Roasted Potato and Eggplant with Vegan Mint Sour Cream

Oh goodness what a treat! Today's lunch is - in a word - delightful!! Last night's labor sure did pay off, and now I am enjoying a simple and yummy dish for lunch.

Roasted Potato and Eggplant

Several small thin-skinned potatoes (about 1 pound)

1/2 a small eggplant (I would use more than this next time)

1 T olive oil (Check while cooking so the potatoes and eggplant do not dry out - more oil may be needed)

Sea salt

Cut potatoes in half (when I make this again I'll cut them in fourths so they cook faster and are easier to eat). Chop eggplant. Place in a baking dish, cover with oil and salt. Mix all together.

Put dish in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. I checked these at 20 minutes, added about another tablespoon of oil and cooked for another 10 minutes. Here is the finished product:

Vegan Mint Sour Cream

6 oz (1/2 box) firm silken tofu

1 T olive oil

1 T lemon juice (or more - I probably added 3 T to get that sour cream tang I was craving)

1/4 t salt

pepper

1/2 cup fresh mint

The recipe initially called for dill, but I didn't have any dill and needed to get rid of my mint so used it instead. Remember my initial idea for using the mint? Can't do that anymore what with my alcohol ban and all.

Combine all of these ingredients in a food processor and process until you reach a smooth consistency. This sour cream can be stored covered in the fridge for up to five days.

And since you have a half box of silken tofu left over, don't forget to store it as well. I'll be using the rest of my silken tofu in the next couple of days, so check back soon!

 For lunch I heated up the potato/eggplant mixture and added some cool sour cream on top. Delish!

  

Right about now you may be saying: But wait, I'm not a vegan (or even a vegetarian)!

Thats ok! The wonderful thing about cooking is that nearly everything can be adapted for your individual taste and style. For example, I modified the potato and eggplant dish from a similar dish that told me to use only potatoes and to cut them in half, scoop out the inside with a melon baller, slice off the bottom of each half and bake upright to create a bowl for the sour cream. Really? Would you have time for that? No, I wouldn't either. So I just modified that recipe to fit my needs and it worked wonderfully. So if you wouldn't dare use silken tofu to recreate sour cream, then just use sour cream! I think blending mint (or dill, or whatever you fancy) into sour cream would be wonderfully tasty. This dish could very easily be a side dish to some fish, chicken or hamburgers.

The point? Don't be afraid to experiment, don't be afraid to change a recipe, and don't be afraid to break every rule in your cookbook.

Bon appetit!