Friday, August 6, 2010

Eggplant Pasta

TGIF…. WOOHOO! Last night's supper was a success. I had an eggplant in the refrigerator that needed to be used right way. I really didn’t want fried eggplant and it was WAY too hot to even think about grilling. I also knew that I didn’t want to be in the kitchen for a long time, so I decided to try my hand at making some eggplant pasta. I thought that might be a fairly quick dinner, but wasn't 100% sure since I've never made it before. I found a recipe on vegweb.com but totally revamped it.

Tony had mentioned the night before that he would like to have a baked potato, so he put a couple of potatoes in the oven as I was leaving work. Believe it or not, we still had a few leftovers in the frig….just enough for one person though. So, he took the corn and I took the asparagus. :o) I know my dinner was a little heavy with starches, but it sure did hit the spot. It was also quick, which is what I wanted. :o)


1 med eggplant
1 box whole wheat penne rigate
¼ cup olive oil
1 15oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
5 garlic cloves (minced)
1 pinch of organic sugar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and cut the eggplant into small cubes. Salt the eggplant cubes and let them drain in a colander for about 30 minutes. Rinse the salt off the eggplant and let it dry for a couple of minutes. Put the water on to boil for the pasta. In the meantime, in a large non stick skillet heat the oil and garlic until sizzling. Add the eggplant and sauté for about 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Reduce heat then cover and simmer until desired firmness of the eggplant is desired, stirring occasionally. Cook the pasta while preparing the eggplant sauce. Spoon the sauce mixture over the pasta and serve. :o)

Do you ever crave junk food? I sure do and the little fruit strip above hit the spot the other day. I've been seeing these all-natural fruit strips in Kroger the last couple of times that I've been in there, but wouldn’t buy them. They seemed a little pricey to me, so I just kept passing them up. Well, this past week Kroger had them on sale 3 for $1. That still seems high to me, but I wanted to try them. I know the picture above does not have a fruit strip in it. That's because I wasn’t very patient…I devoured it before I had time to take it's picture. It was delish! Tony didn’t care for it too much. I forgot what his exact words were, but that’s just more for me, right…ha
~Peace~

5 comments:

  1. I second that TGIF! I'm that pasta sounds delish...nice and garlicky.

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  2. I love eggplant with tomato sauce and pasta. Glad it filled the order for a quick Friday dinner!

    I have also tried those fruit strips, also from Kroger. I liked them and went through the 6 or so I bought, but I haven't thought to buy any more since. My favorite kind-of junk food is corn chips and salsa.

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  3. I love when vegan bloggers post eggplant recipes cuz then I don't have to add it to the list of recipes I need to make. The Shenandoah Vegans don't do eggplant. We don't have Kroger's either. Oh well, glad you enjoyed it.

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  4. I'm glad you enjoyed the pasta. I like eggplants but only if they are prepared a certain way. This looks good though.

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  5. I'm so behind on my blog reading - sorry. We've been out of town, etc. I mostly crave chocolate, rather than just sugary treats. Two of my kids love those fruit strips. I'll eat a bite or two off of one occasionally. They are good.

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