Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Maggie and Stuffed Eggplant

Happy Hump Day everyone!  I took a picture of Maggie last night so you could see how her eye is healing up.  All the swelling has gone done and it looks much better.  She could really use a good face washing, but I'll leave that for the vet to do next week when she goes for a spa day.  I don't want to mess with that eye right now.  She has adjusted well though.  I was really worried at first, but Maggie is back to her normal self now.  Of course she still has trouble getting around because of her back, but you would never know that she only has one eye.  :o)


After taking about 15 pictures to get the one pictured above, she then turned and gave me this sassy pose as she was watching to see where Tony was going...ha  Every time I would try to take her picture she would turn her head the other way as if she is saying "stop it momma".  My little girl is camera shy.  :o)


The other night I made stuffed eggplant with one of our eggplants out of the garden.   I was a little nervous in trying it, but it was delicious!   Here's the recipe.

1 med size eggplant
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon oregano
1 cup cooked black beans
salt and pepper to taste
vegan cheese (I used mozzarella)

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Wash the eggplant well, but do not peel.
Cut eggplant in half lengthwise
Scoop out the center, leaving a 1-inch shell.
Dice eggplant pulp and reserve.
Fill a large skillet with ½ inch of water and 1 teaspoon salt.

Place the eggplant shells in the water, skin side up, and bring to a boil.

Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Drain the eggplant shells, and put them on a baking sheet, skin side down.

Heat oil in a large skillet and sauté the onion, green pepper, garlic, and the reserved eggplant until tender.
Add tomato paste, sugar, seasonings, and the cooked black beans.

Simmer uncovered 10 minutes longer.
Fill shells with vegetable mixture and top with grated cheese.

Bake for 10-15 minutes.


Here's my one and only Sunflower.  I planted 3 seeds, but this is the only one that grew. 

A friend of mine gave me some Marigold seeds to plant.  This is not what I remember Marigolds looking like.  Have you ever seen Marigolds like this?   I love them though...they are so pretty around my patio. 

Here's a close up picture of one of the Marigolds.

And last but not least, here is our newest employee where I work....Miss Peacock.  She is always at the front door to greet me as I walk in.  If the door was left open, she would definitely go inside.  No one has any idea where she came from.  That's okay though, because she is getting fed well where she is.  She'll even eat out of your hand.  :o)

That's all for today....have a great rest of the week!

~Peace~Love~Happiness~

8 comments:

  1. Great post! I love the sunflower picture. That doggie is too cute!

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  2. Aw, Maggie, I'm so glad to hear she's doing well! She looks good, love that sassy pose!

    Your stuffed eggplant looks delicious too; what a great idea to use beans! So cool you get nice big eggplants like that from your garden. They don't grow terribly well around here...at least not for me. :)

    Those look like a variety of marigold to me, but I couldn't which one. I think some varieties grow small and compact and some grow tall like that.

    What fun you have a peacock hanging out at your work. Sometimes, people bring them into the animal shelter because they just appeared in their back yard one day. I think they come from big estates or parks where they have peacocks roaming the grounds and sometimes they just fly off somewhere else.

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  3. yay maggie! glad to hear she is feeling better. i saw a little one eyed kitten at animal services today and i thought of maggie and was hoping she felt better.

    nice eggplant dish, i agree with rose, beans are a great idea! and your flowers are beautiful. :)

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  4. I'm so happy that Maggie is doing well! She really looks good and I just think she's so adorable. <3

    That eggplant dish looks really yummy. Anything with black beans is yummy, IMO.

    Pretty flowers and peacock!

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  5. Aww I am so glad that Maggie has been recovering so well! And I certainly love her sassy posing ;)

    The eggplant looks amazing!

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  6. Good for Maggie! I'm sure you're doing the best you can with her.
    Stuffed eggplant is something I never would have thought of. Looks great.

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  7. Maggie is a tough little broad!

    Awesome 'Pea Hen'. Males and Females are 'Peafowl'. I guess you know what the Males are called.

    Finally, I am of the belief that your friend gave you Cosmos Flower seeds. Very pretty whatever they are. You certainly have a green thumb.

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  8. When I looked at the stuffed eggplant, I thought those were black olives. How neat to toss in some black beans! Sure looks good. I get nervous trying crazy new combos, too, there's nothing worse than cooking something I end up not liking.

    I'm impressed with your gardening ability, too, even if you only got one sunflower. What a great way to brighten your yard.

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