A New Venture...

I know I said this blog was intended for reporting on all things house and home. So whether or not you think this falls into that category...I'm going to go ahead and report it!

I like to share what we've been doing around the house. Well, there isn't really anything new at the moment. We have "things in the to-do in the near future list" but we haven't exactly completed anything yet.

The biggest thing that's happened around here lately is that I've gotten back into cooking. Nothing too fancy, but it's a start! I've been on a strictly vegetarian, Italian diet lately. That means carbs, carbs, and more carbs! I'm trying really hard to branch out. I miss my vegetables, but just can't stomach most of them right now. This meal was a giant leap towards broadening our meal horizons.

This week I attempted a baked/healthy version of Eggplant Parmesan. In our casa we always make our own sauce so that wasn't anything new. We'd run out of cans of sauce so I improvised with diced tomatoes instead. (Side Note-I can't stand Cherry or Grape tomatoes at the moment, but Vine-Ripe fresh, and canned diced seems to be ok.)



While the sauce was simmering away...I got to work on my eggplant. I peeled and sliced, then lightly salted and let it sit for a few. After I soaked up the excess water, it was time to get to work.

As I mentioned, this was the "healthy" version. I still "breaded" my eggplant, but it was baked instead of fried.

First the eggplant was coating in an egg and milk mixture.


Then it was coated in the "breading." Now if you're a purist--don't read this part. My version of breading was a mixture of Wheat Germ, Parmesan Cheese, and Basil. Much healthier than breadcrumbs--well sort of!


Then the eggplant baked away for a bit.


While that was happening I cooked some whole wheat spaghetti. When it was all done I plated it all up with some mozzarella on top.

Looks tasty doesn't it?

A few recommendations:
1. Never advertise to your Italian husband that you've made a "healthy" version of an Italian favorite.
2. Never divulge to your Italian husband that you are feeding him whole wheat pasta and wheat germ. He'll never understand.
3. Never share the above information with your Italian husband, even after he eats the meal and exclaims how tasty it was. Trust me on this, he'll then claim he didn't like it.
4. Allow said husband to enjoy the meal without complaining about how you had to make it all by yourself. After all, he's been "cooking" for us both for the last four months. It's about time you do it all by yourself again! :)

Baby steps...