It's variations on a theme in my kitchen these days.  I know that I just posted this great looking tomato galette with goat cheese and this looks a whole lot like the same thing.  It is a little different though.  I promise.  Even though it does look similar.  This one is... pizza.  Kinda.  Jeez.  Who cares... it looks great, it smells out of this world and it tastes fantastic.
I was originally inspired by these crazy things.


These, my dear friends, are the eggplants that came in my food box this week.  Their awesome, weird, quirky and beautiful.  Right.  They are also small - at least for eggplant.  The traditional thing that we call eggplant.  I considered many options for these specialties.  It started as a focaccia, morphed into a pie and then transformed into this final product... cornmeal crust pizza.  Let's face it, who wants to fuss too much right now?  Summer is in full swing and I'm all about doing as little as possible in the kitchen ...until maybe next week when my canning gets into full swing... anyone up for canning 3 bushels of tomatoes with me?


I'm feeling remarkably unfettered these days.  My garden hasn't produced nearly as well as I'd hoped but I have zucchini and somehow that's making up for my dud tomatoes.  I'm not depressed about it at all.  I'm valuing highly being able to sit at the park and read while Kid #2 rolls down the hill and swings off a bar like a monkey.  It's been amazing being able to bbsit for KT while she gets some medical attention - it's things like this that I can't do any other time of year without serious time crunching.  Today we went down to the beach and Kids #1 and #2 just played in sand and threw rocks into the water and algae at each other.  I watched in blissful quiet.  It won't last long, I know.  Already the sand in the summer hourglass is running low.  I'm determined to savour it.  To live in the moment I've got and be thankful... while I drink my beer on the back deck.  Sure the kids are probably eating way too much ice cream than should be legal.  Sure, weekly movie night now has an 's' on the end.  But it's important to have the balance in life.  I was talking to a friend recently who didn't want to hear anything bad or negative.  I understand the sentiment - it's not easy nor is it enjoyable to have sadness around you.  To talk about it or dwell on it.  But it does help me better appreciate joy.  It gives the good times depth - I need the sad to fully understand the happy... to put it simply.  It's the same for me with quiet.  I know what would happen if everyday life were like this for me.  All too easily I would start to take the quiet for granted and then it would become boredom.  Boredom which I would soon start to resent.  It would be completely lost on me if I weren't functioning on the knowledge that this is only for a time.  Even canning, though a time consuming job, is calming and soothing when you can take it at your own pace.  These things can even be comforting.  Soon the busy will be back and hopefully I'll be able to appreciate the structure and security that it gives me.  For now, I'm sitting back and listening to birds calling to each other, to the kids crying next door, staring up at an full blue sky... hearing the grass grow as they say.


So, here's to easy, delicious food that gives us all a little time to stop and smell the zucchini flowers.


Roasted tomato and eggplant polenta crust pizza adapted from 'BrownEyedBaker' and Lucid Food by Louisa Shafia
serves 6

Crust:
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups veggie broth
1 tsp salt

Topping:
1 med/small Eggplant, thinly slice (1/4 - 1/8th of an inch)
1 - 2 med/small tomatoes, sliced the same thickness as the eggplant (relatively)
salt to taste
olive oil to drizzle
a few leaves of basil and oregano roughly ripped up
1/2 cup (ish) goat cheese
1/2 cup (ish) parmesan cheese - freshly grated is ideal here

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
slice the eggplant to about 1/4 - 1/8th of an inch thickness.  Sprinkle with salt and toss with olive oil.  Place each piece side by side on a baking sheet.  Bake for about 15 min on each side.  Remove from the oven and let the pieces cool
Bring the milk and veggie broth to a simmer.  Add in the cornmeal and whisk until dissolved into the liquid.  Turn the heat down a little and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes or until the cornmeal thickens to the consistency of thick porridge.  Remove from heat and cool for about 10 minutes.
Turn onto a lined baking sheet and press out to about 1/4 inch thickness in any shape you want.
Bake for about 15 minutes just to brown the crust a little.
Remove from oven
Add the sliced tomato and the roasted eggplant alternately, overlapping them just a bit, over top of the crust.  Sprinkle with salt and just a little olive oil.  Add little dabs of goat cheese here and there.  Tuck in little bits of basil and oregano around as well.  Sprinkle the parmesan over the whole thing and bake for about 25 - 30 minutes or until the cheese is just golden and the tomato is looking 'cooked'.
Cool for about 15 minutes before cutting.