Visitors

We had a relative of David staying this weekend. She is only 18 and was over in the states working at summer camp. She came down to visit us for the weekend. We had never met her before but she is such a lovely girl. I surprised myself with how much mothering instinct I had in me. All these years of it being repressed it came out in waves this weekend. It ended up in me driving her to the bus station at 5am on tuesday morning. I'm very glad I did as the Greyhound station in DC is not a welcoming place at that time, in fact I'm not sure it is at any time.

She arrived here on friday and I made a veggy stir fry. This is a great recipe from Rachel Ray's 30 minute Veggie Meals book. Then on saturday we went out to a BBQ where I did eat some brisket and cookie cake. For anyone who has not heard of this, (because I hadn't) - it is a huge cookie with frosting on top - in this case it said happy birthday. I'm sorry, but I had to abandon the diet for this and it was worth it.

On Sunday, David left for a week working in California so it was just me and Sofie. I made stuffed green peppers. They were stuffed with a corn and rice mixture. I got the recipe from the web and I have stupidly misplaced the link. It was basically, roast the peppers until soft. Fry off some onion, garlic, and add ground cumin and coriander. Cook some rice. Mix it all together with some fresh corn. Stuff rice mixture into peppers. Bake another 10 minutes or so.

I think Sofie enjoyed herself as she left us a lovely card and a huge box of Lindt chocolates. Oh my! They keep staring at me from the fridge. I'm going to have to find a good home for them - they can't stay here. I will surely eat them all if they are left there.

Last night I made a wonderful dish that was a recipe from Vegetarian Times. I reccommend signing up to their email list as every week I think it is, they'll send you a healthy seasonal recipe and every one I have tried has been delicious.

This one is Eggplant Steak with Chickpeas, Roasted Red Peppers, Feta Cheese and Black Olives. I'm so happy I found a nice thing to do with eggplant. I am always so reluctant to cook it as I always end up frying the thing and it just ends up with a horrible soggy texture. This is great though and a great substitute for meat eaters as its really substantial. I left off the bread part and had it with some steamed greens.

Eggplant Steak with Chickpeas, Roasted Red Peppers, Feta Cheese and Black Olives
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 large eggplant, about 1 lb.
1 ½ cups chickpeas, drained
2 medium-sized red peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and cubed
¼ lb. feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
½ cup pitted black olives, preferably Greek or Moroccan
2 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano or Italian parsley
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 (6½-inch round) pita breads
4 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 bunch fresh oregano as garnish

Balsamic Marinade
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. tamari soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs. olive oil

Method

To make Balsamic Marinade: Combine ingredients, slowly adding olive oil and stirring briskly to combine well. Set aside.
Preheat grill or broiler. Cut eggplant lengthwise into four ½-inch-thick slices to resemble steaks. Brush “steaks” with marinade.
Grill or broil eggplant for 2 minutes on each side, or until tender but not soft. Remove from heat and place 1 steak on each serving plate.
Place chickpeas, red peppers, feta, black olives, and oregano in small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir to combine well. Add some marinade and stir again. Toast or grill pita bread and cut into pie-shaped wedges and set aside.
Spoon 1 or 2 scoops of pepper-olive mixture on eggplant steak with some mixture pooling onto plate. Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar, place several pita wedges on plate and garnish eggplant with several sprigs fresh oregano. Repeat with remaining ingredients until used up, making sure pepper-olive mixture spills over top of eggplant and onto plate. Serve immediately.

PER SERVING: 460 CAL; 18G PROT; 16G TOTAL FAT; 65G CARB; 10MG CHOL; 1060MG SOD; 10G FIBER