weekend in seattle

A few weeks ago, I spent a weekend in Seattle. I left my guys at home and met up with a friend from college. We walked and talked, ate and shopped. We stayed at a lovely B&B in the University District, cheered salmon up the fish ladder at Ballard Locks, walked around Green Lake, walked around Seward Park, were wowed by Pike’s Place Market, visited book stores and yarn stores and had dinner with friends. It was fabulous. One of the fun things we did was drop by the Book Larder and listen to Bea Peltre, the TartineGourmande, talk about her book, her cooking and her life. And we got to sample one of her recipes. It was a lovely start to the weekend and the book is a wonderful souvenir of that weekend.

When I got home I made the recipe we sampled, using different vegetables and it was delicious. Although not nearly as pretty as Bea’s.

Eggplant and corn Clofutis (adapted from theTartine Gourmande)

1 medium eggplant, sliced thinly, lengthwise

1 small onion, sliced

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp thyme

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp brown sugar

Kernels cut from 1 ear of corn

3 eggs

½ c milk

1/3 c corn starch

½ c heavy cream

½ c grated parmesan cheese

2 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 400 deg F.

In a heated sauté pan, add 2 tbsp olive oil and sauté the eggplant slices until brown on each side. Set aside.

Add the rest of the oil to the pan and add the onion and thyme and cook for about 5 minutes until the onion is soft but not brown. Add the vinegar and sugar and cook for a minute, then add the corn. Cook for a couple more minutes.

Add the corn starch to the milk to dissolve. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and add the milk slurry, cream, parmesan cheese and salt and pepper.

Into the bottom of a greased baking dish, layer the vegetables, starting with the eggplant, then the onion mixture. Pour the egg mixture over the top. Crumble the goat cheese over the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until set and beginning to brown around the edges.

We liked it so much I made it again, with zucchini instead of eggplant.