I LOVE Fall, but what I don’t love? It gets dark so early! And the getting dark earlier makes several things a little more difficult {as I’m sure it does for everyone!}, but what I really hate is my loss of natural light to cook and photograph through the week. I typically leave work between 5:30 and 6, then get home around 6:15-6:30 {at best}, and what time has the sun been setting…6:50! I am literally racing the sun, and I continue to come up short.
So why am I telling you this? Because these pictures are not only sloppy rushed, but the light was getting so low that the shutter speed slowed {I’m sure a real photographer would know how to compensate for this, but I am NOT a real photographer} resulting in pictures that are no longer crisp, but rather blurred and pixellated. Which leaves me feeling like I’ve taken a step back, rather than forward. And you may be thinking, “does she not have a little thing called a light switch to flip on and poof, there’s light?!” Yes, but artificial lighting is just not the same when it comes to photographing food, the coloring is all wrong and it leaves the dish looking…well, unappetizing at best.
My weekends have been spent either at my parents house, trying to help take care of my mom, or tackling the endless list of things to do in the new house. BUT, I think I’ll have to add the food-photographing back to the weekend list if I don’t want to end up with more pictures like these!
Okay {deep breath}, I’m done wining, thank you for tolerating me!
Let’s talk about this Asian Fried Farro with Roasted Eggplant, if you saw my last post for this Spicy Cashew Sriracha Sauce then you might remember my distaste for eggplant. It’s definitely not one of my favorites, nor something I typically seek out. However, I got a couple in my CSA {Community Supported Agriculture} and I wasn’t about to throw them away.
So in contemplating how I could best mask their texture and flavor, I landed on combining them some Farro, sweet potato, scrambled eggs, onion and garlic – going for a little Asian fried rice {only with Farro} dish. Then knowing how much Josh loves this Spicy Sriracha sauce, it seemed like the perfect choice to drizzle across this eggplant-filled dish.
And luckily, it worked! The flavor of the sauce, paired with the hearty texture of the Farro and sweet potatoes, did the trick and I hardly noticed the eggplant! This must be what parents do when they need to trick their kids into eating something healthy…coat it in something they like!
Happy Friday – I hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy these cooler temperatures as Fall draws near!
Asian Fried Farro with Roasted Eggplant and Spicy Cashew Sriracha Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup uncooked farro cook according to package directions
- Sriracha Cashew Sauce
- small sweet potato finely diced
- 1/2 cup sweet onions finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 eggs
- Japanese Eggplant 1/2 slices
- 1 tsp Hemp seeds
- Garnish with fresh herbs basil or cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- While oven preheats, cook Farro on stovetop according to package directions. I used Trader Joe’s 10 minutes Farro, added 1/2 cup farro plus one cup water to small pan, brought to a boil on medium heat, then reduced to low and simmered for 10 minutes with lid in place.
- While Farro cooks, add sliced eggplant to baking sheet, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and bake for 12 minutes. Check eggplant to see if cooked through/tender and remove if cooked to your liking, or flip and bake additional 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add two eggs to small bowl and whisk, then scramble in medium skillet until just cooked. Set eggs aside.
- Using same medium pan, add diced sweet potatoes, onions, and minced garlic to stovetop, add approx 1 tbsp of your Sriracha Cashew Sauce and cook over medium heat for 8-10 (or until onions are translucent and sweet potatoes are tender) minutes stirring frequently.
- Once your veggies are cooked, add the cooked Farro (drain any excess water first) to pan with cooked veggies, add scrambled eggs and stir to combine, cook additional 1-2 minutes or until eggs and Farro are heated through.
- Divide fried “rice” Farro into two bowls, top with roasted eggplant, then drizzle with Spicy Sriracha Cashew sauce (we used it all!) and garnish with hemp seeds and chopped herbs. Serve.
