I went to Montana!
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Last week, Lilly and I took a trip to Montana.
Just the two of us: at the airport, on an airplane, on a bus, adventuring to my cousin Liz’s home outside of Big Sky, and exploring the (stunningly beautiful) region for five days. It was a whirlwind and in many ways not a vacation (as everyone warned me traveling with my child would not be), but restful or not, it was one of the most wonderful trips I have ever taken. For quite a few reasons.
I have longed to visit Montana in summer again for over a decade.
Kyle and my first trip together was to Glacier National Park in the summer of 2010, a couple summers prior to beginning our farm. It was one of the most beautiful places I had ever experienced. The mountains, the wildflowers, the big bold sky, the hiking, the lakes, ALL OF IT. Magical.
We yearned to visit again, but summer in Montana is essentially six weeks long (mid-June to late July) and those happened to be some of our busiest months at the farm. When we decided to take a year off, I knew Montana was on the top of my list for a summer adventure.I was traveling with my child!!!
As exhausting and difficult as traveling with an almost one year can be (and it wasssss exhausting and difficult), it was so beautiful to have 5+ uninterrupted days together. Even though I am with Lilly a lot, it’s nearly always balanced with childcare, multitasking, and my husband being available to help me meet her needs. I take care of her and I spend time with her, but I don’t really see her in the way one does when they spend 5+ uninterrupted days with their child.
It was beyond wonderful experiencing somewhere new and different together, and I learned so much about this (amazing) phase she is in right now.
I also got to witness my daughter as the adaptable, resilient, joyful, badass tiny human she is. She somehow had no trouble enjoying herself while sleeping miserably and living in hilariously rustic conditions. I was pretty much in awe of her throughout the entire trip, and came home even more in love with motherhood than I was when I left (which I truly didn’t think was possible).And then, I also got to experience it all alongside my family.
Most of the reason for the trip was to visit my beautiful sister cousin Liz, who also became a mother this past year. I got to meet her sweet, 4-month old daughter Mable, introduce the babies to one another, experience Liz’s home of the past seven years, catch up for hours, and see my cousin absolutely thriving (and loving life) as a Montanan.
My other cousin Jenny (her sister) also lives outside Big Sky, and their mom (my aunt) was visiting during our visit too, making it the ultimate family experience. Oh my gosh it was amazing. A true soul-nourishing adventure in pretty much every way imaginable.
I’m going to share the details of my trip in full next week, so you can see all the places we visited and use our itinerary to explore the region yourself one day, but if you can’t wait, you can visit this Instagram highlight.
The food this trip inspired is the real topic of this post, because boy oh boy, did I ever come home inspired. When I returned home, my meal plan for the next week flowed right out of me, and the ideas just keep on coming.
This is fairly typical for me when I travel, but what’s funny about this trip is that we didn’t actually eat out much (which is usually the source of my inspiration). My cousin and I both wanted to keep a tight budget, and um hello, she had a baby and I had a restless, overtired almost one-year old with me so dining out just wasn’t really part of the plan. I expected our food to be fine, but ordinary, and certainly not inspiring.
It turns out cooking on vacation and/or in someone else’s home is actually quite the latter. Liz and her partner are in the midst of some major renovations so they’re cooking in a pretty makeshift kitchen. They have one burner (run by butane), an oven, a toaster, and a microwave. There are no cabinets, just shelves, so ingredients are sparse and there’s not a lot of room for fluff. They also live an hour from an affordable grocery store.
This situation really worked for me. I always seem to forget that I thrive in a kitchen where there are limitations.
My creative process comes from trying to make the most of a CSA box, utilizing the products within a farmers’ online store, or using up what’s left in my fridge. A grocery store does not inspire me. When I have the whole world available to me, I get blocked. I want less to choose from. And that is exactly what we had cooking together in a cobbled together temporary kitchen in the middle of nowhere.
I came home remembering how great simple cooking can be: how abundant vegetables plus a grain or two, some cheese, and a protein worked in from time to time can feed a family effortlessly. I was reminded what a wonderful tool the oven can be (really, why aren’t we roasting everything?), how pasta is the most effective vehicle for a quick dinner, and how butter and garlic sautéed with pretty much any vegetable can become a perfect side dish in 10 minutes flat.
In the week I’ve been home we’ve enjoyed so many simple meals inspired by my vacation: a roasted beet wild rice salad with roasted tofu and greens, a whole grilled chicken, a riff on this panzanella, tons of veggies sautéed with mushrooms then put onto bread with cheese to become a sandwich, a steamed green bean and cucumber quinoa situation with goat cheese, a quick zucchini-forward pasta salad, an even quicker coleslaw.
