Ottolenghi's Fried Eggplant, Tomato, and Cucumber Salad by Heather

I love the August issue of Bon Appetit.  There are so many great summer recipes in this edition, and it's really inspired me!  There was an article on Ottolenghi, along with some of his recipes.  If you don't know who Ottolenghi is, he's an Israeli-born chef and owns some really great restaurants in London.  Most of his ingredients center around vegetables, and his recipes are basically magic.  I don't normally follow recipes down to every detail, with but his, I do.  He knows how to bring out the best in any vegetable- especially eggplant.  That being said, I haven't altered this recipe in any way.  It's great as-is, and I encourage you to try it!

Ingredients:
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems
 ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves with tender stems 
1 clove garlic, chopped 
2 small green chiles, such as Thai, seeds removed, chopped, divided 
½ cup olive oil, divided 
¾ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more 
¾ cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt 
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 
2 medium eggplants (about 1½ pounds), cut into 1½” pieces
Vegetable oil (for frying; about 2 cups) (I ended up using about 4 cups because I used a large oval Dutch oven)
1 pound small tomatoes (about 8), cut into wedges 
½ pound Persian cucumbers (about 3), sliced thinly

Kale Caesar Salad by Heather

This Ceasar salad is based on a similar salad I had a couple of months ago at Il Buco.  The key to making any simple salad exceptional is to use high quality ingredients.

Ingredients:
1/2 loaf of day old bread (I used a rosemary sourdough boule)
1 salad container of assorted kale
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 anchovies in olive oil, minced
Parmigiano Regiano shaved into strips
3 tbs. olive oil, plus more for drizzling
juice from one lemon
sprinkle red pepper flakes
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Greek yogurt
1 tsp dijon
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb shrimp, defrosted and peeled

Cut bread into large cubes, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Sprinkle liberally with olive oil, salt and pepper, and 1 of the cloves of minced garlic.  Bake in oven at 375 for 7-10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Heat a medium saute pan with olive oil and a little garlic.  Add shrimp with salt and pepper, and sauté until pink.

To make the dressing, combine the rest of the garlic cloves, 3 tbs. olive oil, lemon juice, anchovies, Worcestershire sauce, dijon, Greek yogurt, and salt and pepper into a small jar and shake to combine.

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl until kale is coated with dressing.