Balsamic Marinade with Italian Seasoning -- huge hit!

Garlic Earth had a record THREE food demonstrations this past weekend. We want to thank our generous hosts and the courteous customers at Zuzu's Petals in Washington, Nutrition Stop in St. Peters and Purely Provence in Chesterfield/Augusta.

Our next demo will be this Thursday, March 26th at Sappington Farmers' Market from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. We'll share our Roasted Vegetable with Pork "Fried" Rice, Portabella Mushrooms and Eggplant in Balsamic Marinade and Wonton Chips.

The customers at Purely Provence seemed to really enjoy the Portabella Mushrooms and Eggplant in Balsamic Marinade. I took some of the leftovers right over to my dad and stepmom's house and we tossed it with pasta. They loved it! In fact, my friend who visited me at the Purely Provence demo requested I cook her the same thing the next day -- I'll use any excuse to visit beautiful University City! I served her family the mushrooms and eggplant with risotto. OMG. Here's the recipe:

Portabella Mushrooms and Eggplant in Balsamic Marinade
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. Garlic Earth Italian Garlic Seasoning
2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
1 large eggplant and 2 large portabella mushrooms, chopped into 1-inch cubes
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped (into sixths -- halved, then cut into thirds)
2 - 3 Havarti cheese slices (or some mild, creamy cheese that melts well)

Combine vinegar, oil, seasoning and garlic into a large bowl or pot. Stir well. Add the eggplant, mushrooms and onions. Stir gently, but well. Let marinate at least 30 minutes, stirring often to cover vegetables.

Cook the mushrooms and eggplant over med-low heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring often. Take note of the smell at first -- a bit vinegary. You'll know it's done when it all starts to smell sweet. There should be just a little "bite" to it, but not much. Just before serving, top dish with cheese slices. Let melt. Serve.

This can be served as is or with pasta or with risotto. For the risotto, I use Arborio rice (a must!) and followed a standard risotto recipe that's on the rice container. For 3 adults, with leftovers, I used 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice. It's standard to add warm broth to the rice during the cooking process -- to cut down on the salt, I used part broth (actually 2 veggie boullion cubes with water) and part water with the Garlic Earth Italian Seasoning (about 1 cup water to 1/4 tsp. seasoning). I added 1/4 - 1/2 cup white wine and a few handfuls of shredded Parmesan cheese towards the end of the cooking time.