It’s a quiet day here. Dave is off for a quickie business trip, so Jack, Rudy, and I are going to do some quality cuddling tonight. I also have a new book to start which I’m really excited about. Dave got me Dan Brown’s new book for Christmas and I need to read it now before my other classes start and all pleasure reading goes out the window!
Last night featured a favorite dinner of mine. You have to try this! I love eggplant parmesan, but the way it is typically made is not tummy friendly. I can’t tolerate fried foods and bread crumbs are no longer an option for me on my new gluten-free diet. So in my continued quest to find satisfying substitutes for my favorite things, I have come up with (and dare say, perfected) my own crispy eggplant dish.
You need:
- 1 eggplant, sliced into 1/4 inch slices (I peal mine because the skin of many things is not good for my stomach)
- 1 cup or Gluten Free Rice Chex cereal
- 2 tablespoons ground flax
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
- Italian Seasoning
- 1/3 cup egg beaters
Depending on the size of the eggplant, you might need more or less of the other ingredients.
First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a plastic bag, combine the cheese, flax seed, seasonings, and cereal. Then roll a rolling pin over the bag to crush the cereal. Presto! Instant bread crumbs!
Place the bread crumbs in one bowl and the egg or egg beaters in a second bowl. Dip each slice in the the egg and then into the bread crumbs and lay the slices on a baking sheet.
I baked mine for about 40-45 minutes and it came out beautifully! Perfectly crispy, which is how I like it. Top with some marinara sauce and pair with pasta (I used shiritaki noodles because they are gluten free).
When I haven’t been in the kitchen, I have been playing with my blog. Yesterday I finally set myself up with google reader. I figure most people use this and I’ve been spending way to much time visiting each bookmarked blog. I like seeing the blogs in their original format. But in the interest of time, I am going to give this a try. How do you get/read the blogs you follow? There are so many…and so many I love that I want to follow everyone and comment on everyone’s posts. But then I remember, I need to live my life in the real world! Can’t be blogging at the expense of living! So I am looking for any and all ways to make blog reading and blog writing faster.
I am doing a free trial of Blogo right now (I have a Mac so Windows Live Writer is out 
) But so far, I don’t really see a difference in terms of speed. Right now I am blogging through Word Press, simply because I haven’t found Blogo faster. Any suggestions? Am I missing something?
I also broke down and got a Twitter account. I have no idea what I’m doing! I think I just wanted one of the cute Twitter bird widgets for my sidebar! I didn’t even get a facebook account until a few months ago….and I rarely check it! I’m am a social media novice. Ironically, Dave’s business trip is to a social media conference. Maybe he’ll learn something and will be able to teach me what to do!
I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing Sunday evening. Thanks for all of the blogging advise you all have shared with me….keep it coming! 
Your crispy eggplant looks so delicious!! I’m going to try and get the grocery store sometime this week so I can make it ASAP!! Thanks for sharing!!
To answer your question about the kind of bread Andrew likes: he used to love Food for Life’s bread, but ever since he found Ener-G rice bread, he loves it. His biggest tip though is to always toast it before trying to make a sandwich b/c it holds together better. The nutritional info for his bread is exactly the same as mine, but his is lacking fiber. I’m hopeful he makes up for that in other areas (fruits, veggies, GF oatmeal, beans, lentils, etc).
I don’t know how I kept up with blogs before google reader… it is a great way to stay in touch and to be able to comment efficiently!
Thanks
I just ordered some Ener G bread from their web site. Review to come…
Would you believe me if I said I have NEVER had eggplant? I wouldn’t even know what to do with it!
Someday…
I am guessing you are going to be reading The Lost Symbol? I would like to know what you think when you are done. I think I have read every other one of Dan Brown’s books and enjoyed them!
Oh my! You need to try eggplant! It is such a versatile veggie!
I read about 100 pages of The Lost Symbol last night. So far….very good! I love his books!
The eggplant looks so much better than any eggplant I’ve ever made!
I have a mac also and use ECTO to write posts. Its been great up until recently and there’s some sort of glich. Maybe I need to update or something. Otherwise, I totally recommend it.
Thanks so much for the suggestion. I’ll look into it. I love you blog and read it whenever I can…but I often can’t get it to load??? Any idea why? I want to read more regularly!
I just bought an eggplant the other day, and this recipe sounds fantastic! If I don’t do it with this eggplant, I am doing it soon, for sure. Thanks for sharing.
Want to hear how I organize my blogs? Ok, you will think I am crazy, but here is what I do:
1) Get a dry erase board. I write down all the names of people who post comments on my blog (so I can then post comments on their’s).
2) I am constantly updating my “blog roll” with people who contact me on my blog (comment) more than once. I figure if they have commented more than once, they may become frequent commenters.
3) I use my blog roll as my guide. I erase the blogger’s names from my dry-erase board once I have commented on their blog.
4) I obviously read blog’s of people who don’t comment too. I mean I don’t ONLY read a blog if that person commented on mine, you know?
This sounds really psychotic, but it really works well for me!
I don’t think it’s psychotic at all! You get 40+ comments on each post! If I got that many I would have to have a system too!
yums this recipe looks really good…I love eggplants!
Sometimes blogging can feel like a job but a job we enjoy. My only tip will be to read the blogs you enjoy…don’t feel pressured to read everyones because you might start to resent blogging.
I agree… The problem is that I like so many! And then I discover another, like I discovered yours recently, and have to read that one too! But because I want to
Its a great community to be part of!
I love your gluten free bread crumb susbstitutes. I actually don’t use Google Reader, but I feel like I should! I have a TON of blogs on my favorites and try to get through as many as I can (while at work even
). It’s really hard to stay on top of everyone’s blog!
I’m not such I like google reader yet. But it always takes time to learn the ins and outs of something new. Like Twitter…I have NO idea what to do with it now that I finally signed up!
I love everything and anything eggplant
I started using google reader.. but you are right it is a lot to read and write and all … I am constantly working on that balance.. great question
Eggplant might be my favorite vegetable. And this is my favorite way to make it! But then I love squash…and broccoli…and…
Hey, I know your Mac woes. There is simply nothing better than Windows Live Writer. What I did was I used a virtual computer called VMware Fusion so that I can use Windows Live writer. Yup, I’m that obsessed with it.
Byt the way,LOVE the crispy eggplant, and your use of Chex for the breading…genius!
A “Virtual Computer”?! Oh boy! I’m in trouble! I look into it though. I need to try something. Thanks for the suggestion
That crispy eggplant looks so great!! I need to give it a try
It took a little while for me to get used to Google Reader, but now I really like it. Before, I was never really sure when people updated their blogs. Now Google Reader keeps track of that.
Thanks for making me feel better if I don’t have time to comment on everything I read. It’s hard not to feel guilty. but you’re right, blogs are for fun!
It just isn’t realistic to comment on everyone’s blog every day. Even with a student’s schedule, I don’t allow myself to check blogs all day. It can be too consuming. That being said, I love to hear from everyone! We’ll have to get together again soon
I have to use reader. I subscribe to too many blogs! I have lots of folders – runners, health, blog friends, and they are all divided by daily and maybe. I try to get to daily every day (you’re in daily). I also have TBD, fun + events, recipes and podcasts folders. The folders really help me stay organized!
[...] are too heavy on the butter)! But cracker crumbs are out of the question on a gluten free diet. My crispy eggplant was such a tasty success the other night, that I decided to try the same crumbly topping on the [...]
Your eggplant looks amazing!
I use google reader and then click on the blogs I want to comment on.
I have twitter too but am still trying to figure out how to “use it.”
I will say, I am addicted to Facebook!