Easy, fresh, tasty

It is my birthday eve. I have been baking a six layer rainbow birthday cake inspired by this for the last three hours. At the moment, my cake is a hot mess. One giant, almond-flavored, rainbow-colored mess. I have eaten so many scraps of cake smothered in homemade buttercream frosting that I cannot actually imagine myself eating this monstrosity. I am ill -- sugar-induced nausea. Friends, please come eat my cake tomorrow so I don't have to. Thanks. Happy Birthday to me.

I missed the planting of 37 tomato plants this weekend at the farm. It was too damn cold to do anything but weed and plant things that live underneath the dirt, so that's exactly what we did -- planted asparagus and copious amounts of flowers: six or seven different sunflowers, hollyhocks, dahlias, nasturtiums (one more which I cannot remember -- damn sugar).

Easy, fresh, tasty.

(My mind very nearly went south there).

Who knew asparagus started like this? Not me.

Belle, my planting partner in crime.

Dig a trench, cover with three inches of dirt,

then cover again when they begin to sprout.

Irrigation boots are so in this season.

I love when my mom sneaks off with my camera.

One of my favorite people called me last week asking for an eggplant parmesan recipe, and she inspired me to make my own; I had never made it before. Eggplant was actually banned from my house as a kid because of my dad's virulent hatred for the purple aubergine -- a food poisoning incident in Morocco when he was in college still haunts him to this day.

My friend, actually named Hailey, too, was super disappointed with her eggplant parmesan. She said it was slimy and mushy -- who wants to eat anything with that description? I did some research and found that by salting eggplant it helps to leach out some of the excess water, which causes that unsavory texture. It actually worked! The eggplant had a meaty texture. A carnivorous friend of mine joined me for dinner, and he said this over his plate of eggplant parmesan: "vegetarian meals can be good -- I don't even miss the meat." Made me smile.

Hailey, I hope you try eggplant again. Dad, I think it's time you get past this, especially when we'll have eggplant coming out of ears on the farm. Just saying.

I am off to make my final round of buttercream frosting and finish the cake that has caused me to not want to eat cake ever again. I'll post pictures tomorrow. Until then, amigos.

Plain ol' eggplant.

Slice about 1/4 inch thick.

Salted in the colander.

Ricotta cheese, fresh basil, garlic salt, red pepper flakes.

My go-to breading: panko and parmesan cheese.

MMMM, cheese.

Baked eggplant parmesan

1 large eggplant, sliced into 1/4 inch slices

2 tbs basil leaves, chopped, more for garnish

2 cups panko bread crumbs (perhaps more)

1 cup flour

2 eggs, scrambled

1 cup ricotta cheese

1.5 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

1.5 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 tsp coarse salt

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large colander, place the sliced eggplant and sprinkle with the salt; allow to drain 30 minutes then blot dry with a paper towel. Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce or use your favorite canned variety. Combine the ricotta cheese, shredded basil, garlic salt, and remaining black pepper.

In one bowl, place the flour and 1/4 tsp black pepper. In another bowl, scramble the eggs. In the last bowl, combine the breadcrumbs with about a tbs of the parmesan cheese. Dredge the eggplant slices in the flour first -- be sure the coat the sides -- shaking off any excess, then rolling around in the egg and then last in the breadcrumbs. Place eggplant slices on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes -- flipping halfway through -- or until the eggplant are crispy.

Increase oven temperature to 375. In a baking dish, spread about 1/3 of the sauce. Place an eggplant slice and top with a bit of the ricotta mixture, followed by a dab of parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Repeat, slightly overlapping eggplant, until all the eggplant are used. Spread the remaining sauce on top (and more cheese if you're me). Bake eggplant, covered, for 30-45 minutes or until bubbly and irresistible. My mom always served her eggplant parmesan with pasta on the side so naturally, as do I. Serve immediately and enjoy!