Or, how I spent a few hours this afternoon.
For some reason, I have been on an eggplant kick lately. I suppose it is better than a chocolate kick or a vodka kick... but I want to make a nice baked eggplant dish. And for some reason, I have decided grilling the eggplant before baking gives it a nice texture and delicious flavor and saves that messy "salting in a colander" step.
So this afternoon I constructed a very time-intensive eggplant casserole.

First, I used the flames on my gas stove to char the outside of a red pepper, placed it in a paper bag and let it steam for about fifteen minutes. Then I removed the charred skin, seeded the pepper and chopped it up. While it was steaming, I sautéed two large shallot bulbs and two cloves of garlic in a little olive oil until they were caramelized.


olive oil and grilled until well-charred and wilting






Then I tossed a little fresh oregano leaf on top.



I will not advise to make this eggplant casserole in a RV kitchen. Too many steps... but it was really delicious and would easily feed four as a main (vegetarian) course and six as a side dish. The casserole can be prepared early in the day, refrigerated, and baked before serving. Every ingredient used tonight was organic too!
Until my next update, I remain, your over-worked correspondent.