Labbits Like: Eggplant Thai Curry

When the labbits get a nice, big, gorgeous eggplant, they tend to make eggplant lasagna - basically a lasagna where the noodles are replaced by slices of eggplant. When they got their CSA order from Deep Meadow Farm this week, they wound up with these cute little wee eggplants. From their appearance they look like Sicilian, or "zebra" eggplant, but the labbits wonder, are these mini zebra eggplants? Or, are they always this small?

Too small to slice up into lasagna "noodles", Pipkin decided to go for a red Thai Curry dish that he found in an old issue of Vegetarian Times. He exchanged the frozen peas for sugar snap peas, and decided that the "eggplant" called for in the recipe never specified variety, so he's going with these wee zebras.

The labbits suggest serving this with a bed of hot, fragrant basmati rice. It helps cut down on the spiciness, but the labbits still got quite a sweat going. Print out the recipe here.

Eggplant Thai Red Curry

Not pictured: curry paste!

Ingredients:
14 oz eggplant, cut into 1" pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
8 oz sugar snap peas
14 oz package of firm or very firm tofu
2 14 oz cans of lite coconut milk
2 Tbsp red curry paste
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp Tamari or soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp salt

Preparation:
Wrap tofu in paper towels and set in a colander with a bowl or plate on top, and a heavy can for weight (such as a can of tomatoes). Allow to drain for at least 20 minutes.

There's the red curry paste!

Shake the cans of coconut milk well. Pour half a can into a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk in curry paste until well blended.

Add eggplant, onion, bell pepper and snap peas and stir gently.

Add remaining coconut milk, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Slice the tofu into bite sized cubes and add to curry mixture. Heat thoroughly, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve hot on its own or poured over top basmati rice.

Serves: 6 - 8 labbits

Labbit Uprising

Clover checks out a silkscreen edition of Kozyndan's infamous "Uprisings" painting. The Los Angeles artist duo (Kozy and Dan) created this painting as a play on the famous "Great Wave off Kanagawa" by Hokusai.

Hokusai's "Great Wave Off Kanagawa"

Clover takes a closer look.

If you look closely, you see the waves in Kozyndan's "Uprisings" are made up by hundreds of rabbits. It reminds Clover of the scene in the movie "The Last Unicorn" where the unicorns fruitlessly try to escape their watery prison every night.

So pretty, and so sad.

This silkscreen was produced in limited number, and was screened with 5 metallic inks. "Uprisings" has become a part of a 4 part series of paintings called "Seasons of the Bunny". Each season is represented with cleverly hidden bunnies. Visit Kozyndan's website to view more of their spectacular art.

Goodnight, Irene!

Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time she blew through Bellows Falls VT. A lot of flooding occurred in southern Vermont towns with all the rainwater causing otherwise serene brooks and rivers to overflow.

At a calm point in the storm, Pipkin hopped through town to see how Bellows Falls fared. Luckily the town did not suffer any major damage. There were some branches and trees down, but even with high water levels, there was no flooding.

The rain started to pick up again as Pipkin hopped by the Vilas Bridge. The rain and wind is supposed to continue through the evening, so Pipkin's going to head back home and hunker down for the rest of the night. Goodnight, Irene!

Labbits Like: Black Bean Burgers

Ted wanted cheezburgers, so Clover put together this black bean veggie burger. There's a couple of slices of Cabot Racer's Edge Cheese on the side along with some baked potato wedges from Deep Meadow Farm. This recipe is quick and easy, and you can easily add things to this basic recipe to change it up: corn kernals, finely chopped mushroom, wild rice...

It's not just cats who can has cheezburger. You can too, by printing the recipe here. :)

Basic Black Bean Burger

Ingredients:
1 15 oz can of black bean, rinsed and drained
1 small or half a large bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 small onion, cut into wedges
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped in half
1 egg
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)
S+P to taste
1/2 - 3/4 cup bread crumbs

Preparation:
In a mixing bowl, mash beans until the texture is a thick paste. Stir in chili powder, cumin and worcestershire sauce.

Finely chop the peppers, onion and garlic in a food processor. Drain any excess liquid by pressing the chopped peppers, onion and garlic through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. Add mixture to beans and mix well.

In a small bowl, whisk egg and pour into bean mixture. Add the bread crumbs a little at a time and mix together, adding more bread crumbs until the mixture holds together but is still moist.

Divide mixture into 4 parts and pat into burger patty shape.

Grill till browned on both sides or bake on a baking sheet in an oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes each side.

Serve on a bun with greens, tomato, onions, and your other favorite fixin's. And don't forget the cheese!

Yields: 4 burger patties

Can Labbits Has Cheezburger?

Ted has a hankering for cheezburgers...vegetarian, of course. Clover thinks she can whip up a batch of homemade black bean burgers no problem. Look for the recipe tomorrow!