In The Kitchen With Farmgirl Susan: Eating Greek Salad & Reading Alone In The Kitchen With An Eggplant

"Excuse me," Joe, my farmguy, said as he tried to get by me. I was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, holding an open book. When he passed back by a little while later I was leaning against the door frame and several pages further along in the book.

"You'd probably be a lot more comfortable if you sat down and read that."

"Oh, I'm not really reading it. I'm just glancing through it."

Alone In The Kitchen With An Eggplant is not the kind of book you want to sit down to read because if you do, you'll probably find yourself unable to stop. And a couple of hours later you'll probably find yourself wishing you hadn't just devoured the entire thing in one large gulp. No, this is the kind of book that should be consumed in small bites, over as long a period of time as humanly possible. Reading while standing up, and lying about it, are perfectly acceptable ways to help you do this.

Alone In The Kitchen With An Eggplant is a wonderful collection of "confessions of cooking for one and dining alone." Editor Jenni Ferrari-Adler came up with the concept for the book (which she discusses in the introduction that doubles as a bonus essay) and then convinced a talented list of writers and foodies to divulge "the secret meals they make for themselves when no one else is looking." A handy section at the end of the book offers a one-paragraph biography of each of the 26 contributors, which include Nora Ephron, Steve Almond, Ann Patchett, Paula Wolfert, and M.F.K. Fisher.

Dinner alone is one of life's pleasures, writes novelist and food writer Laurie Colwin in her essay, "Alone In The Kitchen With An Eggplant," which inspired both the title and the book itself. Certainly cooking for oneself reveals man at his weirdest. People lie when you ask them what they eat when they are alone. A salad, they tell you. But when you persist, they confess to peanut butter and bacon sandwiches deep fried and eaten with hot sauce, or spaghetti with butter and grape jam.

Standing in the kitchen doorway reading this book while convincing myself I wasn't actually reading it was really quite appropriate, for when I'm feeding only myself it isn't so much what I eat as how I eat it. And that would be standing up. In the kitchen. While convincing myself that I'm not yet actually eating.

You see, I'm a professional nibbler. I rarely sit down to a home-cooked meal hungry, and I feel that appetizers should never be served unless they are followed immediately by dessert.

Joe was away from the farm recently, and he called about nine o'clock one night to check on me. After describing a rather fancy restaurant dinner he'd just finished, he said, "So what did you have for dinner?"

There was a long pause as I tried to figure out how I should respond, realizing all the while that this wasn't the sort of question you should have to think about.

"You did eat something, didn't you?"

"Yes, of course." Cream cheese frosting. With my fingers. While I was supposed to be spreading it on a cake. "I had some of that cabbage salad stuff."

Then I stared down at the small bowl of it I'd been dishing up for a late night snack when the phone had rung. The truth was, I'd made the salad--a several ingredient concoction that calls for gentle stirring and careful sampling after each addition--hours earlier, but once it was finally finished I'd had that oh-so-familiar realization. Uh oh. I'm full.

If you're the type of person who always asks your friends and loved ones what they had for dinner, likes to spy on what other people in line at the supermarket are buying, and wonders why characters in novels don't spend a lot more time eating and talking about food, Alone In The Kitchen With An Eggplant is for you. I'm not going to give you details about the various essays or offer comments, because in my opinion, this is the kind of book where the less you know going into it the better. Besides, I haven't finished it yet. If you feel you simply must know more and aren't afraid of spoiling your appetite, you can click here to read a detailed description as well as Publisher's Weekly's review of the book.

And if you're one of those people who needs to flip through a book before buying it, I suggest you head to your favorite local bookstore just before closing time. Otherwise you'll probably be surprised to find yourself a couple of hours later, leaning against a shelf with the open book in your hand suddenly realizing Uh oh. I'm done.

The good news is that unlike a fabulous meal, once you've consumed this entire delicious read you can simply turn right back to the front and enjoy the whole thing all over again.

Alone In The Kitchen With An Eggplant is a food book, not a cookbook, but a few of the essays do include recipes. Most, as expected, serve one. To them I add a seasonal favorite of mine which can be enjoyed either alone or with company.

Susan's Simple Greek Salad

Serves at least one

Yesterday I carried a small pile of garden bounty into the kitchen and turned it into about as simple a Greek salad as you can get. It contains just five ingredients, so using the finest of each is of utmost importance. Juicy, vine-ripened tomatoes are the key, which means this is a Summer Only recipe. Stuff yourself silly on it now, and let the memories keep you satiated through the rest of the year.

Most Greek style salads call for various other ingredients, some traditional and some not. I've listed several below, any or all of which can be added if desired but are definitely not necessary. I didn't even put salt & pepper in this latest batch, though I did add a large handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley to supplement my meager supply of fresh basil.

Bear in mind, too, that the more complicated the recipe gets, the longer you'll have to fill yourself up while putting it together. Many Greek salad recipes call for cutting the vegetables into large pieces, but I like them on the small side because I'm one of those people who wants a taste of every thing in every bite.

The optional garbanzo beans (chickpeas) aren't traditional, but I'm addicted to them and will toss them into practically anything when I'm not snacking on them straight from the can (I do rinse them first). Flavorwise, they fit right in here, and they give the salad a fiber and protein boost as well, which can be important if this ends up being your entire meal. Organic garbanzo beans are a bargain and should be a staple in everyone's pantry. You can find them in many places for under a dollar a can, including at Whole Foods Market, where they'll give you an extra discount if you stock up and buy a dozen cans at a time.

One large cucumber, cut into dice

Several vine-ripened tomatoes, preferably freshly picked, organically grown heirlooms in a various colors, cut into small chunks

A handful of kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

A generous handful of fresh basil, chopped

A hunk of the nicest feta cheese you can find, preferably made from sheep's milk

Optional additions:

Garbanzo beans

Salt & pepper to taste

Olive oil

Your favorite vinegar

Fresh lemon juice

Fresh garlic

Fresh oregano

Flat-leaf parsley

Anchovies, laid on top or a smidge of anchovy paste mixed in

Capers

Red onion

Sweet red peppers

Green bell peppers

Place cucumber tomatoes, olives, and basil in a large bowl along with any desired additional ingredients. Gently toss with a large spoon until combined. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese just before serving. Alternatively, you can whisk together an olive-oil based dressing and then toss it with the rest of the ingredients.

This salad tastes best if you mix it up and then let it sit for an hour or two at room temperature, but it is delicious even in the making, which is of course how I always eat it.

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Farmgirl Susan, Food Correspondent:

Susan’s column, "In The Kitchen With Farmgirl Susan," is featured on Gather Essentials:Food and takes a Less Fuss, More Flavor approach to comfort food, seasonal eating, & organic kitchen gardening. Susan was a cultured California chick who happily turned manure mucking farmgirl. She now lives on a 240-acre remote Missouri farm with sheep, chickens, two dogs, five cats, an adorable donkey named Dan, & one very well fed farmguy. She shares stories and photos of her crazy country life with over 50,000 visitors a month at her award-winning blog, FarmgirlFare.com.

Click here to find all of Susan’s "In The Kitchen With Farmgirl Susan" articles, and click here to join her Gather network or subscribe to her Gather postings. You’ll find Susan and other Food Correspondents plus celebrity chef content and plenty of other foodies at Food.gather.com.

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