¡Olè!

I got my ass handed to me on the spin bike yesterday. It felt awesome. I did a 40-minute spin class from iTrain. The instructor was good and the music was rockin. It felt good to sweat!

Meanwhile, B made dinner! This doesn't happen very often, but it's always good when it does!

Baked Eggplant Olè was one of the first meals B made for me when we started dating (aaawww). It is yummy and great as leftovers too.

Baked Eggplant Olè

from The Vegetarian Gourmet's Easy International Recipes (this is a totally awesome cookbook!)

Ingredients

• 1t olive oil
• 1/2c chopped onion
• 1/2c chopped bell pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 medium eggplant, peels and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 medium, ripe tomatoes, chopped (or 1 15oz can of diced tomatoes)
• 1 4-oz can green chilis, chopped and drained (or 2-3 fresh hot peppers)
• 1/2c shredded part-skim Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2c shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 slices whole wheat bread, cut into small cubes
• 1/2t ground cumin
• 1/2t chili powder
• 1/2t dried oregano
• 1/4t salt
• 1/8t pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Lightly oil a 1 1/2 quart casserole or spray with nonstick cooking spray
3. Heat oil in a large, nonstick skilled over medium. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic and eggplant (and peppers if using fresh). Cook, stirring frequently, 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Spoon mixture into prepared casserole. 
5. Bake covered, 30 minutes.

You can serve this like a traditional casserole, or pile it into tortillas and roll them up like a burrito. We like ours with Tapatio, but that's not very surprising.

We enjoyed our eggplant with a simple salad on the side - mixed greens, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, and Angela's Better than Bottled Balsamic dressing. 

I was planning to go for a run today, but I've had a migraine all day long, despite consistent hydration and several doses of Excedrin Migraine. I once tried to run with a headahe, thinking that the endorphins would make it go away. This was a very bad idea. Running is hard when you have a headache. It literally felt like my brain was bouncing around inside my skull. Ouch.

Other things that are hard when you have a headache? Teaching 150 12-year-olds. I don't recommend it. I am exhausted (and I still have a headache!).