I made pizza!

I accidentally stumbled on a tiny farmers' market after a meeting in Brooklyn yesterday and found the most beautiful little eggplant - perfectly firm and not a bruise or discoloration in sight - and bought it impulsively. So of course the moment I got back to the office I started searching on Epicurious for quick and easy summer recipes featuring eggplant. I found this one for Eggplant, Green Olive, and Provolone Pizza and decided to improvise a little.

We don't have a grill so I basically followed the recipe (with delicious and cheap pizza dough from the surprisingly great neighborhood pizza place around the corner from our new place) but used a baking sheet in a hot oven every time the recipe told me to grill. Aside from the fact that it made my already uncomfortably warm kitchen practically unbearable, it turned out even better than I expected.

There's practically no preparation involved. You can leave the eggplants in the oven forever while you do other things (I watched Friends, I'd forgotten how much I like that show) as long as you turn them over halfway through. And the four toppings harmonize beautifully, creating a rich, earthy, salty contrast to the crust. Next time I make it, however, which I will, I think I'll use half provolone and half mozzarella. The slicing provolone I picked up at Murray's was a bit overpowering and salty.