Iris and Honey

This recipe makes a great appetizer for two if your eggplant is on the smaller side, but it can easily feed four if you�re having a family dinner. The bruschetta is fresh and delicious and the breaded eggplant is great substitute for a baguette.

For the breading on the eggplant, I made homemade breadcrumbs. Homemade breadcrumbs are extremely easy to make. I used Dave�s Killer Bread since it has extra grains in it and uses whole wheat. Making breadcrumbs is also a great way to utilize the ends of the bread if you�re like me and don�t like to eat them. I used six slices of bread and broke them into pieces. I preheated the oven to 300 and baked the bread for about 20 minutes until it dried out. After�it cooled in the oven, I poured the pieces into my food processor and added a teaspoon of Italian seasoning. I then blended it until it had the consistency I wanted. Viola! Healthy homemade breadcrumbs in less than an hour! I actually made these the day before and stored them in an airtight container until I was ready to use them.

Use fresh herbs for the bruschetta if you have them available, but if you�re in a pinch, dried basil and parsley work just fine. I went out to my garden and much to my disappointment, the tomatoes had overrun my basil and essentially killed it. I got called in early for work, so I did not have to time to check with my grandfather if he had any basil or parsley. Of course, he did, but I didn�t want to be late to work.

(Thanks to Ann at Fountain Avenue Kitchen for the inspiration for Crispy Baked Eggplant!)