Roumanian Eggplant Salad

2 eggplants
1/4 medium sweet onion diced
2 tablespoons canola oil
l teaspoon fresh lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wash eggplant. Prick all around with fork and place in large pan to hold the
two eggplants. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Test the outer skin with a fork
to make sure it's soft. It may have to be in a little longer as each oven differs.
Remove from oven, slice each eggplant in half lengthwise. Scoop out the inside of the eggplant. Drain all the juices from the eggplant and place in bowl.
Put in all ingredients and mix together. You can also add some fresh red pepper and
tomato cut in small pieces.
You may have to add a little more oil, lemon and salt to get the right taste. It's delicious on crackers or bread, or just as a salad with lettuce, tomatoes and
cucumbers.

Zesty Pesto

2 cups firmly packed snipped fresh basil
1 cup snipped parsley
3/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts, walnuts, or almonds
3 or 4 cloves garlic, quartered
2/3 cup olive oil

Place basil, parsley, cheese, nuts, garlic,
and salt in blender container or food proces-
sor bowl. Cover, blend with several on/off
turns till a paste forms. With machine running
slowly, gradually add the oil and blend until
it's the consistency of soft butter. Scoop the
pesto out of the bowl and place in a storage container.
Refrigerate up to 1 month, or freeze
until needed. Thaw pesto, if frozen, before using.
Makes 2 cups.
It can be served with linguine or spaghetti.
I like it with penne pasta.

It is so easy to make, and certainly beats
store-bought pesto.