Tomato and Eggplant Kebabs with Balsamic Reduction

Whenever our family or friends get together, its always an event because we don’t do anything small. Being vegan, the challenge is always to find something that everyone will eat without having to make a ridiculous number of items. I also love the idea of making as much ahead as possible because you never know what will go wrong at the last minute.  Like the year we got a bird in the house an hour before everyone showed up before dinner.

One minute, I was fussing over last minute prep, the next minute I was being dive bombed by an angry bird going for bonus points if she could land on my head. Apparently, she had built her nest in the wreath on our door and when we opened it, she thought she’d pop in and see what was for dinner. Much panic ensued.

First there was the great dishcloth chase, although why we thought that would work, I have no idea. if a giant was waving a huge flag at me, I know it would definitely make me want to go towards them and calmly sit on their shoulder.

Since neither Mary Poppins or any of the Disney princesses were available to charm the bird out of the air (and off the top of my kitchen cabinets), we moved on to plan C: corralling the poor thing in one room and then trying to get it out a window. Surprisingly, this was not an easy task, as the bird didn’t seem to understand that having an angry mob running at it was for its own good.We did, however, somehow manage to corner the poor thing in a bedroom eventually, remove one of the screens from the window and use that to try and shoo the bird out.

Let’s just say it worked eventually, but there was a good 15 minutes there where it was touch and go who would end up going out the window. It was sort of like watching Wile E Coyote matching wits with the Road Runner. I can just imagine the poor bird, as she circled the house back to her nest warning all the other woodland creatures to stay away from the crazy giants who lived in that house!

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 TBS water
• 1-2 TBS honey

Directions:

1. Peel the eggplant and cut into cubes.  Place in a strainer, and sprinkle with salt.  Allow to sit for 45 minutes.  Rinse and pat dry.
2. Toss the eggplant and tomatoes with the olive oil, thyme and salt.  Place on a baking sheet and roast for 12-15 minutes at 400.  Remove, cool and refrigerate till ready to make the kabobs.
3. While the eggplant and tomato are roasting, make the reduction by putting the vinegar, water and honey in a small pot.  Bring to a gentle boil and stir until it starts to thicken.  Remove from heat and allow to cool before refrigerating it.
4. To make the kabobs, place the eggplant and tomatoes on small skewers, alternating between the two.  Place them on a plate and drizzle with the reduction.

Enjoy!