A Night of Vegetables

There are so many rumors out there about what you should eat and what you shouldn't. Cooking wonderful food for my blog, OVER indulging by eating 2 servings, a big bowl of ice cream for dessert,  and M&Ms all day at work, really made me have to go into diet mode after the holidays. Moderation, Un-processed foods, healthy snacks, CONSISTENT exercise.. it was a new beginning, again.

In the spirit of talking about health and diet my friend told the tale of our body's pH. It turns out our bodies should be more LESS acidic, and the more basic pH foods we eat, the healthier we will be. This is a complicated way of saying EAT VEGETABLES! In the spirit of this obvious revelation, or healthy life style, we decided to cook vegetables in a bunch of ways to consume a plate that was 5% meat, 5% noodle, and 90% Vegg.

The irony of our meal: Deep Fried Veggies! (and non deep fried).. but still..

Shopping List:

1 liter of peanut oil
2 eggs
plain bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese (preferably freshly grated)
2 cloves of garlic
tablespoon of whipped butter
1-2 eggplants
1-2 sweet potatoes
Package of asparagus
S&P

Putting it together... Eggplant:

1. Peel eggplant and cut into french fries shape
2. Mix two eggs in a separate bowl.
3. Combine 3/4  cup of plain bread crumbs, 5-6 tblspns of Parmesan, fresh cracked pepper to preference, 2 teaspoons of salt.
4. Dredge the eggplant sticks in eggs and then cover with bread crumb mixture.
5. Deep fry at 375 for 4-5 minutes, until golden brown.
6. Empty the fries on to a paper towel for a mute so the excess oil can drain.
7. Serve.

Putting it together... Sweet Potato:

1. Peel sweet potatoes and cut them into fry shapes.
2. Add to deep frier, 350, for about 5-7 minutes, until golden with a little brown on the edges.
3. Empty the fries on to a paper towel for a minute so the excess oil can drain.
4. Serve.

Putting it together... Spinach:

This was a New York Times recipe found by Dave. It was awesome! We will have modifications to tell tales of in the future as I wasn't so happy with the amount of sauce (NEED MORE) and texture (THE GOOD OLD TOFU BAKE IS IN STORE!):

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/recipe-of-the-day-tofu-with-spinach-sauce/

Putting it together... Asparagus:

1. Trim the hard ends off the asparagus
2. Add to a pan of salted water and steam for 5-6 minutes, until fork tender.
3. Strain the asparagus and set aside
4. Add 1-2 minced cloves of garlic to a pan on medium heat with melted whipped butter. Saute until fragrant (about 1 minute)
5. Mix asparagus with garlic butter and top with Parmesan and cracked pepper.

No night of health and renewal  is complete without a poem and smudge for the spirit, the soul, and the mind:

Elevate the life of all friends
It isn't easiest to make life easy
Remember why you do it
Acidity, Toxicity, Eat Vegetables
Salvation for my soul .. with that..
We have new habits, its our goal
Lights, Energy, Peace,
Its like wearing a fleece
Acidity, Toxicity, Eat Vegetables
 Leg go of all that is old
Seize the moment, carpe diem.
Illegitimi non carborundum