Three-Dip Dinner

We picked up our vegetable share at the local farm yesterday. My gardening always runs out, so the fact that they offer a fall share is just perfect for me. The loot offered itself to one of my favorite summertime make-ahead (and also very portable!) dinners: Chips and Dip. Oh yes, that is a meal. The kids eat a surprising amount of vegetables presented this way!

Prep:

Start by putting 2-3 eggplants and a few sweet peppers on a cookie sheet to roast. I take the peppers out after 20min at 375F, the eggplants need a little longer. Just watch them, they need to start shrinking a little, then you'll know they're nice and soft.






Tomatillo, Avocado and Roast Sweet Pepper Dip

Put 4 medium, quartered tomatillos, a half-bunch of cilantro, 1/4 onion, 2 Tbsp lime juice, 1/4 to 1/2 a jalapeno pepper, and 3 roasted sweet peppers in a food processor and process. 

Then add a pitted and peeled avocado and process until the avocado is chunky. Add salt and pepper to taste. Done!














Roasted Eggplant Dip


Scoop the insides out of the roasted eggplants and compost the skins. Chop.

Put 1/4 of an onion, a handful of fresh basil, a handful of fresh parsley, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp granulated garlic and 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar into the (rinsed!) food processor and pulse. Then add the chopped eggplant insides. Add salt and pepper to taste. Voila! I suppose one could add roasted garlic without fear, wish I'd thought of it while roasting the eggplant...












Tomato Salsa 


Chop 1/2 bunch of cilantro, 1/2 an onion, 1/2 a jalapeno, juice of one lime, one clove of fresh garlic, salt and pepper to taste, in the (rinsed again!) food processor. Chop one pink, one red and one yellow tomato into cubes, and let excess juice drip off. Toss in a bowl, you're done making dinner!

Did you notice how neatly the ingredients add up to be one bunch of cilantro, one onion, one jalapeno? I'm really good at math that way :-)

Serve with toasted bread, pita chips and corn chips. If you feel like you must add protein to this meal, hummus or any other bean-based dip might be a natural addition. Or grilled cheese sandwiches?