Eggplant Recipe #1

So yesterday I bought a giant eggplant at the Farmer's Market and decided it was time to learn something about cooking eggplant. I've eaten it before in restaurants but I don't cook with it much at home so I decided to make it my Vegetable of the Week.

So after a little searching I found Broiled Eggplant in a Garlic Sauce. Yum. The recipe is so super simple. 

1 Eggplant

Salt

1 tsp miniced garlic

1 tbsp Soy Sauce

1tbsp Sesame Seed Oil

1 tbsp Rice Vinegar

Olive Oil

First you want to chop your eggplant into slices and salt the cut sides. I did some research anf you do this to cut down on the bitterness of eggplant.

Let the salted eggplant sit for 30 minutes and make your sauce. Combine the garlic, soy sauce, sesame seed oil and rice vinegar in a bowl. Once that is mixed and after the 30 minutes is finished turn your broiler on to high. I put aluminum foil on the bottom of my pan so I would have less clean up to do later. I washed off my eggplant and then brushed the top of each eggplant as I placed them in the pan. I only did 3 slices at a time because I didn't want to layer them. I wanted to make sure they all got equal heat. I placed them on the top shelf of the oven for 3 minutes. That's it. They cook really quickly. Next I flipped them and brushed them with olive oil and the sauce mixture. Another 3 minutes and voila! I added some spinach salad on the side with a little balsamic and olive oil.

Cupcake!!

I've been enjoying some Monday afternoon cupcakery but it is time to get some food so along with my spinach, basil and strawberry salad (with no dressing) and fresh tomato (all from the farmer's market), I also picked up a protein smoothie and a Coconut-Lime cupcake from The Plant.

I added some chia seeds to the smoothie and it was soooooo delicious and the cupcake rocked my world. Definitely made desk work much better.

Farmer's Market Day

Yea! It's farmer's market day. Unfortunately since I was in Oakland I haven't been able to hit up the farmer's market so today was my first time in a few weeks.

I love this time of year and I am a huge fan of summer fruits like peaches and cherries.

I also got some great stuff like kale, spinach, basil and a giant eggplant.

I'm really excited about that. I'm excited to get more veggies in my diet this week. It's great to be back home. Now it's time to head to Kara's to share some sugary sweetness with everyone. They might get a cupcake too.

Date Night

My boyfriend and I had a plan to go see a play tonight but had to postpone til next week so we grabbed dinner at the Westfield mall food court. I know. Doesn't sound very appetizing but we have a decent food court at the Westfield Mall. Not a Chick-fil-a in site. He got Pasta Bolanaise(sp?) from a pasta place and I got a Vegan Tofu Burrito from Andale.

It was nice to have so many options for both of us. We finished off our meal with vegan cheesecake from The Loving Hut and he liked it!

Then before we walked home we watched a light show on the top level.

Not a bad evening.

Last day

in Oakland. I have to leave my little entourage of animals and head back to the city. Hopefully it will be a lot sunnier. At least it is not the rainy season.

At least there was some sunshine in my breakfast.

No coffee. I'll be sure to make some once I get to work this morning.

Something Fantastic

So being vegan has had its downs and ups. It gets hard when you feel like you have a very limited variety of food available to you. Sometimes you're just hungry and stressed and miss just being able to run across the street and grab a slice of pizza and the instant gratification that is connected to it. I am an emotional eater. I love food and how it makes me feel. But I also love myself and I know that I have not been as healthy as I should be. I have read in a lot of different places the importance of plants in a healthy diet. So part of the ups in this experience is taking the time to really evaluate what I eat and how it makes me feel. 

The first week I was totally on board and super psyched. I had a ton of energy and didn't feel deprived at all. The second week I started to have some sugar cravings (after all, I stopped eating the cupcakes that I am surrounded by and talk about all day long.) and I cheated a little and took a little bite of frosting here and there. This last week (the week I went to Oakland to watch my friend's dog) was hard because I'm not at my house with my food so I brought some staples with me but didn't have the comfort of my own kitchen. I was also a bit more tired because I'm still commuting to the city for work and I haven't been able to exercise since I've been here. I'm in my last week of doing the Engine 2 Challenge but not in the last week of incorporating what I have learned and will hopefully keep learning. 

I am happy that I have forced myself to cook more and to experiment with food more. I would have never experimented with seaweed, chia seeds, and cabbage if I didn't do this. I had gotten very lazy with cooking and was relying on other sources like pizza places. I love cooking too so I'm glad we've reconnected. I'm also happy that I have discovered a whole new world of seeds, grains, veggies and fruits. It wasn't that I had tons of choices before and now I don't. I just need to look in a different direction to see the world of possibilities. I'm also getting more comfortable with eating like this and don't have as much trouble "whipping something up." 

Finally, the cherry on top of it all-- I bought a new pair of jeans today and they were 2 sizes smaller than the last pair I bought. I can't give this up. I mean, I bought jeans.

Chia! Not just a plant.

I'm really digging these Chia Seeds in my breakfast. Chia Seeds are kindof like Flax Seeds. 

They have a ton of fiber (twice as much as flax), and a lot of protein. Two things I value in my diet. Plus, you don't have to grind them up like flax seeds and you can use them to make a simple gel pudding or as an egg replacement. I can't wait to try that. It's only 1 tbsp Chia Seeds and 3 tbsp water and you can use that instead of one egg. 

I like them in my cereal because they form a slight gel around their shell when they are wet and fill me up more. It doesn't change the texture or taste of my cereal. People also like to drink them in lemonade. Final word about Chia Seeds. They've been known to help your complexion. Here's to hoping.