Olives...

Last night my very sweet husband helped me put up my first batch of olives. I'm trying the water brining method, which will take a few weeks, and then in Nov. will order some black olives and try the salt brining method, which takes 9 months, but creates a fermented food. Once the olives soak in the water for about 2 weeks, then I have some large glass jars that I will use to do the finishing salt brine with whatever seasoning we choose. Very curious to see how these come out...if they are good, I think a new fall tradition has started.

Eggplant Puree with Walnuts...

This is a great immune building recipe with the raw garlic, especially for this time of year with cold and flu season fast approaching!

*2 large eggplants

*2-4 garlic cloves

*1/2 cup walnuts

*1/2 cup olive oil

*2 T fresh lemon juice

*1-2 T red wine vinegar (I used balsalmic)

*salt to taste

Preheat over to 450 degrees and wash the eggplants and pat dry; prick skin in several places with a fork. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, turning, until skin is blistered and shriveled.

While eggplants are roasting, pulse in a food processor the garlic, walnuts, and 2 T of olive oil to form a paste.

Cut off stems of eggplant once they have cooled some, and scoop out insides, discarding as many seeds as possible and place in food processor. Add the lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pulse until well combined. The dip does not have to be smooth.