Baked Eggplant Dip

My mom was visiting recently and we decided to visit the farmer's market held at Portland State University on Saturdays.  This is the biggest farmers market that I know of in Portland and it's fantastic!  There is a huge variety of offerings, including kimchee, nut-based cheese, pastries, jams, food carts, flowers, candles, local meats and eggs, and of course tons fresh produce.

My mom was craving eggplant, so I decided to make what I thought would be more of an eggplant lasagna, but really became a dip.  I sliced the eggplant lengthwise and coated it in olive oil and salt.  I sliced red onions, chopped kalamata olives, and steamed about a pound of fresh spinach.  I also purchased a bag of Daiya Mozzarella style cheese.  This cheese is soy-free and tastes fantastic.  The only vegan cheese I've ever enjoyed has been the Dr Cow Nut Cheeses and was surprised that I liked the daiya brand so much.

I took a glass bread pan, about 4 inches wide or so, and coated it with olive oil.  Then I began layering all the ingredients, adding salt and olive oil to the layers of eggplant.  I popped it, uncovered, into a 400 degree oven and cooked it until the eggplant was soft.  My pan was packed to the brim before cooking and afterwards it had sunken down quite a bit.  I probably had it in the over for maybe an hour, but was busy enjoying time with R & JB and quickly lost track of time.

I served it with bread on the side, but ended up adding it as a spread to the bread instead.  This was fantastic for leftovers!  I just topped leftover rosemary bread with the spread and put it into the toaster oven.

For dessert, we picked up Almond Coconut Minis by So Delicious which are chocolate-dipped ice cream bars made with coconut ice cream and covered in almonds.