Cleanse Day 10

We are at the halfway point.  Today was pretty hard for me.  This winter weather makes me crave gooey food - cheesy, fatty, starchy.  The Husband mentioned that he really wanted pizza, and I was feeling the same way.  Even toast with a nice blanket of butter sounded incredibly inviting.  So I ate some extra roasted pumpkin seeds to try to ward off that fat and salt craving.  Dinner was roasted vegetables with brown rice.  The dressing was a bit bitter so I added a little honey.  The rich, warm sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts really hit the spot.  I'm glad I didn't give in to the cheese temptation.

Tonight I am attempting some baba ghanoush.  Awhile ago I had an eggplant that I ended up freezing.  It was kind of an experiment.  It defrosted overnight in the fridge.  The result was the Dorian Gray of eggplants.

Left: Fresh
Right: Eggplant raisin

Gross.  So only the fresh eggplant made the cut.  Per the recipe (courtesy Serving Up the Harvest), normally grilling would be in order, however the snow warranted an alternate plan.  I roasted the eggplant for about 30min at 425.  I made sure to poke it with a fork several times (did you know they can explode?!).
After the eggplant had collapsed, I removed it from the oven and sliced it open.  Into the colander to drain and cool.
In the food processor I combined the flesh from the eggplant, 2 cloves of garlic, about 1/4 cup italian parsley leaves, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp tahini, and 2 tbsp evoo.  Blended until smooth and added salt and pepper to taste.  It is my first attempt and it seemed tasty, but I stuck it in the fridge to give the flavors time to blend.

Interestingly I learned that the first eggplants grown in North America were white and looked like eggs, hence the name.  Explains a lot, I've wondered why we didn't use the European term aubergine.