Sublime summer in Prospect Park.

Knowing what your friend had for dinner is only boring if what they had for dinner is boring. Monday night was "something new" for dinner at the Jayneses. We got this idea from Real Simple. This warm, crispy eggplant around goat cheese and ripe tomatoes will be added to our regular rotation.

Ingredients: Eggs, flour, eggplant, tomato, spinach, goat cheese, breadcrumbs, basil, salt and pepper.

1. Slice the eggplants into half inch circular pieces. Coat slices in flour then dredge in eggs before coating in bread crumbs. (In lieu of Panko we crushed up wholewheat crackers then added salt and pepper.)
2. Fry breaded eggplant slices in canola oil 2-3 minutes on each side or golden brown.
3. Remove from oil and place on paper towels to soak up excess grease
4. Create sandwich by placing on cooked slice on a plate. Add Spinach then crumble goat cheese for the next layer. Sprinkle basil on the cheese. Add a slice of tomato. Top with another eggplant slice and some salt.
5. Enjoy with a nice white wine.

 

   Driving towards Kiawah Island, South Carolina down the two lane highway that stretches for ever, it is very easy to speed past the dirt road that branches off, leading to the Angel Oak. If you are fortunate enough to know where to make the turn or accidentally spy the tiny sign point towards the Angel oak, you travel down an oversized single lane dirt road, flanked on either side by arching trees. It’s a short trip down from the main road. If you listen carefully you can still hear the cars whizzing by, hurrying towards the white sand beaches.

    The chain linked fence, that protects the tree’s historical site from who know what, is closer to the road than you’d imagine. How easily could the highway have been built a hundreds yards over, causing the 1,500 year old tree to be chopped down because it was impeding progress?  Luckily the road didn’t, and the Angel Tree still stands, an east coast omage to the Red Woods of California, though South Carolina trees prefer to lazily grow out, instead of rigidly up.
    Our crew arrived early one morning so there wasn’t a crowd of people, leaving those who valued sleep back at the beach house. Only a few other earlier risers arrived and left while we spent time exploring the tree. It was a serene summer morning, and the light broke through the adjoining trees so there was a golden hue about. Because we mostly had the place to ourselves and the temperature was relatively mild, we lingered about exploring the tree, itching to climb it. There are signs warning that “climbing” is strictly prohibited. Though we didn’t want to, we obeyed the signs.
    If you have a few minutes on your way to the island or when you are leaving, make the turn down the dirt road so you can really appreciate the scale of the tree. The Angel Oak may only stand  95 feet tall, but its branches reach longer than a hot summer day.
    The only two things could have made the moment  better: a rocking chair and a tall glass of iced tea.

Now I have to answer both the literal and figurative versions of, "What do I do with this?"

Hands down this is the most thoughtful/heartfelt commercial ever. It came on a few times this past week while I was at home in SC. Every time it aired I had to stop and watch or go to the room it was playing in.  My favorite character is the one scuttling with all the legs--cracks me up. Got any commercials that can challenge this? Post 'em!
 



And for good measure the original scene from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3nV6WqA4Y0&NR=1  (Embedding disabled on this one. . .)

"There is the peculiar mental process called thinking, you wouldn't know anything about it."

-- My Man Godfrey (1936)

"Cowards die many times before their deaths; 

The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, 

it seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end, 

will come when it will come". - (Act II, Scene II).

Flags in front of a shop in Amagansett.