I am getting eggplants from my back veggie garden.  There are many recipes for eggplant but sometimes we don't want the mess and bother of the more complicated recipes.  I often just do a quick fry for my eggplants..

I tend to leave the peel on but you can peel as well.  Keep your slices thick.

I fry in coconut oil but you can use other oils as well.  Allow the eggplant to brown but be careful about over cooking the eggplant;.

When the eggplants are done, transfer to a plate and granish with fresh grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

A special treat during the holidays is pumpkin nut spice bread.  This is a quick bread so it is easy to put together.

Ingredients:

• 500 ml (2 cups) self rising white flour
• 250 ml (1 cup) white sugar
• 250 ml (1 cup) fresh pumpkin
• 2 large egg
• 1 stick butter
• 250 ml (1cup) chopped walnuts
• cinnamon
• nutmeg

Combine sugar and eggs and beat until well mixed.  Melt butter and slowly add it to the sugar and eggs mixture; you want to temper the eggs by slowly adding the melted butter..  Add in the chopped walnuts and pumpkin and spices and mix well.  Slowly add the flour into the mix; don't over mix the batter.  Line a bread pan with parchement paper and spray the pan with baking spray.  Pour in the batter and place in a overn set to 175°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.  Bake until the top is golden brown and is firm to the touch.

I love making quick breads because they are so easy to make and the end product is delicious. Just mix the ingredients together in a bowl, pour the mixture into a bread pan, pop in the over and in quick order one has a delicious treat.

• 475 ml (2 cups) whole purpose flour
• 10 ml (2 teaspoons) baking powder
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) butter
• 3 large eggs
• 350 ml (1 1/2 cups) sugar
• 1 tin; 566 grams, 20 ounces, crushed pineapple in pineapple juice.
• 250 ml (1 cup) chopped walnuts.

Melt the butter and cream it with the sugar; this allows the butter to cool so you don't cook the eggs. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar and thoroughly mix until creamy.

Butter/Sugar/Eggs Creamed Together

Combine the baking power with the flour and then mix with the sugar/butter/eggs mixture. This will form a very sticky dough and you probably have better luck using a dough hook in your mixer. For this quick bread I used a hand mixer that had to curly dough hooks and it did quite nicely.

The Dough

Once you have your dough together, add the tin of crushed pineapple and the chopped nuts and mix well

Pineapple Added

Line a bread pan with parchment paper and spray the sides with a flour and oil baking spray. Pour the batter into the bread pan and bake in a moderate over; 175°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. This bread may take some time to bake out. You may want to make an aluminum foil tent to cover the pan, making sure it is tall enough so the the top of the bread will not touch as it rises. Cook until a thin knife insert into the middle comes out clean; this could be 60 minutes or longer.

The Finished Bread

When the bread is done, allow to cool in the pan. When it has cool, run a thin blade knife around the sides and due to the use of the parchment paper the bread will pop right out. This is a delicious bread so be sure to invite your family or friends over for tea or coffee and serve this delicious bread. I serve it on a cutting board so that my guests can slice off what they want.