Traveling

Haven’t blogged much as I’ve been bouncing thru the Midwest looking for a good place to live.

So far, Dubuque Iowa looks promising. Who would have thought a city in Iowa would show promise?

Went to Madison Wisconsin also. Thought for sure that would be nicer than Iowa but the city is not laid out well.

More to tell when I return.

Eggplant Parmigiana

Eggplant Parmagiana

Eggplant Parmagiana with broccoli

A very good vegetarian dish that even your non-vegetarians will enjoy (as long as you don’t tell them it’s eggplant).

1 large eggplant (I used 2 medium sized ones) peeled
3 eggs
3 tablespoons water
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
Oil for deep frying
2 cups marinara sauce, divided
2 cups shredded Mozarella cheese (about 8 ounces)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1.  Preheat oven to 375F
2.  Peel and slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch slices
3.  In a large shallow bowl, beat the eggs with the water.  Using a whisk, stir in the flour and salt until smooth.
4.  In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until it bubbles when a drop of batter is tossed in.
5.  Dip 3 or 4 of the eggplant slices into the batter, then fry in a single layer until browned on the bottom.  Turn and cook until browned on other side.    Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.  Repeat with remaining eggplant slices until all are fried.
6.  Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13x2 inch baking pan.  Layer 1/2 of the slices over the sauce.  Top with 1 cup of the sauce, spreading to cover the eggplant slices.  Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella over the sauce and top with 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan.
7.  Place the remaining eggplant slices over the cheese and spread the remaining 1/2 cup of the sauce over the eggplant.  Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozarella over the sauce.  Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.
8.  Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake 20-25 minutes or until heated through and the cheese has melted.

Enjoy!

1,000 Vegetarian Recipes

Quiche

Broccoli-Cheddar Quiche

This is a really good quiche recipe.  A picture/name of the cookbook is below the recipe.

Makes one 9-inch quiche

Ingredients:

Pastry for one 9-inch pie or one 9-inch frozen deep-dish crust
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups of milk (I use half and half)
1 teaspoon anchovy-free Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
2 cups chopped fresh broccoli (you could use frozen, thawed but the consistency may be different)
1/2 cup of sliced scallions (both white & green parts)

1.  Preheat oven to 425F
2.  Roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle.  Line a 9-inch pie dish with the rolled dough.  Weigh down the pastry using pie weights or dry beans to prevent the crust from rising.  Bake 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and remove weights.
3.  Decrease oven temperature to 350F
4.  In a large bowl, beat the eggs lightly.  Add the milk, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.  Beat until combined.
5.  After 10 minutes, remove the crust from the oven.
6.  Sprinkle the cheese into the bottom of the crust.  Add the broccoli and scallions and toss gently to combine.  Pour the egg mixture over all.
7.  Baker 50 to 60 minutes or until puffy and slightly browned on top.  Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

They say you can also use Gouda or another hard cheese in place of the Cheddar.

Note:  I baked this in a convection oven and it only took 35 minutes.  So, make sure you check it every now and then.  You can check if done by placing a butter knife in the middle of the quiche.  If it comes out clean, it’s done.

Enjoy!  (see recipe book below)

The Girl and the Rabbit

I had lived in my neighborhood for awhile when new people moved in next door.

A little girl, shy and mostly withdrawn, would come out to play sometimes with her funny looking rabbit.

Every day, I would watch them play from a distance.

I felt myself drawn towards them and one day I introduced myself.  The rabbit stood behind the little girl as I said my pleasantries.    The little girl explained that she had had the rabbit since he was just a baby.

As I watched them play, the little girl didn’t seem to know or care that the rabbit was following her.  Every time she picked the rabbit up to cuddle him, he would smile a big smile and let out a loud giggle.

As time went on, I tried to get close to the rabbit when the little girl wasn’t paying attention to him.  At first, he was reluctant to have anything to do with me.  After awhile, he got used to my voice and I got used to the funny sounds he made as he hopped through the grass.

Hop, hop the rabbit went — through the bushes and trees inspecting each one as if he had never seen one before.

But the rabbit never lost sight of the little girl while exploring.

His curiosity made mine even stronger as I always wondered what he would be exploring next.

Soon the rabbit and I were spending time together in the garden.  He would smell the flowers and then I would smell the flowers.  It was different exploring things with the rabbit than when I  explored them by myself.

Hop, hop the rabbit went.

Now he was checking to see if I was keeping up with him.  I was.

Such enjoyment he showed in such simple things.

The only thing lacking was the little girls’ attention.  She would hardly ever pick him up and cuddle him and he so wanted that to be so.

One could see the pleading in his eyes.  But the little girl did not notice.  Or, if she did, she just didn’t feel like doing anything about it.

One day, the little girl said that they were moving.  I felt sad and wondered what playmate I might now have if the rabbit went away.  I had none at home until the rabbit came along.

The days dragged on with me not knowing when the rabbit would move away.

During this time, the little girl started spending more time with the rabbit.  She seemed to want him close by now.  He seemed happier and his hops were bigger and his giggles louder.

I see less of the rabbit now but remember everything I learned of flowers and trees and bushes.

The day finally came when the rabbit and the little girl were to move away.  She held the rabbit in her arms as they waved goodbye.  I felt sad and happy at the same time.

Now the rabbit had what he had been looking for — the love of the little girl.

I later learned that the rabbit lived to a ripe old age.

The End.

Can’t remember when I wrote this story but it was quite awhile back as the paper is worn and it was in a Spanish Bible I had on my bookshelf that I haven’t looked at in years.

Hope you enjoy it.

Paperwork

Shredding.  How do we accumulate so much paper?

I bought a new shredder that works okay except it overheats.  Hmmm … maybe I needed a heavy duty one.

Problem is — once the majority of the shredding is done you don’t need a large one.

Can’t say I’m almost done.  I have 5 boxes to go through to prepare for a someday move.

The compost will love it.

Life as it is.

Food

Grocery shopping – we go every week.

Today I pulled into a lane — no waiting.  Yippee!  I hit the jackpot.

Only the people who pulled in behind us said “Isn’t this an express lane?”

Oops.  We started putting our groceries back in the cart when the cashier said “it’s okay.”

Undeserving as we were to be in this lane — the cashier showed us mercy.

I’m thankful for the little things in life.

Life as it is.

Aging

How am I supposed to act?

Is there some rule that says that once you enter your 50’s you should act a certain way?

Can I still dance in the rain with no shoes on?

Can I hang out with whoever I want — even if they have a “bad” reputation?

Can I wear mini skirts or tops that show cleavage?

Can I jump into a lake with all my clothes on because it’s hot outside?

Can I turn the radio on full blast and dance to salsa music?

Will people view me as insane because I act youthful when I’m old, uh, older?

Do I really care?

Bananas and People

People are like bananas.  You need to peel them back one layer at a time in order to see who they really are.

Many times I have heard the phrase “I never thought they would … “

And yet, “they” did.

It doesn’t always have to be negative.  It could be positive like “I never thought they’d go to college at their age” or “I never thought they’d lose the weight” or …

Unfortunately, as life would have it, it’s mostly negative.

As humans our needs are basic:  love, friendship, time, touch

When we are missing one of these we tend to fall into “I never thought I’d … “

Life as it is.