Calamine Lotion

Normally, I wouldn't endorse a product, but in this case...

Benadryl works to ease the itching, Tecnu may or may not work to clean the poison from your skin (today was the first day I've tried it) but Calamine lotion works. It's ugly to see and it's a pain in the ass to apply, but so far, it's the only thing that covers all the bases -stops the itching, dries it up. I don't know why I keep fighting it, it works, and it's cheap.

Roast eggplant, tomato

2 Eggplants
8 Plum tomatoes
3 1/2 oz parmesan
2 tbsp basil leaves
ex. v. olive oil

Wash the eggplants, then cut off the stem and the base. Slice into ¾ -inch-thick disks. Place them in a colander and sprinkle with sea salt. Leave for ½ hour, then pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 400*F.
Cut the tomatoes in half, squeeze out the juice, and chop the flesh into small pieces. Grate the Parmesan. Tear the basil into pieces.

Place the tomato in a bowl, add seasoning, and toss with 1 tbsp olive oil, the Parmesan, and basil.

Brush an ovenproof dish with olive oil. Place the eggplant slices in the dish, brush with olive oil, and season. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Turn over and spoon the tomato mixture on top. Return to the oven to bake for 5 minutes longer.

Note: Of the many baked eggplant recipes in southern Italian cooking, this one differs in mixing the grated Parmesan and the chopped tomato. The eggplant is best eaten warm.

Chicken/Fruit Salad

Spring Mix Lettuce
Strawberries
Feta Cheese
Pecans
Manderine Oranges
Sundried Cranberries
Grilled Chicken Chunks

Italian Dressing

Spaghetti, raw tomato, arugula

4 plum tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp capers
3 tbsp black olives
3 tbsp arugula leaves
3 tbsp ex. v. olive oil
11 oz spaghetti

Cut the tomatoes in half. Squeeze out excess juice and seeds, and chop the flesh coarsely. Peel the garlic and squash with 1 tsp sea salt. Crumble the chile. Rinse the capers, and pit the olives. Roughly chop the arugula.

Combine the tomatoes, garlic, chile, capers, and olives. Season generously, add the olive oil, and put aside for 30 minutes.

Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, and stir the pasta into the tomatoes. Add the arugula. Toss to coat each strand. Season with black pepper.

Serve with olive oil.

Note: Plum tomatoes are fleshy and easy to peel and have hardly any juice or seeds, which makes them ideal for rich, thick tomato sauces. This raw sauce should only be made in the summer, when you can buy sun-ripened plum tomatoes that are really sweet.