Recipe: Eggplant and Cauliflower in Sakay

Every half of every married couple has some habits or traits that irritate the heck out of the other half.  In my case, one of the traits that irritates my husband (there are several) is the fact that I am the world's single worst housekeeper.  I hate cleaning.  I hate it so much that I don't do it until the last possible minute, at which point it's a "containment" operation.  My husband's countering trait is to lay all food out on the kitchen counter until it rots.  I understand why he does it, I really do.  He does not see anything that he did not put away himself, and he expects that everyone else operates the same way.  He honestly believes that if he puts, say, tomatoes in a bowl, I will not know that they are there.  Unfortunately, since I don't clean until the last possible second, I generally work around the assorted vegetable products until they cover the ENTIRE counter, at which point they have become a rotten mess.  We've talked about this, to no avail. 

At any rate, when he did the emergency harvesting of all of our garden produce, he carefully laid all of the assorted produce out on the counter.  Some of it was supposed to ripen (some did; most of the riper tomatoes were badly damaged by the frost and rotted immediately.)  Some of it was to sit there until I got sick of looking at it and put it away.  The eggplant was in the latter category.  I used some of it for the Eggplant in Black Bean Sauce, and the rest I used in this dish.  The other ingredients - Sakay and cauliflower - were also left over from earlier recipes.

Eggplant and Cauliflower in Sakay (serves 4; approx. $1.10)

2 long, thin, white eggplant, diced

1 red onion, diced

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pinch kosher salt

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup Sakay

Equipment:

• Large frying pan or wok with a lid

1. Heat the oil in the frying pan over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and the salt.  Saute until the onion is soft and gives up some of its juices.
3. Add the eggplant.  Saute 3 - 4 minutes. 
4. Add the cauliflower and the Sakay.  Stir well and cook another 2 minutes.
5. Add the water.  Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer until the cauliflower is tender, about 3 - 7 minutes depending on your taste.
6. Serve.