to the corners. Bake the brownies until the surface is shiny and puffed and the center is dry to the touch but still soft when pressed, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool, chill, and cut: Allow the brownies to cool in the pan until they are no longer hot, about 1 hour, then refrigerate until the bottom of the pan feels cold, about 1 hour longer (this results in a chewier texture). Use the ends of the foil to lift the brownies out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Slice the brownies into 16 squares.

Children and the Delta Variant

August has seen a dramatic rise in children with COVID being hospitalized, some of them going to the ICU. Pediatric ICU's are filling up, and there may not be room at the inn soon, which should be terrifying, but from what I can tell from news reports coming out of regions where the unvaccinated exceed the vaccinated is that they have no regrets and they are definitely not getting vaccinated. Which means that they are perfectly comfortable with killing other people, including children. Around the country, child hospitalizations for Covid-19 have increased to levels not seen since January, when U.S. cases and deaths were at their highest levels, according to the latest government data. Doctors in the hospitals hardest hit by the recent surge say the situation is worse than it was in January. It happened fast: As of mid-August, U.S. hospitals were tending to an average of more than 1,200 children a day, twice the number from the end of July and four times from the start of July, according to an NBC News analysis of data released this week by the Department of Health and Human Services. The data show the U.S. facing another peak in child hospitalizations as the delta variant of the coronavirus hits communities hesitant to get vaccinated. So while unvaccinated adults are filling ICUs in parts of the South, minors in those areas are filling up the pediatric wings at an alarming pace. And it is getting worse not better, again because too few people think about their community, that there is a greater good beyond yourself to think about. Get the vaccine and stop sickening and killing children.

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

This author is apparently well known for her novels that take scenarios from the front page of the news, crises that brew in real life, and imagines the stories and the people who lie immediately behind, the people who perpetrate such crimes. In this case it is not a pandemic (ironically, she has already done that one), but rather the financial crisis. He lead character is a cross between Bernie Madoff and an international man of mystery sort. The high roller who fooled everyone who gets caught and dies in prison. The book probes into the man himself and the people who are wrapped up with him by association, if not actually benefitting excessively but more by association. then there are the victims of the crime, the people who chased the dream of staggering profits without work, who then lost it all. It is a tale of greed, some of it naked and out in the open, some of it propelled by wanting something that sounds unbelievable to be true, but once again, it is too good to be true. The people in these stories are starkly drawn and intensely interesting, which is the magic of the author herself as a storyteller. She is also almost too good to be true. I read this because it is on Obama's 2020 reading list, but I would seek out other books by this author.

Peach Brown Butter Pudding Cake

This is a variationon a southern pudding cake, loaded with fresh fruit, served warm with whip cream or vanilla ice cream. You can top with slivered almonds or not, depending on your crowd. I had this at a friends' house and a fellow guest made it, but cooked it on site. The goos news is that it bakes while you are having dinner, and it should be quite browned ideally. 3 cups fresh nectarines or peaches in 1/2-inch slices, or a combination about 1 pound 5 ounces sugar (about 3/4 cup) 1 teaspoon lemon juice 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 3 ounces flour (about 3/4 cup) 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder ⅛ teaspoon salt ¾ cup buttermilk ¼ cup sliced almonds ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 2 tablespoons Demerara sugar Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the fruit slices, 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a simmer, then take the pan off the heat. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until it smells very nutty, turns golden, and flecks of dark brown appear, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the brown butter into an 8-inch-by-8-inch baking dish. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour the buttermilk into the dry ingredients and mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape the batter on top of the brown butter, use a spatula to even out the batter but be careful not to mix it into the butter. Scatter the nectarine slices and juice on top of the batter without stirring. Sprinkle with the almonds, nutmeg and Demerara sugar. Bake until golden brown, 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.

