Egg Free What?!?!?

Before I can go into detail with a statement from Zumba that nearly had me in a seisure I have to mentioun our garden.  As mentioned previously, we grow our own herbs, but we also have a few other food producing trees (if you can call an aubergine bush, a variety of 3 chilli bushes, a blue berry bush, and a pomegranate bush as a few others).  Our aubergine bush has been in overdrive during January, as to date, we have harvested a total of 9 HUGE aubergines, and there's a whole lot more baby aubergines.  Can you say happy plant?

Starter:  Vietnamese Wraps with Mango Dipping Sauce

Now, I still want to try pickling them, but to start off, my dear Warchief gave me the idea to make a batch of moussaka.  Even though it is a Greek dish, I decided it couldn't be that difficult, and truth be told, it wasn't.  Just a bit time consuming.  The first one was made about 2 weeks ago, and the second one this past Sunday.  Now, the big secret of cooking aubergine?  Cut slices and fry them properly on both sides.  I don't mean a quick little flash fry, but a proper roasting.  They have to be browned thoroughly, and have a bit of a crunch when they come out of the pan.  At least this is what I did with the first batch, but it took forever to make and they absorbed a $&!% load of oil which seeped out after baking.

Soup:  Fish Consommé with Roasted

 Hake

Of course, where else would you go but Tiffany's for a cheat method that still tastes awesome.  For
Sunday's moussaka I still sliced the Aubergine but instead I roasted all of the slices in one go in the oven.  It didn't come out in a way I would serve as is, but for moussaka it was perfect as it didn't seep oil like the previous batch.  I think this will be my preferred preparation method when it comes to using aubergine in a dish like this.

Now, back to the seisure statement.  Sunday, we had Zumba, Cum Bubble and Lippetjies over for lunch.  Nothing fancy (at least by my standards), but very pleasant.  Until we got on the topic of sauces while discussing the Mango dipping sauce for the starters.  And I must say it was a very refreshing one.  Vietnamese rice paper wraps with a carrot & cucumber filling.  Honestly, if you've never tried them before, I suggest you do so at your first opportunity.

Main:  Moussaka with Herb & Watermelon Salad

Zumba mentioned her aunt told her to bake a pie with a beautiful sheen and crunch on the pastry to use mayonnaise instead of egg wash.  And then she made a statement that had me break out in a cold sweat, made my stomach flip flop, and nearly break down in tears:

"I use egg free mayonnaise".

I thought the world was about to end.  Egg free what?  That's not mayonnaise.  Thank heaven I wasn't chewing and that we weren't busy with the soup, otherwise I might have breathed the soup instead of swallowing.  Okay, before anyone wants to climb down my throat, I realise as she's sensitive to eggs that egg free mayo is a blessing to her, but until now I didn't even think it was possible to make an egg free version.  How does that even work?  Is nothing sacred anymore?  Next up you'll be telling me you can buy fruit free peach chutney.

Desert:  Chocolate Cream, Fig Cheese & Plums

I know the gastronomic world has to evolve with all the sensitivities and allergies that have sprung up over the last few decades,  but I can't help being surprised by some of the things the industry is producing.  As long as I have no allergies, I will remain a puritan when it comes to food.  College taught me a mayonnaise is an emulsified egg yolk and oil dressing, and I have no plan to change that opinion.  Maybe it's time I make a home made batch of mayo again.  Haven't made that in ages.