So, I have been trying to introduce new (healthy) foods into our diet. Lil Lady has been very patient with me, and doesn’t complain **too** much.
When we were up north (more stories of that time to follow, eventually-I needed time to decompress/process), we had Indian food, tried Moxie (sp?) soda, and had hummus in a few variation. I also tried a new cooking method for chicken that turned out pretty yummy. So, I think we did well for two weeks!
Now that we’re back home, I had to think of something new again. I picked up more asparagus (and hopefully will cook it so it doesn’t go bad), fresh plums and peaches, and … an eggplant. I’ve always been afraid of eggplant.
I asked friends for a few ideas, and liked some of them. Most suggested Eggplant Parmesan … but I don’t particularly like Chicken Parmesan, so I wasn’t keen on that idea.
I came up with the idea of eggplant fries & thought it sounded good, and one of my friends said he’s made them that way and loved them. I didn’t like that they needed to be breaded though, so I hesitated on making it. Then, I thought maybe I’d make eggplant spaghetti - just substituting eggplant for the meat in the sauce. I still think that would be good, so we’ll save it for another month.
Then, today, I had a stroke of genius. I turned it into something I’m comfortable with! EGGPLANT TACOS!
I LOVE TACOS. Plus, they’re easy. PLUS, they are HEALTHY! WIN, WIN, WIN!!
So, here’s my recipe:
1 Eggplant
2 carrots
1 onion
garlic (to taste)
chili powder (Mexene is preferred, of course!) 1-2 Tbsp
Cumin - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 1/4 tsp
S&P to taste
Adobo seasoning (to taste)
1 bell pepper (i used yellow for brightness)
Refried beans (if you like)
Shredded Cheese
Tortillas
Olive oil
1. Place small amount of oil in pan, add chopped/diced onions and carrots. Saute until onions are translucent and carrots are tender. Add garlic to taste, continue to cook down.
2. While onion & carrot mixture is cooking, peel, slice, and dice your eggplant.
3. Remove onion, carrot, garlic mixture from pan; put a small amount of olive oil in the pan, then add eggplant to cook down until translucent (white meaty parts mean eggplant is not cooked!). Salting the eggplant a little helps release the liquids.
4. Slice bell pepper, heat refried beans (or any other bean, actually) while eggplant is cooking.
5. Mix onion, carrot, & garlic mixture into cooked eggplant. Add chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and Adobo seasoning. Continue to cook until well blended.
6. Steam tortillas, then build tacos!
My perfect tacos were:
Tortilla, light spread of refried beans, 3 slices of yellow bell, eggplant mixture, small amount of shredded cheese, heaping spoonful of Rotel (I would have used fresh tomatoes and peppers, but I was done with the slicing and dicing,a already!). DELICIOUS!
They would have been just as yummy with lettuce/spinach leaves/other greens and some sour cream (or, as I’ve been using lately, Greek yogurt). But honestly, they were perfect exactly as I had them. Hot, cool, crispy, soft, sweet, and spicy were all in each bite. Perfect.
This is what I call a successful experiment in facing fears.





