Eggplant galore

Because I hate seeing good food go to waste, I accepted donations of organic eggplant from members of my food co-op who are juicing, eat only raw, or just don't like eggplant. There were 12 of the purple cuties in my bag!
What's an empty nester to do with 12 organic eggplant?

First up, Farm Stand Chili with chickpeas, from Robin Robertson's Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, substituting lentils for the chickpeas since that was in my cupboard.
It freezes well, too, so a double batch was in order.

Then, from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Appetitte for Reduction, Eggplant Chickpea Curry, accompanied by her suggested Cranberry-cashew Biryani.
Friends stopped by just as it was done, and, since they were drooling over the how good it smelled, I was a generous hostess and invited them to eat, which they did. Unfortunately, no pictures. Maybe next time.

Still left with 9 eggplants, 8 of them ended up as eggplant bakun.
Using a mandoline, I sliced them thin, cut then into strips and marinated them for couple of days. Recipe follows.

 Next strips arranged on teflex sheets.

 Eight globe eggplant filled all 9 trays of my dehydrator, where they dried at 115 degrees for 6 hours.

 Then I removed the teflex sheets, flipped the slices, and dried them for another 6 hours on the plastic trays, and here is the finished product, eggplant bakun slices.

These store well in an airtight container, can be crumbled onto salads, tofu scrambles, baked potatoes, or just eaten as is, like chips. They also travel well.

Marinade for eggplant bakun strips:
(adapted from Matthew Kenney's Everyday Raw, and Ani Phyo's Raw Food Essentials)
1 TBS liquid smoke (for that smoky flavor)
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS apple cider vinegar
1 TBS miso, dissolved in 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup tamari, Bragg Liquid Aminos or nama shoyu (if you want it to be raw)
1/4 cup maple syrup or raw agave (again for raw fooders)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
pinch black pepper, cayenne
Blend until well mixed. Pour over eggplant, and marinate for 12-24 hours in refrigerator.
I put mine in a large, sealable bowl, so I ca shake and turn it every few hours, or when I think about it, to ensure the strips are evenly coated. This coated 8 medium sized sliced globes.

Meant to use the remaining 9, but did not count them, and found the one remaining hiding in back of the veggie bin. So it will star in another dish later this week.