Learning to Cook Eggplant

An interesting thing happens when people find out that you like to cook occasionally. They suddenly think that you have this wealth of knowledge about all things in the culinary world. The thing is that since hosting our dinner parties, a lot of people put Christin and I into this category. I actually love this, regardless of if we belong there or not. It makes me feel very needed/special/smart.

My next point is Shirley Stock. Though I knew who Shirley was shortly after moving to the ward, I didn't really have a conversation with her until one of our dinner parties. Since I have known her though she really could not have been nicer to me and I'm glad that we're friends.

The other day I got a text from Shirley.
What do you think of eggplant? I'm considering making a dish tonight and I'm a little scared.

Now I have actually only made eggplant once or twice myself, with Christin telling me what to do. But I was certainly not going to let her down by informing her of this as she needed some helpful information. So I told her that I liked it and went on about cooking it like I knew what I was talking about.

The thing about Shirley is that she appreciates stuff. When I asked later how it went, she sent me this:
Our guests love loved it. They have more of a taste for eggplant. Mike and I liked it, but probably won't make again for a while. The potatoes were delicious, salad a tasty starter, and the cake was heavy but perfect with a little mug of milk. I love opportunities to use the china set I inherited.

She could have wrote back It was great, thanks. But instead she really let me know how it was. Maybe it's silly and maybe it's weird to blog about, but it was one of my favorite text messages that I have had for a while. And whoever needs to call and access my infinite archives of culinary knowledge, I will be more than happy to lie/pretend that I know what I am talking about.