Eggplant is hard to prepare. I remember something about making sure to cut it when it is cold or something like that. Chef will know better than I.
HUGS!
Sqrl
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Thanks again…Uncle…I don’t eat french fries…rarely…I also hate fruit (weird huh?) but I’ll eat any veggie, all of them. I have a couple of eggplant recipes that I like already and none of them use meat. I love it breaded and fried, but I’m going to stay away from that too. Like they say about tofu, eggplant will absorb the flavors of the sauce, it isn’t that hard to prepare. I don’t have to worry about hamburger either, I hate it. Rarely eat it unless it’s in something like spagetti. Rarely even eat one when it’s on the grill, usually I smother it with lettuce, tomato, mayo and onions. I do eat lettuce a lot already, but I eat good lettuce, bib, romaine, red leaf, and leaf lettuce. I also keep baby spinach in the house to put in my salads.
I didn’t eat any meat yesterday. I had made a pot of cabbage that turned out alot like cabbage soup. So I had that, some fresh green beans sauted with garlic, onion and fresh tomato. Then we had salad with some fresh apricots from my mother’s trees. I made the kids a cheeseburger too. I was a little hungry but I think it was a mental thing, there’s just no way I could have actually been hungry all day long. (I hadn’t tied one on the night before! LOL) I don’t think my ulcer is acting up so it must have been my decision to go meatless. Crazy how your mind will cause your body to play tricks on you like that. I think I’ll be alright in a couple of days.
Need2know
Eat whatever you like, and if it kills you, then, oh well, you’ll die.
It seems kind of odd to me that pople give up a certain subsection of food groups, then have to from then on eat carefully, with vitamin supplements.
Well, not that I care what people eat, and I do understand why most people choose to do this kind of thing - health mostly, just feeling better, and of course there is sometimes a moral issue too.
Still odd, though.
Eggs come from a chicken, eggs have cholesterol, which is meat, thus eggs are meat. What part of the chicken they come out of, well…lets not go there.
eggs are not meat until they are fertialized. Until that time, they are an animal by-product, not unlike milk.
Eggplant’s not hard to cook, it’s hard to buy a good one. The plant should be young, the skin should be thin. There is a color difference between old/young, but I don’t remember what it is. If you liberally salt the eggplant before cooking, that will force it to retain water, and therefore not get all dried out.
Ditto on the Portabello mushrooms. mmmmmm…
Indian food is fantastic for veggies, too. Flavorful, lots of variety, different textures, smells, colors. It has it all. mmmmm…
I need to go eat lunch now.
Guanolad…I agree. There are no evil foods. But we Americans do rely to heavily on our consumption of meat, especially beef. There are other ways of getting protein into your diet. I’m also not a big fan of vitamins. I personally believe that if you eat right vitamin supplements are not needed. (I give blood every quarter and always have enough iron at any rate.) Like I said in one of my other posts, I don’t think I’ll be giving up meat altogether now that I’ve looked into vegetarianism. But I am planning on drastically reducing the amount of meat in my diet, perhaps to once a week or even less often, we’ll see. I don’t eat many eggs or much cheese as it is now. It is Summer and my appetite like most people’s is for light, fresh tasting foods. All of this could change by November when I’ll be craving carbs like mashed potatoes, with a big slab of meatloaf and lots of gravy to go with them! LOL
Need2know
Needs2Know, congrats on going vegetarian! I have been mostly veg for about 5 years. A good book to look at is The Gradual Vegetarian.
I haven’t had much trouble cooking eggplant. Here’s a terrific recipe:
RATATOUILLE
1 eggplant
salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 yellow and 1 red bell pepper, sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 can peeled tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
pepper
Cut unpeeled eggplant into long strips, then cut strips down to about finger-length size. Put in colander, sprinkle with salt, and let drain for half an hour.
Heat olive oil. Saute onion in it for 5 minutes, then add peppers, garlic, and tomatoes and stir well. Mix in thyme and oregano.
Rinse eggplant and dry it. Add to pan. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring now and then, til soft–about 20-30 minutes.
Season to taste w/salt and pepper. Can be served hot or at room temperature. We had it on rice and it was superb.
Tofu – Nope, you don’t have to eat it, but it can be good. Make this dessert and you’ll be a convert to the possibilities of tofu:
THE WORLD’S BEST AND EASIEST CHOCOLATE PUDDING
*Great homemade chocolate pudding in under five minutes?? You’ll be an instant believer with this remarkable recipe. *
1 10.5 oz. package lite silken tofu, crumbled
2/3 cup unbleached cane sugar (I used regular sugar; no problems)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Place all the ingredients in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until smooth, creamy, and thick. Transfer to a storage container, and chill the pudding in the refrigerator until serving time. Yield: 1.5 cups
It’s rich and yummy, but it doesn’t taste like Jello pudding.
I’ve got some other favorites I’d be happy to share! 