the tastiest meals just make themselves, i swear!

i'm moving. again! i moved so many times in the last couple of years... after my first year and a half in Victoria, i was going to return to Toronto, my home town... but since life often proceeds with complete lack of regard for the ways we've planned it, i am still out west; 3 years later.  the life i left in Toronto when i went to grad school imploded slightly, shortly before my scheduled return home, and so i decided to give the west coast a bit more of my time and consideration. and i'm glad i did. since then, i've lived mostly in Vancouver but since my stay here has been interrupted by extended research trips, conference travel, etc., i have taken the "sublet way". subletting means "taking over" other people's rental agreements for specified periods of time by signing a sub-let agreement with the tenant.  often these sublet situations are pretty short and usually the apartments you get are furnished... you basically step into another person's reality, or at least their home. strange and a bit disruptive as it seems - since most of my sublets were 3 to 5 months (hence the constant moving around) - i have found that i really enjoy doing this. i have been careful about the homes i've chosen to live in in their owner's absence and have found this constant change of scenery rather pleasant.  before my string of sublets, i've lived in my own apartments, usually for extended periods of time: with my things and my decorating style.  but just as i like to wear dresses and braid my hair on some days, on other occasions i prefer to wear jeans, structured jackets and my hair in a bun.  but who doesn't shake up their style? that's pretty common... but, how often do we style-play when it comes to the homes we live in? doing that would not only be very, very costly, but also not particularly sustainable.  now, i've had a chance to do that for the last couple of years - sublet, after a sublet.  each a little different, but all really unique,  cozy and interesting.

and what exactly does this have to do with food? well, for one, living in different places and drawing on different sets of cook ware (though i always bring my favourite pots, knives, and a couple of other things), i've experimented with different ways of preparing food.  the kitchen of one of my sublets last summer, for instance, had a fantastic cast iron pan which i have never owned but became absolutely addicted to.  that pan way basically the only thing i ever used in that kitchen... for almost 3 months! it was fantastic and the meals i prepared were amazing.  or when i lived in Poland for a few months earlier this year, i had one pot, that's all.  so i ate a lot of soups and salads.  which is great, since soups were such a huge part of my growing up there.

but there is another thing that moving around has taught me.  those last meals you make at an apartment, you know, the ones that utilize the random things you hate to throw out but don't really want to bring along.  well, those meals can be absolutely fantastic!

today, for instance, i opened the fridge to figure out what to do with the left over veggies. among other things, i had two really nice eggplants that i picked up at the farmer's market, half an onion, a few cherry tomatoes and ... yes, that coconut milk that i have been using in everything lately.  about 1/2 cup of it... really really solid (as i used up all the water that separated).  those seemed like a pretty good curry... so i toasted some seeds and spices, sauteed the onions and eggplants, added some water and that coconut milk, oh yes, quartered those cherry tomatoes, sprinkled a bit of salt, put the lid on and let it simmer....

in the meantime, i folded some laundry, packed another box... and about 30min later, maybe less even, i lifted the lid to find a perfectly softened eggplant... it cooked itself and it was absolutely fantastic!

oh yes, another thing about this curry... if you are a purist, then you might just be horrified.  but, then again, if you are a purist you are probably horrified about everything that i make.  the spice combination is probably nothing traditional...  the spices and seeds i threw into this recipe are whatever i could dig out of the bag into which i had already packed all my spices away.... all i knew, its that i wanted cumin, lots of cumin... everything else, just sort of came together and i can say with all honesty that this was probably the best curry i have ever made.

and yes, it probably qualifies as a "dissertation series" meal, since it takes so little time to prepare. 

eggplant curry with cumin, mustard seeds and coriander. 

with a side of basmati rice, this will feed 2 or 3.  i ate it all, without any rice... i'm moving, remember! can't have any leftovers!

2T olive oil or grapeseed oil
1t mustard seeds
1t coriander seeds
1t cumin seeds
1t cumin powder
1/2t salt  or more to taste

2 medium eggplants, cubed (about 1/2 cubes, pretty big)
1/2 onion, thickly diced
6-8 cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup thick coconut milk
1/3 cup water

in a deep pan, heat the oil, add the spices and toast for a minute until fragrant (don't burn)
add the onions and a pinch of salt, saute the onions until translucent
add the eggplant and tomatoes; stir to cover with spices, saute for 2 minutes
add the water and coconut milk, add the remaining salt.

turn down the heat to medium and simmer for 25-30minutes.