As you know, Trader Joe's is my one-stop shop.  Almost.   I was thrilled to see them bring back bread crumbs, since that's one of the few things I occasionally go elsewhere to find.  (They're organic as well, which is a big plus for me.)  Wona makes her own bread crumbs, but somehow that just doesn't seem to be something I'm inclined to make myself!   Bread crumbs are something I buy.  So when I saw them at Trader Joe's, I immediately thought of a couple of dishes I wanted to make right away involving simple breadings and simple toppings.  I grabbed some vegetables, some bruschetta sauce, and knew I had the makings of a satisfying and delicious side dish.

If you're not a big user of the Fresh Bruschetta Sauce, please allow me to introduce you to one of my favorites at Trader Joe's.  It's a great blend of tomatoes, basil, and garlic, and it tastes fresh and sun-kissed as though you made it yourself that day.  I like to toss it into pasta or serve it with goat cheese on crackers.  The flavors go a long way with the simple vegetables here and bring the dish together.  The bread crumbs get crispy, the zucchini is tender but not mushy, and the eggplant is softened and silky. 

Speaking of eggplant, I had the most curious encounter at Trader Joe's a while back.  I was with my mother who was in town that week, and I noticed her watching someone in the produce aisle.  The older lady that had captured her attention was examining literally every single eggplant, choosing some and eliminating some based on some mysterious criterion.  My mom just had to ask.  The lady explained to her that there are "female" eggplants and "male" eggplants and that they are identifiable by the dimple on the base of each eggplant.  If the indentation on the bottom is round, it is a male.  If the indentation is oblong, it is a female.  We looked, and each eggplant did have one or the either dimple.   The lady said that male eggplants have fewer seeds and tend to be less bitter.  Is it true?  You can read about the controversy here.  

Eggplant Zucchini Bake

1 medium eggplant
4 medium zucchini
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 container refrigerated Fresh Bruschetta Sauce
1/2 cup Organic Bread Crumbs

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2.   Peel and slice eggplant into (slightly thicker than) 1/4-inch slices crosswise. 
3.  An optional step is to salt both sides of the eggplant slices, let them sit for 10 minutes to sweat out bitter juices, and then rinse and pat dry.  It also helps soften the eggplant for cooking.
4.  Meanwhile, slice the zucchini lengthwise into (almost) half-inch slices.  I sliced each zucchini into three long slices.
5.  Coat the bottom of an 8 x 12 or 9 x 13-inch baking pan with olive oil.  Arrange the eggplant slices on the bottom and top with the zucchini slices (see photo).
6.  Pour the bruschetta sauce evenly over the dish.
7.  Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and bake for about 40 minutes.


Serves 6-8 as a side, but I at nearly half the pan. What can I say, it was close to lunch and the result was tasty!