A Night of Firsts, Baked Eggplant Fries

Thank you for your comments and suggestions on my last post. I have a feeling that I am going to be referencing Helga (???) a lot here on HGK, so I've got to give her a name that really fits.

I think I was on our New Jersey road trip when I first laid eyes on Baked Eggplant Fries with Lemon Dill Dipping Sauce. It was one of those moments when I was like, "Oh My Gaaaaaaaaaa, I must remember to make these when I get the opportunity to and I really hope that this recipe doesn't fall into the deep recesses of my brain!" Luckily for everyone involved, the Baked Eggplant Fry image stuck with me, and Jennifer from Virtually Vegan Mama's creation was reborn in my kitchen (Lucy?).

My mother and father-in-law, Judy and Marv Solganik (and sis-in-law Janet on the left). It was Marv who just recently, at age 81, got in the wrong line at the Cleveland Marathon and ran the half-marathon instead of the 5K that he had signed up for. What an inspiration!

It was at my first Friday Night dinner with the new kitchen (Rosie?) that the Baked Eggplant Fries made an appearance, and boy did they create a food memory. They are lemony, crunchy and simply outstanding!

Here is the complete menu for the dinner:

Attias Family Baking Co. Whole Wheat Challah and Apple Cinnamon Challah

Chaya's Carrot Soup recipe here

Baked Eggplant Fries recipe here

Sweet Potato Enchiladas with Black Beans, Kale and Salsa Verde recipe here

Mexican Slaw? recipe here

Papaya and Basil Salad recipe here

Raw vegan Key Lime Pie from Organic Energy

Mama's Peas Vanilla Bean Mini Scones recipe here

Vanilla Soy Creamy Iced "Cream"

Want this recipe? Get it at Virtually Vegan Mama's blog.

Here are my experiences and suggestions: I needed to double the amount of the herbed soy yogurt marinade and also increase the amount of whole wheat breadcrumbs by 50%  in order to make all of the eggplant into fries. Maybe my eggplants were larger than Jennifers?

I'm also not a huge fan of dill, and I used a variety of fresh herbs from my herb garden, which I am proud to say is doing wonderfully, given it's new location in my yard and all of the rain we have been having.

They are best eaten straight out of the oven, which is not so practical when you are serving a crowd at a sit down dinner. Perhaps they are best left to occasions when you are not having company or when you are serving guests in a really casual way, because you need to be "working" the fries and serving them as they come out of the oven in batches. But don't let that scare you, these are a must try!