Cuckoo for Capers

I cooked with capers last night and it reminded me of the obsession I used to have for them.  I ate them like M&M’s!  I’d get a jar of them in my stocking and my Easter basket and would finish them off in a matter of days!  It may have been more than an obsession…

After using them in the sauce for my eggplant parm last night I thought it would be interesting to see if they had any health benefits and guess what?  They do!  Turns out they’re a great source of natural antioxidant and could possibly fight off cancer and heart disease, awesome!

Anyways back to the parm.  If you know anything about me you know I’m a sucker for this dish and it’s almost always my #1 pick at an Italian restaurant so I was definitely excited when I say a healthier version (not breaded or fried) on Kath’s website.

• 1 eggplant cut into ~1/2″ slices
• can of crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 can of tomato paste
• 1T capers
• dash oregano
• dash red pepper flakes
• 1 cup mozzarella
• 2T parmesan cheese

I learned about the salting technique for eggplant — we put the slices in a strainer in the sink and salted them for 30 minutes to “purge” them of their bitterness and bring out the juices — you learn something new everyday!

Toss the slices on the grill — I let them cook about 5 minutes on each side but a few were a liiittle crispy (oops it was my first time manning the grill on my own!).  Mix the rest of the ingredients minus the cheese on the stove and when it gets hot pour it over the eggplant on a baking dish then sprinkle with both cheeses.  Put in the oven for 10 minutes to melt — I did it on 325 because I it was already on that temp for the kale chips I was making.

Pre-bake

Post-bake

Kale Chips: wash and tear kale into small pieces, toss with olive oil + salt + pepper on a baking sheet, bake for 20-30 minutes, flip around every 8ish minutes.  I tossed them with a little apple cider vinegar at the end, yum!

On Wednesdays I open Norlin Library so I have to be here at 7 am!  Hence, overnight oats.

Rolled oats, chia seeds, almond milk, blueberries, 1/4 banana

All I had to do this morning was melt the peanut butter and pour it on

Et voila, a successful and quick breakfast!

But nothing compared to lunch…

Strawberries toasted on the grill

When you grill strawberries it creates this pool of juice that smells SO good — so I used it as the dresssing for the salad!  Strawberry juice + a dash of balsamic + dash of olive oil = DIVINE.  By the way corn and strawberries go so well together!

Off to help my parents with the ordeals of moving

Happy Hump Day!