Teaching Anand to Cook Eggplant Parmesan

This was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. Anand has always loved the Eggplant Parmesan I make at home, so when he got his own kitchen AND a friend he wants to impress, he asked me to teach him how to make it.

So Tuesday night, we made a list and went shopping.

OK, so that's a posed shot.

It is AMAZING how expensive it is to prepare one simple dish when you are doing it in a kitchen that is mainly equipped to boil water and make toast.

We invested in spices and pans in addition to the vegetables, sauces and cheeses. And then, of course, discovered that we could really have used a nice slotted spoon to remove the eggplant slices from the deep fry. But improvising is half the fun, as my Mom said one summer vacation at a cottage in Plymouth when we were trying to wrap Moy and Owen's birthday gifts with no scotch tape.

Anand's kitchen is TINY.

We had a hilarious time trying to find spots to put things as we worked - the salad, the fried eggplant slices, the bread), with the top of the fridge being the best option most often. It really makes you realize how lucky most of us are with spacious, well-equipped kitchens (even if that's a relative term - relative to Anand's ours is breathtakingly vast).

I had the amazing foresight to invite my sister Moy, which automatically transforms any activity into a festival.

Unfortunately, Anand and Moy are such good friends, her arrival meant he took her off into the living room for a tour while I slaved over the eggplant.

There they are. You see what I'm saying.

Did he learn anything at all? Will he be able to make it himself? At some point, being a parent means letting go and leaving the children to it.

And here's the lovely lady he wants to make eggplant for:

I wish him well. But Anand, get that broiler fixed! A well-browned top is KEY.