In the Kitchen With Seema

Tonight's excitement was my oven mitts catching on fire. Bjorn tells me that this has never happened to him, but I insist, it must have happened to someone somewhere, yes? So I'm standing there, baking dish in hand and I'm smelling smoke. I look down and I swear, it doesn't register that my mitts are on fire. At some point I think, "Wow, I really ought to do something about that." So I put the dish back in the oven - my mitts are still on fire (little fire, btw) - and then start banging my hands against the stove top. You know, taking the mitts off would have been smart, but nooo, I didn't do that. Finally, I take the mitts off when the little flames are out. So now I have some black spots on the thumb part of my mitts - so proof, that yes, I do cook, but apparently, not with much skill.

Has this ever happened to anyone before? Please...

At any rate, I made eggplant parmesan, recipe given below, with my changes (for Rocky's amusement) in italics.

• 2 medium eggplants (about 7 inches long). I only had one and I think it was 9 or 10 inches long. I can't find my ruler, so I don't know for sure
  
• 3/4 cup milk (more, as needed) I used soy milk and I didn't measure it - I went with the "more, as needed" measurement
  
• 2 cups fine bread crumbs or wheat germ (or a combination) I made my own breadcrumbs. Yes, yes, I did. I took two pieces of bread, crumbled them up, soaked them in olive oil, put them in the oven to toast, and they were just fine, thankyouverymuch.
  
• 1 tsp. basil
  
• 1/2 tsp. each: oregano and thyme
  
• 1 batch Italian Tomato Sauce The recipe suggested making your own tomato sauce, but a girl has her limits. I used Classico brand, Spicy Tomato and Basil. Maybe next time I will make my own sauce.
  
• 1 lb mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced or grated
  
• parmesan cheese ~ about 1/2 cup (amount = flexible)
  

1. Preheat oven to 375 F (I did mine just to 300 - everything burns if I turn it much higher than that). Lightly oil a baking tray (oops) and a 9 x 13 inch pan. (I had a smaller pan than this - I was just making a single portion, or in this case, a double portion)
   
2. Cut the eggplants incircles, 1/2 inch thick. (I might have been off here - remember, ruler was missing) Place the milk in a shallow bowl; combin bread crumbs (wheat germ) with herbs on a plate. Dip each eggplant slice in the milk, moistening both sides, then coat is throughly with the crumb mixture. (Okay, this sooo didn't happen. Is there a trick to getting the breadcrumbs to actually stick?) Spread the prepared slices on the baking tray and the pan and bake until tender (about 20 to 30 minutes). Remove from oven and pile them gently into the baking tray.
   
3. Without cleaning the 9 x 13 inch pan, ladle some tomato sauce into the bottom. Add a layer of eggplant sliced, and cover with more sauce. Arrange some mozzarella over the sauce, then repeat the layering until you run out ofsomething or you run out of room, whichever comes first. Generously sprinkle the top with parmesan.
   
4. Bake uncovered at 375 F for about 40 minutes or until heated through and bubbly around the edges. Remove from the oven (this is when my oven mitts caught on fire). Remove from oven and let sit about 10 minutes before service. Serve hot (Recommended!) or warm.