VeganMoFo: Eggplant Parm

His specialty is Eggplant Parmesan!

Mister Bear Chef is for sale here

Medium: Watercolor on heavy Arches paper
Size: Approximately 5"x7" (image size is 4"x6")
Will fit in 5"x7" frame! Signed on back.

Note: I am doing a painting-a-day challenge for VeganMoFo, and will be creating a new painting of rescue animals or vegan food throughout the month of October, and placing them for sale. All proceeds (minus shipping) will be donated to For the Animals Sanctuary, because they are a pretty super-great non-profit animal rescue and sanctuary, in Blairstown NJ, and are vegan owned and operated. Feeding, housing, and taking care of these animals costs a lot of money, and as a non-profit organization, they rely entirely on donations. Hopefully (with your help!), I'll be able to make a size-able donation at the end of the month!  You can check out all the paintings I have created so far that are still for sale here! 

Oh eggplant parmesan, you are my ultimate comfort food.  Childhood dreams and all that jazz. I'm pretty specific about how it's put together though...

Requirements:  

1) Must salt eggplant beforehand to soften.  It's true. Skipping this step will result in chewier eggplant, and no one wants that (right?) Salting makes the texture dreamy.  Let your eggplant sit in a colander with salt tossed around on it until you are able to take a slice, squeeze it in your hand, and water drips out. If it's still stiff, resists bending, or just breaks in half, the salt has not finished it's magic yet. 

2) Breading makes everything better.  Whether you bread/fry or bread/bake the eggplant first, it makes the end result DELICIOUS.  I used a crunchier panko breading, with added italian spices to the mix. Also, peel that skin off the eggplant for maximum breading area!

3) More sauce is better than less sauce.  Not much is sadder than running out of sauce and having dry eggplant!

Best part: leftovers!