Eggplant with Mozzarella & Marinara

This was a winner at my house tonight...

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized eggplant

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1 egg

1/4 olive oil

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used smoked mozza)

3 c wide egg noodles

for the sauce:

1/4 med-sized onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 c dry red wine (I used cabernet sauvignon)

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

basil, salt, black pepper, red pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Peel eggplant and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thickness strips. Lay on paper towels and salt both sides. (This will drain excess water from the eggplant and make it easier to fry.)

2. While eggplant is draining, saute onions and garlic in 1 tsp olive oil until onions are translucent. Add red wine and lemon juice; cook until wine has reduced by half. Add remainder of sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil, then simmer until everything else is done cooking.

3. Cook noodles.

4. Heat oil in deep frying pan. Pat eggplant dry; dredge eggplant in egg first, then bread crumbs. Fry that eggplant! When removing eggplant from frying pan, sprinkle with cheese and put in the oven to keep warm. Feeds 4 (or 3 hungry people).

5. To serve: Layer noodles, cheese, eggplant, sauce and more cheese. Enjoy!

Deep-Fried Tofu Tacos

Just made this recipe tonight, and me and the husband love it.

Ingredients:

for the tofu:

1/2 block firm tofu

1 tsp taco seasoning

2 tbsp flour

1 tbsp corn starch

oil for frying

for the sauce:

1 tbsp adobo salsa

3 tbsp mayo

1 tsp taco seasoning

pinch of salt

juice of 1/2 lime

1 tbsp honey

suggestions for the other taco ingredients:

lettuce, tomatoes, bell pepper, onions, cilantro, queso fresco or any other cheese

Steps:

1. Drain tofu (see video for details), and chop into 1/2 inch cubes.

2. Heat oil in a tall saucepan (enough oil to cover the tofu).

3. Mix corn starch, flour, and taco seasoning.

4. Dredge tofu in dry mixture and deep fry.

5. Stir together adobo salsa, mayo, taco seasoning, lime, and honey.

6. Chop other taco ingredients.

7. Assemble tacos and enjoy!

Christian Radio = Caedmon's Call

I hate to be a generalist, but I've noticed something about Christian radio. I

wasn't sure why I had been conditioned to expect to hear Caedmon's Call every time I turned on the radio.

And then I realized it's because I do hear them every time I turn on the radio. I literally turned to WCSG (or whatever it is here), and there they were. At first I didn't think it was them, thinking it was just a wannabe Caedmon's band, but the announcer proved me wrong. It was one of their new ones ;)

I just think it's ironic, considering CC's roots. They started off as the cool college band (even before I got into them in late high school). They were kind of fringe. Now, they're mainstream Christian easy listening. How did this happen?

On a side note, I heard the local GR Christian radio station talking about an interview with Laura Storey the other day. I thought that was cool.

I need Jesus

It's been a rough morning so far. I didn't get out the door when I was supposed to, but I did have an opportunity to tell Jesus how much I need him. I think that's a good excuse...

I love my husband.

welcome to the no-fault insurance state

guess what i've been doing this morning? researching how michigan is a no-fault insurance state. i've never lived in one of these states before. i did however find the correlation between being a no-fault insurance state and having the highest insurance premiums of anywhere i've ever lived. since the insurance agency considers no one person at fault in an accident, each person's insurance only covers themselves. that means that all the normal stuff (medical, work loss, etc) is covered for yourself, but any damage to your car is NOT covered by the other driver if they are "at fault" according to the police report. that makes it more of a good idea to have comp and collision on your car so that damages can be paid for if someone else hits you. therefore, if your insurance company pays for you when ANY accident occurs, they are paying for more accidents and thus your premiums are higher.

yeah, i'm sure you wanted to know all of that. i think it's kind of interesting. i also needed to re-gurgitate it to make sense of it to myself.

in other news, we are still looking for jobs. i have an interview with Meijer on Friday for an admin asst position in an IT department. sounds pretty good to me...

Still on the job hunt...

Well, it's not easy to get a job. Ian and I have been sending out resumes like crazy, with not a lot of response. It seems like everything is on hold until we have jobs. Oh well, at least we get to spend a lot of quality time together! We spend a good portion of the day job searching, and another portion continuing to set up camp.

