What a personal chef eats on a day off in the summer time

Breakfast

Local duck egg fried in butter with toasted sourdough and two coffees on the porch followed by two peaches from the farmers’ market eaten over the sink. Earlier that morning I picked up more duck eggs from a family that has too many eggs on their farm. I made soy eggs for ramen with the rest of my previous dozen and with my new batch I gave a dozen to my Philaphino friend so she could make salted duck eggs. Duck eggs make an incredible substitute increme brûlée and ice cream if you didn’t already know. Anyway, then I got a car wash and settled into having lunch.

Lunch

Thick slices of rustic bread, toasted hard and rubbed with raw garlic that melts into the bread when you grate it. Grated summer tomatoes mixed with good olive oil and salt spooned on while the toast was still hot. You could stop there and enjoy tomato bread as it is or you can take it a step further in the pursuit of protein and add sardines. I happen to like sardines but if you are on the fence about them a good gateway into eating them is to pair them with something spicy and crunchy, like in this recipe. I like to add another sprinkle of Maldon salt, an oily spicy sardine laid on top and a squeeze of lemon and a little torn up parsley because I couldn’t be bothered to chop it. Eaten in the sun of my porch with a sparkling water and a podcast.

Dinner

The night before I was clearing out my fridge prepping salads and I made a caponata with eggplant and pickled cherry peppers and a bunch of staples from my pantry let it mingle in the fridge overnight. I served it with baked cod and black lentils, then brought the tomato bread back again, because I’m not over it.

Eggplant & Pickled Cherry Pepper Caponata

This is a version of the traditionally Sicilian spread called caponata but made with the staples of my pantry and what I had on hand at the moment in time when I made this recipe. This is not the traditional ingredients of caponata, please do not come for me.

Ingredients

• 1 large Japanese eggplant ½-inch cubes, skin on

• avocado oil

• Good olive oil

• Kosher salt

• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped

• 5-6 pickled cherry peppers, chopped (adjust to heat preference and size)

• 1 tbsp capers

• 1/4 cup golden raisins

• 1 tbsp pinenuts

• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar (plus more to taste)

• Fresh herbs: basil or parsley (optional)

Instructions

1. Fry the Eggplant
   Cut the Japanese eggplant into 1/2 cubes or coins and then quarters and shallow fry in avocado oil with a fat pinch of salt until deeply golden/brown. Set aside on a plate with some paper towel.

2. Get a deli container
   We are cosplaying as line cooks today because we didn’t know those were the best of times. In your quart sized plastic deli container add diced picked cherry peppers, finely diced red onion, golden raisins, capers, chopped parsley, red wine vinegar and good olive oil. Mix in the slightly cooled fried eggplant. Salt and pepper to taste.

3. Put it in the fridge overnight. Try not to eat it all on bread before the next day.

4. Spoon onto broiled cod with a squeeze of lemon and black lentils.