Hunkar Begendi (grilled Eggplant With Cheese)

Our local deity is not Jesus. He goes by the name Jesus. But in reality, our local deity is Jesus Jr. Our little Jesus is popular because he is useful. He makes us feel better while conveniently fitting into the margins of our busy lives. But he is not terrifying or compelling or thrilling. When we hear the gospel of Jesus Jr., our casual response is “Yeah, that’s what I believe.” Jesus Jr. does not confront us, surprise us, stun us. He looks down on us with a benign, all-approving grin. He tells us how wonderful we really are, how entitled we really are, how wounded we really are, and it feels good. Jesus Jr. appeals to the flesh. He does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him. He is not able to understand them, much less impart them, because Jesus Jr. is the magnification of Self, the idealization of Self, the absolutization of Self turning around and validating Self, flattering Self, reinforcing Self. Jesus Jr. does not change us, because he is a projection of us.

Ray Ortlund

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Dairy, Eggs	Turkish	Cheese, Eggplant, Turkish	8	Servings

INGREDIENTS

2		Eggplants
1/2		Lemon
1	c	Water
1/4	c	Butter
1	T	Flour
1	c	Milk
1/4	c	Shredded mozzarella cheese
		Nutmeg
		Salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Smoke whole eggplants in covered barbecue, or bake at 350'F. 20-30
minutes, until tender. Add lemon half to water in shallow dish. Place
eggplants in water, turn to coat thoroughly, and let stand until  cool.
Peel eggplants and remove seeds. Cut flesh into 1/4" cubes.  Melt
butter in skillet. Add flour and cook and stir until light  brown. Stir
in milk. Add cheeses, eggplant, dash nutmeg and season to  taste with
salt. Cook over very low heat 5 minutes.  Each serving contains about:
99 calories; 144 milligrams sodium; 24  milligrams cholesterol; 8 grams
fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams  protein; 0.26 gram fiber.  From
Tuscon area newspapers, 1994, 3rd quarter, courtest Mike  Orchekowski.
File  ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/tn-94q3.zip

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