Monday

Our non-stick Calphalon cookware that we got when we got married has finally gone kaput. The coating is coming off - especially on the 12" skillet, which is my favorite piece. It needed to go.


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I did lots of research, and decided that we needed to invest in a high-quality piece that would be a workhorse for me. I chose to do stainless this time, and I think I'll also add a cheap cast-iron skillet and lid for some different options. This is the piece I invested in today. When I told the lady at Williams-Sonoma which one I wanted, she said..."Isn't she a beauty?" She is - and she'd better be ready to earn her keep.

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The first meal that I made in the new pan was Stuffed Eggplant. After buying some past-its-prime eggplant at Kroger last week, I got these beauties today at Wal-Mart.

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It required lots of chopping for all the veggies in the stuffing. I used these veggies (garlic, yellow onion, celery, scallions, zucchini, parsley, creminis) plus most of the eggplant that had been scooped out.


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Since this wasn't a professionally produced recipe, I realized at the end that it needs tomato paste...which wasn't in the ingredients list. I dug this out of the back of the pantry, and it wasn't expired - score!

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Somehow I deleted the beautiful picture of the veggies cooking in the new pot. :( But, anyway, I stuffed the eggplant skins and baked. I added some Parm-Regg during the last five minutes instead of the breadcrumbs it calls for.

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I served with hot bread and Quinoa Pilaf from the Central Market bulk bins. This was our first time to try Quinoa, and I thought it was yummy and had a great flavor and unique texture.

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