AC’s friend R came to visit yesterday from Tennessee. He was just coming to see our house and AC’s job site, eat lunch and then go home. However, he had brought a change of clothes (“Just in case!) and decided to spend the night. R has been a vegetarian for some time, and leads a very healthy lifestyle, but recently adopted veganism.

Luckily, I have been on a meat fast, so I was excited for the opportunity to make something healthy for everyone in our household. This meant I had to go through some of my recipes to find something suitable that would appeal to owners of all taste buds gathered around the table. I haven’t deliberately cooked anything vegan since my youngest daughter was in high school. I was trying to remember ingredients from the list of things to avoid that was on a little card I used to carry in my wallet.

I pulled out a black & white composition book that I’ve written and pasted recipes in for years. This book was started when I attended Weight Watchers in 2001-3. I carried it to weekly meetings to write down recipes the others shared. I pasted recipes found in magazines and online onto the pages & figured out the “Points” per serving, sometimes altering a recipe to be more fitness friendly. I created some of my own recipes in there, too. Some pages are dog-eared & torn. Some have little Post-It notes of various colors sticking to tops, bottoms, or sides of them. I keep saying I’m going to digitize this book and organize the recipes into categories so I don’t have to flip through each page to find the ONE I’m looking for.

Eventually, I found it. A recipe I had copied but never prepared. Eggplant & Black Bean over Brown Rice. I’m not sure where I got this (no documentation!) but I had wanted to try it for some time. The problem is that people are creatures of habit, and when the cook mentions something exotic like “eggplant,” one of two things happens: eyes glaze over or a grimace contorts an otherwise pleasant face.

In addition to the recipe experiment, I decided to have hubby grill some squash and zucchini as well. Now that we had a plan, it was time to take action. I already had the brown rice & dried black beans in the pantry, so I cooked the beans before heading out to 3 Peas in a Pod Produce to get some supplies. I bought a nice eggplant, a big basket of tomatoes (7-8 med/lg), about 7 squash & 4 medium zucchini, and a couple of peppers for about $12.

I like recipes, but I also like to play with them, making them my own. So once I returned home, I glanced at the simple recipe and got to work. I peeled & chopped all the squash & zucchini, the eggplant, a medium onion and 5 of the tomatoes while the rice was steaming.  Vanessa perfumed some olive oil with garlic and let it cool, and then we poured it over the squash & zucchini, while the grill preheated. I sautéed the garlic & onion in olive oil, then removed the garlic before adding the eggplant, beans and tomatoes. AC grilled the other veggies to perfection while my concoction simmered and the spelt bread baked in the oven.

In addition to our main dish & veggie side (Well, it’s ALL veggies!) we also had some sliced tomatoes and avocado. All I can say is Yum-Yum! AC took one bite and said, “WOW!” Vanessa & Jimbob liked it too, even though there was no meat. And R had 2nds and then some, which was the best compliment of all, as he is an excellent cook!

I ate until I was stuffed. I think we all did except Jimbob, who has the best self-control I have seen. As I was cleaning up afterward, I thought about our meal. Not only was it vegan and fresh, but it was also very alkaline. The best part is that I had no reflux/indigestion/heartburn, which is part of the reason for my current abstinence from meat. I also slept very well because there wasn’t a lot of complex “stuff” for my body to process.

We’re looking forward to seeing how well this dish reheats. If all goes well, I’ll be making some large batches and canning it for the winter!