Eggplant Soup

This soup is perfect when you have a glut of eggplants in August and September. It might not be the prettiest soup in the world, but it is full-flavored and makes a change from tomato soup! It's also very tasty served with plain or Greek yogurt.

3 tomatoes, halved

3 eggplants, halved lengthwise
1 small onion, halved
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup cream
3/4 cup feta, crumbled

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Place tomatoes, eggplant, onion and garlic on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the vegetables for about 45 minutes until they are tender.
Remove from the oven, and spoon out the eggplant into a large saucepan; discarding the skin. Add the remaining vegetables and fresh thyme to the same saucepan.
Add the stock and bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and cook gently for about 45 minutes.
Allow the soup to cool slightly, then using a stick blender blitz the soup until it's smooth.
Stir in the cream, and a little more stock if the soup is too thick. 
Ladle into bowls, and sprinkle with feta. 
This soup is delicious and quite unusual. Please let me know how you like it!

Macaroons

• This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten's recipe. I much prefer using organic unsweetened coconut for my macaroons. They seem to have twice the flavor and of course no added sugar. Definitely a little taste of heaven!
• 4 cups unsweetened flaked coconut (I buy in bulk)
• 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 extra-large egg whites (at room temperature)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 
• Mix the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Whisk the egg whites and salt in a separate bowl until you have fluffy, medium-high peaks, then carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.
• Using a small ice-cream scoop measure out balls of the coconut mixture onto cookie sheets lined with silicone baking mats. I think these macaroons were a bit too big, so next time I'm going to make them a little smaller, so that they're about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. 
• Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown and allow to cool.
• These macaroons are wonderfully light, moist and fully loaded with coconut. I might make another batch this week and try dipping them in dark chocolate. I'll keep you posted!
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