Smoky Miso Tofu and Cantaloupe Salsa

I love melon; I just don't like cantaloupe. I don't know what it is, but I've always though that cantaloupe just tastes...funky. That said, cantaloupes abound around here right now and I ran across a recipe for cantaloupe salsa that I thought just might make that funky melon palatable. Since I've been making a conscious effort to eat more salads, I threw together a salad and decided that flavors would go perfectly with Veganyumyum's Smoky Miso Tofu (I think her tamarind glaze would also be perfect with this salsa). Like everything I've ever tried from her, it was amazing, and the salsa and tofu made great wraps later in the week.
Cantaloupe Salsa
1 cantaloupe, small diced
1 small red onion, finely diced
1/2 jicama, finely diced
1 handful of cilantro, chopped
1 habanero, minced or very finely diced
Juice of one lime
A squirt of agave

Mix all ingredients together. As with most salsa, the longer this sits, the better it gets. Letting the flavors meld overnight is ideal--if you can wait that long.

Fried Land Fish and Rice with Partridge

Yes, you heard me right.

Maybe it's the fact that I'm feeling overwhelmed by school or maybe it's the fact that fall has clearly announced itself, but I've found myself daydreaming about Spain a lot lately. Unfortunately, instead of jumping on a plane headed for Espana, I pulled out My Kitchen in Spain hoping to try a few new recipes. The first one I decided on is a vegetarian recipe that is made during Lent: "Rice with Partridge." The partridge is that there bulb of garlic in the middle, though i like to imagine Danny Partridge jumping out of the middle of a pile o' rice.
(This is also the latest addition to my Copco collection.)

In order to keep with the vegetarian meat theme, I thought a side order of fried land fish would go with the rice swimmingly. Apparently, land fish is is eggplant (I can't quite fathom how eggplant was associated with fish, but there it is...). It is simply an eggplant cut into french fry shaped pieces and coated in a flour, cumin, salt, and pepper and deep fried. I don't typically like eggplant, so deep frying it made sense. The flavor turned out great but the texture is...well...Josh says they're like "really soft french fries," which he said sounded bad and amended to wilted. I think the texture was more insubstantial.