Balsamic grilled eggplant

Do you ever go to the store, pick up some produce and say to yourself "I need this. I will make something excellent with this." and then proceed to let it slowly die in your fridge?

Welcome to my life.

Eggplant

I always have GRAND ideas for this spongy, purple vegetable (fruit?).

But inevitable  it ends up staring me down each time I open the fridge. "What are you going to do with me?" "Stop neglecting me?" "I'm starting to go bad.... what a waste...."


UGH.

Okay. fine Eggplant. I will make something shmancy with you this time.

This is all part of my no-waste meal-planning, August.


Chowstalker has been a great resource for creative meals and happens to be how I discovered Life is Still Sweet's Balsamic Grilled Eggplant.

This recipe is everything this woman describes and more. The balsamic caramelizes, becoming sweet, a little crispy on the outside and soft inside. Amazing.

I actually made this for breakfast this morning paired with some eggs, diced tomatoes, and turkey sausage. Not having a grill readily available, I just fried these up in a pan and it worked just fine.
I altered the marinade a tad, adding 1 tsp of Dijon mustard to act as an emulsifier for the balsamic and olive oil.


I happen to have another eggplant hiding in my fridge... I definitely plan on repeating this recipe STAT.