It’s been easeful and delicious, and I’ll be sharing pretty much all of these recipes with you in the coming days. But first, something a bit more daring and I’m sorry to say, not that simple. We’ll get back there. I promise.
In Montana, I did go out to eat at a nice restaurant one time. Liz was working. I brought Lilly. My aunt brought Mable. We thought we’d enjoy a nice meal with Liz as our server. We finished half of our cocktails before all hell broke loose, but I did enjoy several bites of a dish Liz recommended. I fell in love with the variety of flavors and textures, and knew immediately I had to recreate it for you all.
The dish was a sort of eggplant parm deconstructed (see above), which spoke to me because I’ve never understood traditional eggplant parmesan. It seems ridiculous to spend all that time making eggplant crispy only to drench it in sauce and let it get soggy.
I love a dish with more textural variation than that: I live for the crunch, and this dish had that in spades. It had the most delectably crisp eggplant topped with balls (yes, plural) of burrata, a pile (and I do mean a pile) of fresh basil, a bright cherry tomato salad, and heavy drizzle of balsamic reduction. There was also some arugula under the eggplant. It was heavenly.
My version has many of the same elements but is simplified a bit.
There is no balsamic reduction, but there is way more tomato salad. The tomato salad is drenched in balsamic so that you have the same effect. The basil isn’t piled on top, but elegantly tossed in with the tomatoes. The eggplant is baked instead of fried, and oh my gosh, it is perfection. There is also no arugula, but only because we didn’t have any. I’ve made that optional in the recipe below because I think it would be a wonderful addition.
The concept is very simple and the final product is stunning (and so freaking delicious). It is, in essence, the quintessential Wisconsin summer dish. It’s bright and fresh, crunchy and tangy, packed with fresh tomatoes, and should only be served by the bowlful, out on the patio with a chilled glass of white wine and great company.
The breading and baking of the eggplant can be a bit putsy, but is short (about 15-20 minutes) so just don’t worry too much about that. I used Japanese eggplant because that is what my friend had for me, and I wouldn’t recommend that if you want the recipe to be quick. It yields lots more crispy edges and crunchy texture (win!!) but takes much longer to coat with breading (bummer).
Start to finish with Japanese eggplant, this recipe took me 90 minutes. With a larger eggplant, you could probably save 10-15 of those. Either way, this recipe has a lot of down time (the eggplant needs to sit for 40 minutes and cook for another 30) so that you can do the dishes or do other forms of meal prepping or feed your baby, whatever needs doing so when the meal is ready you can just enjoy.
I hope you love this recipe my friends. And I can’t wait to tell you more about Montana.
-Lauren
EGGPLANT PARM DECONSTRUCTED
Do not (UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES) combine the components of this dish prior to serving. We are going for textural variation here and we want to celebrate the crunch of this beautiful eggplant. The tomato salad and eggplant can very easily be stored separately if preparing this dish in advance or if you have leftovers. If eating the next day, I’d recommend warming the eggplant in a toaster oven (or regular oven) before serving.
Serves 4
Takes 90 minutes (much of it inactive)
1½ pounds eggplant, any variety
2 tablespoons + 1½ teaspoons, divided
¾ cup flour
3 eggs
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried parsley)
Freshly ground black pepper, divided
4 cups cherry tomatoes (or diced tomatoes)
¼ cup basil leaves, thinly sliced
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces fresh arugula, optional
16 ounces burrata cheese
Cut eggplant into 1/2-inch slices and place in a colander. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of salt and leave sit for 40 minutes.
About 10 minutes before the eggplant is finished, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.
Find three shallow pans (round cake pans and/or pie plates work great). Put flour into one pan. In another pan, whisk eggs until very smooth. In your third pan, combine panko breadcrumbs, parmesan, oregano, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 15 twists freshly ground black pepper. Stir until combined.
Lay out 2 kitchen towels. Shake eggplant in colander a few times to release more water and then pour out onto towel. Cover with another towel and very gently press to remove any residual water on the eggplant. (You do not need to squeeze, they will still contain some water and that is just fine).
Working in batches, move eggplant through your dredging station (how you’re breading them). First toss them in flour until coated. Move them to the egg and flip them to make sure egg is on all surfaces. And then move them into the breadcrumb mixture, again flipping until well-coated. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare your tomato salad by combining tomatoes, basil, balsamic, olive oil, remaining teaspoon salt, and 10 twists black pepper in a medium bowl. Toss to combine, taste and adjust seasonings as desired. You want it to be pretty acidic to cut the richness of the cheese. Let sit for 15 minutes (or more) until ready to serve.
When ready to eat, divide arugula into four bowls (if using). Add eggplant. Add a burrata ball to each. Top with a hefty portion of the tomato mixture and more salt and fresh pepper, if desired.