Spinach, Tomato, and Eggplant, Oh My!

Sometimes simplicity is best. I had an eggplant from the farmer's market on Tuesday that I hadn't used yet, and I'm determined to not let my produce go bad. (On a slightly unrelated note, I have a bag in my freezer where I'm collecting vegetable scraps and veggies slightly past their prime so that when winter arrives in 2 weeks-this is Wisconsin, remember-I can make a big ol' pot of vegetable stock. Just this morning I threw some wilted scallions and mushrooms in there.) Eggplant isn't really a stock vegetable, and I didn't feel like taking the time to find a recipe, so I decided to just slice it up and roast it. The only ingredients: eggplant and freshly ground black pepper. The results:
Perfectly roasted eggplant. It took less than 5 minutes to prep the eggplant, which I threw in the oven (on an unknown temperature, because our gas oven has no temperature dial) and checked on it periodically. I enjoyed this on a whole wheat pita with hummus, tomato slices, and spinach. I ate my sandwich before I could take a picture. More proof that it's neither difficult nor time-consuming to eat delicious, healthy food.

ZUCCHINI in a wok

Yes, I took a picture of this with my cell.

Let me preface this by saying that today I went to the Italian market and spent only ten dollars to purchase the following vegetables: two small bunches romaine, a large bunch of spinach, head of cabbage, three green peppers, a pound of tomatoes, two bunches of scallions, 5 heads of garlic, 4 banana peppers, 1 pound of broccoli, two avocados... 

I deduced it would be worth noting.

But I wish I had picked up some cilantro, too. If you add cilantro to the following recipe at the end, I guarantee it will be totally delicious.

So I had a motherlarge zucchini from the garden, and prepared it as such. I didn't work from a recipe, so the amounts of each ingredient are all... well... not really present. Season to taste!

Another side note, I never cook with table salt or any kind of sugar. That is, not even any of my seasonings or sauces contain either of these things. I find them rather overused and flavor consuming, not to mention my body goes "what the fuck?" every time I insert more than a negligible amount of straight sugar or salt into it...

Anyway...

INGREDIENTS (appr amount I used):

olive oil or sesame oil (1 tbsp)

fresh garlic (4-5 cloves)

fresh ginger (I guess a piece about the size of your thumb)

scallions (1 bunch, that is, about 5 large ones)

zucchini (1 HUGE zucchini. The equivalent of 2-3 normal sized ones)

liquid aminos (you can use soy sauce if that's what you like. I personally prefer liquid aminos)

black pepper 

paprika

SERVED OVER: This stuff I kept raw, mixed together in a bowl, and served my zucchini atop.

tomato

green pepper

spinach

dash sesame chili oil

dash black pepper

dash liquid aminos

I'd also recommend adding cilantro, chick peas, hummus, tahini, and/or falafel. I, however, had none of these, and so ate it without them. (It was still delicious.) I probably also would have just put the whole thing in a pita or wrap if I a.) had pitas/wraps b.) was not sensitive to wheat/gluten/starch/whatever the fuck it is. But I recommend the pita idea for you.

ACCOMPANIED BY: Mint iced tea. 

Step one: insert peppermint tea bag into room temperature tap water in a cup. Step two: swish it around a bit. Step three: Drink that shit. Add ice if you want. Best. Drink. Ever.  I suppose some people would like it even better with a bit of honey. I carry unsweetened peppermint tea around in my water bottle all day. Also, peppermint tea is great for stomach pains! Er, at least the kind I've been having. I get quite nauseous at times when my stomach is empty, probably due to some ulcers leftover from ibuprofen or something. For a while, I was taking antacids for this. And then I discovered that peppermint tea works just as well! I usually carry a tea bag with me in my purse. That way, if I end up thirsty, I can grab some water and throw it in for some delicious and sugarless refreshment.

DIRECTIONS:

Hear oil. Saute garlic, ginger, and scallions until aromatic and slightly browned. Add cubed zucchini. You may want to cut some of the tougher seeds out, if you're using a big one. I only had to cut out the innards of a few slices. It usually ends up soft enough upon cooking that the seeds are not bothersome.

Add enough black pepper and paprika to coat the zucchini. Squirt on liquid aminos or soy sauce. If you haven't cooked with liquid aminos before, add to taste. If you season with too much, you may end up with zucchini that's way too salty. I don't think you want that.

Cover and cook until desired tenderness is reach.

I recommend removing the cover every few minutes to stir, and simply to smell it. That ginger and garlic is delicious...

Uncover and cook off some of the excess liquid. Then serve over a bowl of greens and veggies, as mentioned above.

This was pretty delicious. In my humble opinion.