In all things new and exciting this week:
Kid #2 can now ride a two wheeler without an adult (mostly me) running beside/in front/behind him and holding onto some part of his bike.  That is, he can now pretty much ride it on his own.  I'm terrified but my back doesn't hurt as much.  There's a trade-off in there I suppose.
The Emmy's happened apparently and now they are done.
Kid #1 has started attending an arts school and manages to find ingenious ways for us to empty our wallets on a weekly basis.  This week's instalment: used uniform and dance wear sale, student fees and extra long piano lessons.  Yes - it's all worth while spending.  Yes - we are broke.
My bestie KT is currently in New Orleans building a house with Habitat for Humanity.  I miss her.  You can check her out here.  She's taken great pains to ensure that she is wearing pink for the entire week - even the work boots got painted.  She'll be back soon thank god.
My birthday is in two days and I haven't given it much thought.  Dinner?  Champagne?  Truth:  I've been having trouble sleeping because I end up getting anxious that I have left something undone (Did I email that event person?  Did I call Sick Kids' Chaplain?  Did I confirm the budget?)  I drag myself out of bed in slow motion and pray for a better night to come.  Thankfully, I'm down to a total of three skirts that fit which makes the dressing decision an easy one (budget for new clothing: $0 - see paragraph #2) and my breakfast consists of the same thing every day.  I muster together some veggies to chew on throughout the day and bike my tired ass to school to check on whether I sent that email, called that Chaplain and confirmed the budget... among other things.  Who has time to think about birthdays?  And what about the budget? (See paragraph #2)  I'm hoping that D just goes ahead with something that I will be more than thankful for and doesn't wait for me to get inspired.  Whatever happens I will fill you all in because I'm sure you must be bursting with anticipation.  I won't keep you in suspense for long, don't worry.


I wasn't going to post this recipe because I wasn't sure about it.  I made it up.  Not really.  It's so many years of working with veggies and reading recipes that I've probably seen this a million times.  If I take credit for it then I feel weird but I don't know who to credit it to.  Dilemma.  However, it turned out so well last week when I made it the first time that D told me it needed to be on the blog.  Blog-worthy.
Once declared Blog-worthy, I decided that so-said-so-done and got the ingredients in my food box again.  The best news is that it's still all Ontario veggies so I don't feel conflicted about this like I did with the peach muffins.  When I made it for the second time I wasn't sure how it would turn out (again) because I hadn't really paid much attention to how I did things the first time.  I think that even though I pulled this out of my proverbial ass, it has turned out well.  D said so.


Eggplant, Pepper and Sausage Sauce
serves 6

1 med/lg eggplant (about 7 cups total) diced into 1 inch cubes
1/2 onion (or 1 shallot), thinly sliced
2 peppers (red, orange or yellow), deseeded and thinly sliced
2 lg cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb sausage (I used honey garlic), coarsely chopped
2 lg tomato, diced small
liberal amounts of oil
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp each, oregano, basil, rosemary
2 tsp salt
generous pinch of pepper
dash of pepper sauce (optional)

Heat a large wok or dutch oven over medium heat until almost smoking.
Turn the heat down a little and add a generous amount of oil.  Throw in half of the diced eggplant.  Saute in the oil until the batch is nicely golden and is soft.  Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate or dish and continue with the other half of the eggplant.  Once done, set the whole thing aside.
Add a little more oil to the pot.  Throw in the sliced peppers.  Toss around for a couple of minutes.
Add in the garlic and toss around for another couple of minutes.
Add in the worcestershire sauce and soy sauce (and pepper sauce if you are so inclined) and cook the peppers for another 2 - 3 minutes.
Add the chopped sausage.
Cook together for about 5 minutes or until the sausage pieces are beginning to look cooked through.
Add in the tomatoes.  Stir well and cook together for another 5 minutes.
Turn the heat down to low and add the honey, oregano, basil, rosemary and salt.  Stir.
Add the eggplant back in and mix well.
Simmer for about 45 minutes on low or until the eggplant disintegrates completely.
Serve with egg noodles or pasta and maybe throw on some grated parmesan for good measure.