Obsessed With Food Much? 
Do you think we are obsessed with food? You be the judge….
- Instead of “Hi kids, how was your day?” I always say, “Hi kids, what did they serve for lunch at school today?”
- I let my 7 year old use a butcher knife to ‘smash’ a garlic clove and remove the peel herself.
- You literally cannot even stop by my house without being fed (“You HAVE to try this!”).
- Mia doesn’t understand why all restaurants don’t serve linguini with clams.
- We begin planning the next meal while still eating the current one.
- Mac can easily knock down over 30 pieces of sushi and sashimi for dinner.
- Dinner with friends at one of those little “sharing plate” restaurants is our worst nightmare because there is never enough food (of course everyone ‘poses’ with the last bite).
- We have been known to critique the food everywhere we go (even a funeral).
- At a family/friend party I overheard my niece (22 yrs. old) telling everyone that she was definitely going to serve Prime Rib at her wedding (P.S. she doesn’t have a boyfriend).
- We have lived in 3 countries and visited countless cities all around the world and yet the only way we remember a town is by recalling what we ate there (“Oh NOW I remember Brugge, we ate at that romantic, outside restaurant with white sheets hanging everywhere and they served coffee in these antique funky contraptions….”). I actually don’t remember much more about the town than that.
Eggplant Parmesan
- Cut ends off eggplant and peel the skin off with peeler. Slice into circles about ½ inch thick.
- Dip into egg and then bread crumbs. Lay directly onto baking sheet or onto cookie rack first. Spray with PAM or a little olive oil and bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Put some tomato sauce on bottom of baking dish, lay eggplant (only slightly overlapping),sprinkle mozzarella and a little parmesan cheese on top and then tomato sauce again. Do one more layer and sprinkle some parm on the top.
- Bake for approximately 30 minutes on 350.
Tomato Sauce Don’ waste your money on jar sauce if you don’t have to.
- Sautee some garlic in EV Olive oil. Dice and add ½ onion and ½ cup of carrot and cook until soft.
- Add 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and 4-5 basil leaves.
- Add some salt/pepper and cook for at least 15 minutes.
Roasted Brussel Sprouts: Since I am baking the eggplant, why not roast the brussel sprouts at the same time? Also, one dish for prep and serving!
- Wash and cut brussel sprouts in half. Dice a shallot.
- Spray bottom of baking dish with PAM and add brussel sprouts/shallots.
- Pour a little EV Olive Oil, salt/pepper and Herbs de Provence (if you like) and toss around. You can spray PAM instead of the EVOO.
- Bake with Eggplant for 30 minutes at 350 then cook for another 5-10 mins. on 400.
How Can the Kids Help?
- Practice using peeler on eggplant (scrape AWAY from you, not toward you)
- Add ingredients to tomato sauce (practice w/can opener)
- Dip the eggplant in egg and breadcrumbs or spray with oil or PAM (you each have a job and work together). This is great practice because they aren’t handling raw meat.
- Arrange eggplant in dish and sprinkle with cheeses.
- Purple Food Coloring Page: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/colors/colorworksheets/purple/pagetiny.GIF
- Picture of Eggplant Growing: http://image09.webshots.com/9/1/45/30/127114530yZexmI_ph.jpg
Did You Know?
- Eggplant is a fruit
- An eggplant is almost 95% water.
- Eggplant is an excellent source of dietary fiber. It’s a very good source of vitamins B1, B6 and potassium. It’s a good source of copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, niacin, and folic acid. http://www.elements4health.com/eggplant.html