Sudden Population Shift

These are the local statistics for my neck of the woods. I live in a red state, one that voted for Trump despite the fact that more of us died per capita than in the country as a whole, and re-elected a governor who literally said that she was not going to close businesses because the hospitals still had beds. She cares not if people needlessly die, and as of now, she endangers more of us each and every day with her lack of attention to public health. Despite that, we are protecting ourselves and our community. We are vaccinated, and I have every reason to believe that as the guidelines about getting booster shots start to emerge, that we will comply with these quidelines as well. Today, however, our university town opens its doors to students starting the fall semester today and all bets are off as to how that will go. It went exceedingly poorly last fall with a rise in COVID and hospitalizations directly linked to students returning and bars being open. Data rolled in showing that communities that had universities had excessive rates of COVID infections amongst non-student residents, and that having a univeristy nearby put you at greater risk of both infection and death. So what happens next? Will we do better this time around or will history repeat itself? The delta variant lays in wait for us to let down our guard. One way or the other, we will know soon enough.

The New Wilderness by Diane Cook

This is a book about a community of strangers attempt to live in a natural world made inhospitable by the climate crisis in this tale of survival and strife. The cataclysm of civilisation has overwhelmed all but a single natural preserve called the Wilderness State, home to the last remnants of North American wildlife, and a small band of nomads called the Community. Bea, a young mother who has made the impossible and inadvisable decision to join an experiment in the Wilderness State in order to save her little daughter, Agnes, from the wasted City, whose poisoned air has been killing her since the day she was born. She is the protagonist at first, but even that is a shifting role in this book of a different sort of Hunger Games. She is one of 20 initial volunteerswho are part of an experiment allegedly intended to determine whether humans can exist in nature without destroying it. It goes about as well as you might think, with all the usual pit falls, including hoarding, sexual predators, lies, and manipulation. all with a particular twist and well written. It is interesting to read in the midst of a pandemic, where most people do not die, but a lot of people do. Right now about one in every 500 Americans has died of COVID, and the count is continuing to rise. Here there are very few left, and as is always the case, both in real life and in post-apocalyptic fiction, there are haves and have nots. What resonates is how leadership and power end up being distributef, as well as who cares about whom. There are a lot of people who you could see kicking out of you Community because they thinkonly of themselves, and this books brings that into the ugly light that it is.

Homemade Salsa for Canning

Oh my gosh, the garden is going crazy with tomatoes, and so even though it is not Labor Day weekend, which is out usual day for heavy canning of tomatoes, we got started early. In addition to a primavera sauce (because we have lots of other vegetables on hand as well so why not?) and some pizza sauce, I took another stab at making and canning salsa (my last attempt was about a decade ago and it did not go well....). This one is good going into the jar, and hopefully will be just as good coming out. 9 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes 2 1/2 cups chopped bell peppers 2 1/2 cups chopped white onion 4 medium jalapenos, chopped (with seeds for a hotter salsa, without for a milder one) 8 large cloves garlic, chopped 6 teaspoons canning salt 1/2 cup cider vinegar 1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste Instructions Remove the skins from the tomatoes. To do this, make an “X” in the bottom of the tomatoes, then place in boiling water for 60 seconds. Then, remove the tomatoes from the water and place directly into a bowl if iced water to shock. The skins should slip right off. (I use my spider to transfer the tomatoes from the boiling water to the ice water without getting splashed.) Make the salsa. Place all of the ingredients in a large pot (you will need a 10qt. saucepan for this batch, or split the ingredients among 2 saucepans) and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until thickened and cooked. Prepare cans to be sealed. Ladle the cooked salsa into clean, sterile jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a damp, clean, paper towel, then place lids on top. To make filling easy, I highly recommend a wide funnel designed for canning jars. Process using a water bath (or better yet, pressure can them). To do this, bring a large saucepan filled with water to a boil. Your saucepan needs to be tall enough to have the water cover the jars by 2 inches- though the jars will displace some of the water as they are added. Add the jars to the water bath and cover with a lid. Process for 30 minutes, then remove. I use these tongs to make things easy.