Another day in Paradise

Wednesday morning was the first time this week I remembered to eat my porridge for breakfast. I ate it the traditional Irish way, topped with a splash of buttermilk. So, now we will see if eating breakfast can nudge me off this plateau and get me losing weight again.

I went home at lunch, but before I did, I stopped at Meijer's for some eggs and more of the steel-cut oatmeal. Somehow they both fell off the grocery list last week.

It was raining when I left work at 5:00 PM, just long enough to screw up my commute. It took me five minutes to get home, instead of the usual three, lol!

After greeting and treating the cats and then changing clothes, I started the Wednesday night laundry. Walking back and forth from the bedroom to downstairs, I decided it was time to do some sweeping. It's less a dirt problem than a Caley cat-hair thing. I swear that cat sheds so much, it's a wonder she ain't bald!

So, I did the office, my bedroom, the hallway, the living room and finally the kitchen. I was careful how I moved because my back, while better, is still a little "twingey." Since I was in the groove, I vacuumed both the downstairs walk-off rugs (each "tagged" with Caley hair) and the tile floor, itself.

I checked the stove, and miracle of miracles, the two burners lit! So, I put away the grill lighter. I guess they just needed some time to dry out after I boiled them. I washed up the pasta pan and strainer from last night. Then I washed down the counter top. I threw the laundry into the dryer, set the timer and filled in the Blog post.

It was almost 7:00 PM and time for dinner. So, I got out my breading station (a present from Lu, if you remember) and set it up with flour, beaten eggs and last, more flour, seasoned with the house seasoning (1/4 cup ground black pepper, 1/4 cup garlic powder and 1/2 cup salt - hey, come on, I shouldn't have to keep reminding you!)

BTW, as much as I like the look and the functionality of my now tile-covered countertop, it sucks if you are using flour for anything. Whether making pasta dough, pizza, biscuits or even the breading station, I am envious of people with flat surfaces for a counter top. I have WAY too many cracks and crevices that let the flour stick and hide! Pain in the butt!

So, I got out my cast iron frying pan, put in about 1/3 inch of canola oil and heated it up. While that was warming, I peeled the eggplant and then cut it into one-inch slices. While the oil got hot, I made my draining station. I took a cookie sheet, covered it with paper towels and put a rack on top.

I fried the eggplant in batches, until the slices were golden brown. Then I drained them on the rack and transferred them to a half sheet tray in the warm oven. Then I ate them with relish!

I was going to try and stay up until 10:00 PM to watch the last episode of Top Chef, but I was beat and let it tape, instead.