POSTCARDS FROM THE PANDEMIC - 2

Hellooooo my lovelies. I am overwhelmed by your kind responses to my somewhat timid attempt to put more of myself out there during this strange time. Thank you to Carol, who sent tips on how to remove gel nail polish (acetone – no way around it). Janice is challenging her neighbours to put red or pink hearts on their doors to cheer on our emergency workers. Michele sent a recipe for lemon biscotti, which I will post sometime this week. Leslie filled me in on what they are doing at Women’s College Hospital, which holds a place near my heart as that ’s where my right breast comes from. Christine says she’s going to be a grandmother in July! Woo hoo! Like us, Vann has a family wedding planned for the summer, and who knows how that’s going to turn out. Lynn sent me her own state of the union, which involves working at home in a chilly basement and stress baking. Marilyn likes my hair. Donna and Linda like the blog. You all, each and every one of you, rock.

THE WORLD OUTSIDE

Toronto has declared a state of emergency, effective Tuesday night at midnight. Now, we saw this coming. Darren and I talked to our pal Mayor John Tory this morning, and you could tell he was getting very impatient with people who will not respect social distancing. Don’t make me come back there, he said (more or less), but we did, and now we can’t have nice things. The emergency measures involve the closure of all non-essential services for the next 14 days at least, and we have the next 24 hours or so to discover what those are. Grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations will stay open. There is no need to panic. I would suggest you get the ingredients for the Eggplant Parmesan I’m going to tell you about, and stay calm.

THE WORLD INSIDE

The Darren and Mo Show continues to broadcast live from our studio at Bloor and Mt. Pleasant, with Ian, Gord and Christine. As I mentioned, we are committed to doing this as long as we can, as we are considered an essential service, and if playing Michael Buble is going to save the world, then dammit, we’re on it, right?

On a lesser note, it has become clear to me that I say the word “right?” as a response far too often. For example, Darren will say something I agree with, as in “it’s cold today”, or “Cillian Murphy is super hot” and I will idiotically concur with “Right???” It’s a habit I picked up from a friend, and I have decided to put a Right Jar in the studio. Every time I say the word in this manner, I will put $5 in the jar, and give the proceeds to the Food Bank. That way, I help feed a friend, and sound less like a slack jawed simpleton.

John and I had a Covid argument last night. We are down to one car these days, and I need it to go to work. He’s working from home, but he had a situation where he had to be at the Rogers campus at 8, and I of course am on the air until 9, so he told me he was going to call an Uber or take the TTC. I, in my usual tranquil and well-balanced way, exploded. Neither Uber or public transit are conducive to social distancing, and I questioned his judgement, his sanity, his commitment to his family, and, as things escalated as they often do, his intelligence and his taste in clothing. He ended up moving his meeting, and then it was cancelled, so that’s one for me.

THE COVID COOK

So. The Eggplant Parm I made last night was beyond delicious. It took me the better part of the day to make it, but some of us have a little extra time on our hands, so go for it. It’s vegetarian, but don’t think for a second it’s good for you. It’s basically the ice cream sundae of dinners. You will need to run around your dining room table for an hour to work it off. Here goes:

INGREDIENTS

2-3 large globe eggplants

1 onion

Salt

3/4 cup of flour

4 beaten eggs

1 1/2 cups of breadcrumbs (I like panko – that spell corrected to panic, but I mean panko)

1 1/4 cups grated parmesan

3-4 cloves minced garlic

28 oz can of diced tomatoes (I like San Marzano, but whatevs)

EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

Fresh basil, chopped

1 1/2 pounds fresh mozzarella (you can use the regular kind, but fresh is always better)

METHOD

Slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch rounds, lay them out on paper towels ,and sprinkle both sides lightly with salt. You should have 18 to 24 rounds. Let them sit for 2 hours or so, then wipe them dry.

In the mean time, make your tomato sauce, Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan, add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute, then add tomatoes. If the sauce is too thick, you can add a little water or wine. Bring to a simmer, then lower heat and cook for 15 minutes, uncovered. Add salt, pepper and basil. Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425

Put the flour in one large shallow bowl or plate, the beaten eggs in another, and the breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup of parmesan in a third, then line them up in that order. Spread a tablespoon or so of olive oil on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Working one at a time, dredge the eggplant slices in the flour, then the egg, then the cheese and breadcrumb mixture, and place them on the pan, drizzle a little more EVOO on them, then bake for 20 minutes, flipping them over halfway, until they are nicely browned. Let cool to the touch.

Turn oven down to 350

Using a nice deep casserole dish, you’re going to assemble these babies as follows: a little tomato sauce on the bottom of the casserole. Then 6 to 8 eggplants slices (depending on whether you’re making 6 or 8 portions), followed by slices of mozzarella, then a generous sprinkling of parm, then another round of eggplant, then a cup of tomato sauce, then the mozzarella again, then more parm, then the remaining eggplant, then the rest of the sauce and the parm. If you mix up the order, it’s not the end of the world. That’s happening outside.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 35 minutes. Remove and let sit for 10 minutes before serving with a nice crisp green salad and lashings of red wine.

POSTCARDS FROM THE PANDEMIC - 2

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