Grilled Spiced Eggplant and Minted Yogurt Stacks with Greek Salad

After surviving 3 weeks of finals, two weeks ago was the one week of vacation I get between now and August, and I very lazily enjoyed it! One of my favorite things about vacation is getting to read whatever I want, just because it's fun. What I decided I wanted to read this week were several magazines (alright, only 2 -- I did buy a Vanity Fair, but only for the pictures of World Cup players in their underwear!). Anyway, one of the magazines I bought was the Bon Appétit's travel edition -- the best of Spain, Italy and France? Yes, please!

Trying new recipes for fun is all well and good, but cooking for people is still my favorite. So I called a few of my fellow nursing students and put together a dinner party. One of my friends, Ashley, had never tried eggplant before, so this stuck out pretty obviously as the recipe to make- never mind that I love Greek food. A simple Greek salad was the perfect compliment to this dish.

Grilled Spiced Eggplant and Minted Yogurt Stacks
From Bon Appétit

Prep: 35 minutes, Total cook time: 35 minutes
6 servings.

1 1/2 cups nonfat Greek-style yogurt
1 cup diced un-peeled English hothouse cucumber
3 Tbs chopped fresh mint, plus some for garnish
1 garlic clove, pressed*
2 large eggplant -- enough to cut 12 rounds, 1/2" thick
Olive Oil
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. Preheat barbecue or broiler.
2. Whisk yogurt, cucumber, chopped mint and garlic in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Brush eggplant with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Mix spices in a small bowl and sprinkle over both sides of eggplant slices.

5. Grill or broil eggplant until slightly charred and tender (10-12 minutes), turning and brushing with oil if they et dry.
6. Place 1 large slice of eggplant on each of 6 plates. Divide feta among the slices, then spoon 1/4 cup of the yogurt mixture onto the feta. Top with another eggplant slice and spoon remaining yogurt over the top. Garnish with mint.

Greek Salad
This is a very generalized recipe, so play with it as you like!

Bell Peppers, of various colors
Red Onion, chopped (amount depends on how much you like onion)
Cucumber
Roma Tomatoes
Kalamata Olives (pitted)
Feta Cheese
Dressing: olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, 1-3 cloves garlic, salt, pepper and chopped basil

1. Wash and chop the veggies into bite-sized pieces.
2. Whisk the dressing ingredients together, starting with a base of olive oil and adding vinegar to taste. Add the other ingredients to taste as well -- careful with the garlic, I'm a big fan but too much can ruin a fantastic salad!
3. Toss the veggies with the dressing and refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. Top with feta cheese and olives!