Day the 75th

Just 15 more days...and I will have reached the big 90-Day Limit.

And what's the big deal about 90 Days you ask?

It takes about 90 days for cravings to stop, I have found.

Only mine seemed to stop much sooner. I was worried about jonzin' for Coca-Cola and am ecstatic to report it never happened.

Chocolate has not been calling my name. Really, it hasn't--and that's so unusual.

Maybe this time, I realized that I had to actually get with it. Not to mention that after PROMISING you all I would post the truth, I really didn't want to say, "Face-planted in a bag of M&Ms today...right after a double-date with Ben & Jerry..."

That's why I did this public blog thing--because I wanted a great reason not to mess up. You all are one of the great reasons.

Oh, today I had something for brunch that my wacky sense of humor has named "Eggplant Hot Dish." It's sort of an homage to Garrison Keillor and the Norwegian Hot Dishes of his youth up Lake Wobegon...near Minneh-SOH-ta...yah!

Back to Eggplant Hot Dish. I love eggplant. I love it in Eggplant Parmigiana. I love it grilled. I am deeply in love with Baba Ghanoush, the Middle Eastern eggplant dip. And I love this thing I make.

I start with olive oil in the heavy steel pan. I press garlic into it until I'm happy and let it cook a bit. You can fry it if you want for a chewy texture and different flavor--you can cook it gently for a classic garlic flavor. Then, I cube up an eggplant, and dump it in. I add some water so there is plenty in the bottom. Put the top on to let it steam and turn the heat toward low.

After it cooks down a bit, I add Ume plum vinegar (for whang), toasted sesame oil for the flavor, Louisiana hot sauce for flavor, red pepper for heat, and some smoked paprika for that meaty, smoky flavor. And I just let it cook on low.

THEN, I start some rice or some quinoa (if you don't know...it's a tiny little grain that is high protein but a pain because you have to soak it and rinse it to get rid of the soapy outer coating which is bitter...and it's tiny so have a strainer with tiny mesh), usually about 1/3 cup grain to 2/3 cup water. Dump it in a pot, bring to a boil, turn the heat down loooooooooow, cover and let 'er steam for about 20 minutes.

When the rice or quinoa are about done, I chop up some fresh cilantro--two batches. THEN, I put 1 batch in the serving dish and pour the hot rice or quinoa on it and stir. THEN, I uncover the eggplant, which is nice and cooked down, turn up the heat, and let the liquid boil away until it's not too juicy.

Then, I pour the eggplant on the rice, cover with the rest of the cilantro and dust heavily with toasted sesame seeds.

And I eat it.

It's wonderful. It's hot, it has a healthy grain, and it's just...yummy.

You could probably do something similar with squash. Or whatever vegetable strikes your fancy. And you can add whatever kinds of spices you like, in addition to garlic which I consider one of the essential food groups. Besides, it's good for what ails ya...

Oh, and if you were wondering?

I RAN 6 MINUTES LAST NIGHT ON THE REBOUNDER, DID THE SAME THING THIS MORNING AND AM GOING TO DO THE SAME TONIGHT.

Oh yeah, I'm doin' it.

Independently,

Weltha