It's an awfully long time since we've done recipe blogging. Let's remedy that. We've been eating a lot of this since receiving it from the Querencia crew. It's summery, really easy and works very well when prepared in advance. I don't know the provenance (though it's obviously an Eastern Mediterranean sort of thing); I received it handwritten in my mother's script. But I cannot recommend it too highly!

Eggplant with Pomegranate Sauce

[Recipe claims it serves six. Maybe with lots of other food. We're having it for two right now.]

1-1/2 to 2 lbs. Japanese eggplant (Long, narrow eggplants are best, not weighing over 3/4 lb. each)
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 F, lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil.

Remove ends and slice eggplants on the bias into 1/2" thick ovals. Spread slices on baking sheet and brush w. olive oil [I find dipping in a bowl answers better]. Bake about 12 minutes [takes us longer] on each side until golden brown. Transfer to serving dish, overlapping slices slightly.

Pomegranate Sauce

2 tbsp. pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 clove [yeah, right!] garlic, peeled and crushed w. 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. sugar
1-1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp. fresh mint
1 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp fresh pomegranate seeds [If you got em, but don't hesitate to go for it without them. We've found dried powdered pomegranate is quite acceptable as well.]

Combine first 6 ingredients, blending well. Drizzle sauce over eggplant. Top w. mint, parsley and pomegranate seeds. Cover w. plastic wrap and let stand until ready to serve [preferably at least 45 minutes, in our experience, it does make it better]. Best at room temperature.