End of Summer Eggplant

I have to admit these globe eggplants are a little on the small side.  Together the three of them barely tip the scale at just over one pound.  But it was either pick them or lose them, so I did.  Now what to do with them?

Luckily, I stumbled upon Barbara Kafka's easy and delicious Marinated Eggplant that is cooked in none other than a microwave.  While thinking this is too good to be true, what did I have to loose?
After having made this, I'm in total agreement with Barbara's remark that this is 'a faster, cooler, and cleaner way to cook eggplant.'  The most time consuming part of this recipe is letting them marinate for 45 minutes.  I adapted it slightly and used my globe eggplants instead of the called for small Chinese variety and the dish was amazing.

Marinated Microwave Eggplant 
Serves 3-4

1/4 C tamari or low sodium soy sauce

2 Tb loosely packed cilantro leaves
1 Tb rice wine vinegar
1 Tb toasted sesame oil
1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp sugar

3/8 oz fresh peeled ginger - 1"x1/4" piece, sliced
1 lb of eggplant
 

Combine all ingredients, except eggplants, in a blender.  Process until smooth.  Cut the eggplant into 1" rounds and make some diagonal slashes on both sides of each slice, the better to absorb the marinade.  Place eggplant circles in a microwave safe oval dish.  Spoon all of the marinade over the flesh of the eggplant slices so that it runs into the cuts.  Let stand for 45 minutes, turning each slice over at 20 minutes. 

Cover dish tightly with lid or microwave plastic wrap.  Cook at 100 percent power for 10 minutes.  Prick plastic to release stem.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  If you like eggplant, you're going to love how tasty this is with such little effort.