Good news: we went to a small group last night with mostly young parents in it, and really had a fun time. We felt very accepted (even though we don't have kids!), and I'm hoping that we will be able to connect with these people. One couple even is inviting us over for dinner. That meant a lot to me. The small group is going to host a big kickball game in July for the church. We're going to play against another small group with mostly people our age :)

In other news: found a cool Oriental market today on the way home from the chiropractor (a visit which only cost me $5 in Aldi's Mac and Cheese because of a local food drive!), and the market had lots of rice noodles, Asian spices, etc for pretty cheap. Oh, the resources...

Anyways, I'm still enjoying it here.

yay, posting!

I know, it's high time for me to post. this is the first opportunity i've had because we don't have the old wireless in our apartment yet. oh, by the way, we got an apartment. ian's aunt and uncle are renting it to us for a killer deal. we're in the city of grand rapids to boot! we've got tons of space for entertaining :)

ian and i are currently looking for jobs - had one interview so far. anybody know a counseling firm in GR that needs an assistant?

in other news, i like this city. it's been a little hot, of late, but that's abnormal for this area, and for once i'm not the only one complaining about the heat! i also like the feel of living in a city; i mean, i guess cola is considered a city, but i couldn't really tell... and i like the people here; there are actually gas stations where you don't have to pre-pay!!

i think i'll leave you on that note; happy surfing!

It's getting close

Ian and I are going soon to give our apartment complex a month's notice that we'll be moving out. Yep, it's getting close. We're planning on making the trip to MI around May 16th. I'm about to start the process of exit paperwork at CIU, and we're starting to sell off our furniture-stuff. It's a reality.

You know, I didn't think I'd last this long in SC. When I came here, I was planning on staying for a year (ONE year) and getting my Bible Certificate. Well, one year turned into 2 years, turned into 4 years, turned into the present 6 years plus a marriage, plus a BS in Music, plus a lot of changes in my thinking. And, I wouldn't have guessed that after spending 6 years in SC I would move to MI. I'm excited about moving, but realizing it's going to mean all that instability all over again that automatically comes with a move. I think I've got it easier this time though. When I came to SC, I didn't know A SOUL. Where I'm going to this time, I know my husband (at least I think I do :), my new parents, and some of my husband's friends and extended family. That's a whole heck of a lot better than the last couple of moves I've made. I have to warn you all, I am horrible at keeping in touch with people I can't see. But, I believe I will continue to blog, at least (if I can keep up with that!).

Anyways, enough rambling about what's actually going on in my life. I don't have anything clever to say today, so I'm going to do some work now...

Look-alikes of the year?

Coincidence? I think not. Perhaps twins separated at birth...
Can you tell which is Rob Bell and which is Chesterton Bennington (lead singer of Linkin Park)?

Swan Lake

So, I saw the second ballet of my life tonight. I didn't fall asleep! (As I am notorious for when I am in the nosebleeds of the Koger center...) As I said to a friend tonight, "I'm not sure how I feel about ballets."

First, let me make it clear that it was beautiful, and the people who were performing were amazingly trained in their art.

But, there was no live orchestra, so already the ballet started out missing a dimension.

Here's my dilemma: you're working with classical music (of which the beauty can be appreciated by moderns and post-moderns, but it does not affect any of us the way in which that style used to affect people), and that classical style music is the background for a style of dance which is no longer popular. It made me think of a museum - artifacts on display. It was educational - infact, I wish I knew more about ballet so that I could have appreciated it more, but I don't think that people can still expect ballet to be inspirational the way it once was. Is it a dying art? (my question partially stemming from the fact that the Koger was less than half full; the smallest amount of people I have ever seen at a major performance in that room) Will it become like Latin? Studied but no longer spoken?

Please don't hate me if you're a ballet dancer.

Oh, and I also found out tonight on Wikipedia that the correct term for a male ballet dancer is "male ballet dancer". Check it out...

Also, the people that live in the country of Andorra have the longest average lifespan of anyone in the world, and some of the lowest taxes of anyone in the world.