Eggplant with Buttermilk Sauce

“I sit beside the fire and think 

Of all that I have seen

Of meadow flowers and butterflies

In summers that have been

Of yellow leaves and gossamer

In autumns that there were

With morning mist and silver sun

And wind upon my hair

- J.R.R Tolkien

Here we are, nestled within my favourite season; wrapped in toasty sun-kissed arms, the crisp air tickling our cheek as we inhale the scent of freshly sprinkled dew upon emerald blades of grass. I tend to spend the largest amount of time dilly-dallying in nature during Autumn; I find the air itself invigorating and each day seems to be filled with the most wonderful of possibilities. 

Today I happened to witness the sweetest of moments. Whilst seeing her daddy off to work, my littlest one sat down upon the step where her feet chanced to brush against the tip of a golden leaf. After she took a moment to observe the situation, our front porch was filled with sounds of crackles and tinkling laughter as she delighted in crunching the fallen leaves beneath her chubby toes. My husband, who was still in the driveway, asked me if I had shown her how to do that. '"No," I replied. "Hmpf, I guess some things are just in our DNA'," was his response. I considered that a lovely thought; perhaps we are born to  find joy simply in the stomping of  rustling leaves.

prep time: 5mins. (do all other prep while eggplant cooks)
cooking time: 55mins.
total: 1 hour.

taste: 3-4/5. This one didn't appeal to all.

I personally, thought it was lovely, especially as it took very minimal effort to make. I liked the smoky eggplant against the sweet pomegranate, warm spices and tangy buttermilk. 

The others however, didn't think it was anything special. Their main gripe was that they thought the eggplant was too soft (which could be remedied with less cooking) but they also thought the flavour profile was a bit dull. I think perhaps the buttermilk might have mellowed out the other flavours for them.

would I make it again: Unfortunately no, seeing as though the others weren't sold on it.

recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Eggplant-with-Buttermilk-Sauce-365110