You know those days when you walk in to work thinking everything is going smoothly? Your projects are expanding, there’s a long weekend ahead of you… life is good. And then everything turns upside down.
Yeah… welcome to my Wednesday.
It started out well. I ate a prune (instant stick-to-your-ribs energy!) and hit the streets for an run before the heat was too overwhelming.
Stats:
- Distance: 5 miles
- Time: 41:38
- Pace: 8.28
When I walked in from my run, the concierge told me I had a package. Packages aren’t bills! Oh happy day! 🙂
I won a copy of Heidi Swanson’s new cookbook, Super Natural Every Day, from Lisa @ Snack Girl! I never win anything – and THIS is a rockstar item to win.
If you don’t already know her, Heidi is one amazing cook. I’ve never made anything from her blog that I didn’t love. Check her out @ 101 Cookbooks.
Smiling in my cookbook-winning afterglow, I enjoyed a repeat breakfast: Protein Banana Pudding. This time I spread it on an Udi’s Gluten-Free bagel. It was pretty good! The texture still felt “normal” – something a lot of gluten-free breads lack (IMHO).
Full-disclosure: I never eat breakfast at the table. It gets scarfed down in the bathroom in my mad-morning rush whilst chastising myself for not getting out of bed earlier.
I bought myself flowers
Then I got to work and the proverbial shit hit the fan.
The highlight of my day was using the restroom on another floor. Why? Because they had a sign on the door explaining why there are black mats on the floor between the stall dividers.
Apparently there was “concern voiced over the shiny finish to the restroom floor and the lack of privacy. The solution was to add a couple of mats strategically placed mats between stalls to obscure the view of the person beside you.”
Who does that?! It did make me laugh, which was exactly what I needed. 🙂
Back in the safety of my own bathroom home, I took a moment to exhale before beginning dinner. Gena @ Choosing Raw posted a recipe for Vegan Summer Vegetable Gratin. I’ve been waiting forever weeks days to try it.
Step 1: Make it non-vegan… I was out of milk!
This Gratin is time consuming to make, but I promise it’s worth it. The panko gave the eggplant an awesome crunch. All that basil will look excessive when you’re layering, but it adds an amazing flavor. Next time, I’ll may adding more tomatoes (they were fantastic roasted!).
This was incredibly good as-is. I had 2 servings.
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Seconds. That’s a cookie on the plate behind the gratin. + a glass of Syrah.
Summer Vegetable Gratin
- 1 1/2 medium zucchinis, sliced into 1/4 in rounds
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1 large eggplant, sliced into 1/2 in rounds
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3/4 C whole wheat panko
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 C Daiya pepperjack cheese
- 1 C fresh basil, cut into ribbons
- S+P, taste
Sprinkle the eggplant and the tomatoes with a generous dose of salt and let them sit for ~30 mins. This draws out moisture and takes the biterness out of the eggplant.
Meanwhile, set oven to broil, and sprinkle the zucchini slices with salt and pepper. Place them on a piece of foil in the oven until nearly crispy (but still moist). Remove and set aside. Reduce oven heat to 400 degrees.
Firmly pat eggplant and tomatoes dry. On a plate, mix the oregano and red pepper flakes into the panko. Dip eggplant slices in the egg, then dredge them in the panko and transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet with the tomato slices.
Place them in the oven for 15 mins. Flip the eggplant slices over and remove tomatoes (the should be soft and browning). After 25-30 mins (or when the eggplant is browned and crispy), remove the egplant.
Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees. Layer 4-6 slices of the eggplant in a small casserole dish. Top with 1/3 of the Daiya and 1/3 of the basil. Next, layer the zucchini and tomato slices. Add another layer of 1/3 of the Daiya and 1/3 of the basil, followed by the remaining slices of eggplant. Top with the remaining third of Daiya and basil.
Bake for 10-15 mins, or until the Daiya is melted. The vegetables will be slightly crispy from the baking.
Make 6 servings.
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Cooking relaxes me after an especially hard day. Weird, huh?
What do you do to unwind?
Does your office have those mats between the stalls?! Creepy.
Cooking relaxes me, too! (Especially LOTS of chopping…so catharctic.) I also find cutting/cubing melons to be incredibly relaxing…which is perhaps why I eat so much melon? 🙂
I love that gratin…it looks like a MUCH better version of something I cooked up in the fall. I’m definitely going to have to try this new twist.
Your gratin looks amazing! I love the bathroom explanation – too funny!
I thought I was the only one who liked prunes – everyone goes on and on about dates in the blogworld, but no love for prunes!
We should start a prune movement! LOL!
Way to modify! Looks great!
Wow! you put that book to good use! I am glad you are enjoying it.
People complained that the floor was too shiny and their reflections could be seen? WTF?
OMG the bathromm story cracks me up and proves that people will complain about ANYTHING. Crazy! I bought myself flowers yesterday, it helps brighten up the day!
Sorry to hear your day went south. Hope the rest of the week goes much better.
Fairly certain I’ve never worried about someone doing a restroom floor reflection package check. Life must be good in Weirdoland if that’s what they’re spending time thinking of.
Have a FANTASTIC day!!
Ha – I was going to blame the men for complaining (apparently there are mats in the men’s too).
I would totally mess with people. Hide out, wait til someone is in the next stall, then kick the mat out of the way and say some dumb shit like “Oooh, that’s some back luck right there”. 😀
Aww, so sorry you had a rough day! By the looks of it you have a lot to celebrate.. your 5 miles before the heat, a laugh @ work, and a DELISH dinner 🙂
Hope everything was better today 🙂
My office doesn’t have the black mats, but if we did, I would laugh too! That recipe reminded me of an eggplant parmesan dish I want to make…I may take some elements of this recipe and mesh it with mine…I love doing that!
Sorry for the craziness. That seems to be the name of the game here lately. I think some good music and a nice meal outside is a great way to unwind…that had not happened in a while here. The gratin looks so good! The bathroom mat thing is weird. Seriously, who would do that?