Inspired by Orangette's recent adventures into pasta without tomatoes, I tried my own hand at it. This, my dear reader, is a poor man's variation of Ms. Orangette's elegant dish...

Pasta...sans Tomato (for two)
4 fistfuls of penne
1 carrot, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced (!)
olive oil, butter
2 cubes of vegetable stock
Lemon Pepper
Oregano
Mint Basil
Thyme
1 Tbsp of mayo
4-5 leaves of fresh basil
Parmesan

1. Cook the pasta al dente.
2. Heat up the olive oil and butter. Saute the vegetables til translucent. Add seasonings.
3. (here, I tried to follow Orangette's instructions for thickened broth, this is what happened...) Dissolve vegetable bouillion cubes in water. Boil til "thickened" (I had about 1 cup of stock) Add to vegetables.
4. Add mayo to thicken the sauce. Stir in pasta. Top with grated Parmesan and chopped basil.

Next time...perhaps, some more fresh herbs, as recommended.

Eggplant Quiche

Trying to use up half an aubergine, I thought why not try a quiche? Try as I might, no one had a recipe for Eggplant Quiche. When I googled it...I actually came up empty-handed! Unbelieveable. My faith in Google is shaken. Nevertheless, I decided to put some faith into my own creativity and tack together my own recipe. Having only a few encounters with making my quiches, I managed to produce this edible dish...

Eggplant Quiche
1 piecrust (i bought it)
1/2 of a medium eggplant (diced or sliced)
1/2 of a Vidalia onion (diced)
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 cup robust Emmenthal

Beat the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, oregano, pepper, and thyme. (I seasoned accordingly.) Place eggplant and onion into piecrust (probably should prebake it for 8-10 minutes). Pour in egg mixture. Grate cheese on top. Into preheated oven of 375 for 30-40 minutes.

There were several thoughts for variations/improvement. Mix in the cheese. Try a different cheese. Try one less egg, or less milk. Try different seasoning. Include mushrooms, or garlic.