how to make an ugly vegetable edible

I bought my first eggplant last week in an effort to broaden my cooking horizons. I read a couple recipes then winged it. I hate following directions (Dave will vouch for that!). It came out ok, pretty good actually, but there are definitely some things I could do to improve, like letting it sit for a while before baking, and making sure the skins come out soft (i.e. enough cooking time). I figured following a recipe couldn’t be that crucial since the goal really is to make this homely vegetable edible. Anything more (i.e. actually tasty!) is just a bonus.

Mom stopped by with some impromptu little treats for Sammy – new jammies, undershirts, and best of all – big boy tightie whities! I had to put them right on him, of course, just to see his chubby legs sticking out of tightie whities! When he got them on I said to go show Gramma his new  undies and he immediately puffed out his chest, threw his arms back and strutted around! Then he started trotting around in a tight circle, then stopped and looked up – he likes seeing the lights spin around as he regains his balance. He does this outside sometimes, but not usually in such a focused fashion inside! He wiped out a few times but that didn’t deter him from doing his dizzy dance some more. He was so cute with his new undies! Probably good I didn’t whip out the camera for this one πŸ™‚ He will thank me in about 12 years!

A side note – I never thought I’d be a blogger, and sometimes I feel that what I write is so incredibly trivial that I feel badly for those reading. (Especially those of you savvy enough to have my blog in your feed reader so you don’t miss a single post! Now that’s pressure! ha ha!) Fortunately all of you are close family and friends, so you don’t mind. In fact, many of you have written interesting anecdotes in response to some of my posts. Hearing from you makes it worth every second I spend posting updates. Earlier this week I enjoyed hearing from Alden who lived in Hawaii as a kid. He verified my accounts of the New Year’s festivities, even going so far as to say they’re more tame now (!). I also email regularly with a friend who now lives in Italy. It’s wonderful to swap recipes with her (so I can make authentic Italian eggplant parmigiana next time!) and read about hiking on Mt. Etna.  So – thank you to all of you who write or post comments – I really enjoy reading them and staying connected with people who are spread across 15 time zones. We just got a webcam from Mom for Christmas, so we’re beginning to connect with family “live”! Stay tuned for details on how to view the “SamCam” πŸ™‚

4 Comments

  1. Timmy 4 January, 2007

    I think your bloggins are cool. Being that we are a weee ways away compared to a few months ago it will be fun to see Sam’s progress thru life. Right on. Don’t stop and don’t get discouraged.

    I’m not sure about egg plant but I don’t hate it. Any ideas on crock pot cooking? We are into that now.

  2. grammaOli 4 January, 2007

    I can vouch for the entire tightie whities performance, and I DO wish we had it on video! I’ve never before seen him suck in his breath to puff up his chest, then throw his arms back and begin that strut! Was that ever fun!!!

  3. pig & bear 7 January, 2007

    al-dogg! i cannot believe this was not captured on camera…i mean this is one of those moments in life that are pretty important to sammy’s many fans! first tighty whities!! i would pay money to have seen this!
    i love the vivid descriptions on your blog, gives me such a great idea of what your life is like and what a captivating little man you have on your hands.. he’s already such a performer!! your stories are such a great way to stay connected so please dont stop!
    we miss you,
    bear & pig

    Bear! Thank you so much for your post! I was thinking the same thing as the event unfolded! I couldn’t get to my camera in time. I will catch it for you, don’t worry πŸ™‚ We love you and miss you, too! Get that webcam hooked up – the SamCam is waiting!!!!

  4. Doug 7 January, 2007

    Alli – I have my webcam hooked up but we both need to have the same messenger service like Yahoo or AOL or something. I’ll look into it more this week.

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