Mind Over Matter

What’s goin on dear readers! I hope everyone is having a good winter, it’s almost Christmas time. I really enjoy this time of year. Here in NYC, the weather is not terrible yet, it’s relatively warm still for this season. We did have some snow flurries the other day but hopefully soon we get some more snow. I think December would be incomplete without at least a little snow! Sorry if you are feelin’ the opposite haha. I will also share my Christmas cookies with you soon.

Ingredients: Eggplant obviously, olive oil, garlic, tomato, tomato paste, red onion and a can of diced fire roasted red peppers, tomato paste (not shown). I will add the seasoning list down below at the very end of the blog post.

Step One: Make sure you prep all the veggies ahead of cooking. Start with adding olive oil to the heavy bottom pot, with medium low heat. Once oil is hot, add in the chopped red onion. Let it cook for 3 – 5 mins while stirring occasionally. Then add the garlic and cook for 3 mins longer.

Step Two: Add in the chopped tomato, I kept mine relatively medium sized chunks. Tomato has a decent amount of water content, so you don’t want it to turn to mush, it’s better to keep the chopped size medium/large. Cook for another 8 – 10 mins. Season with salt. Add in the tomato paste now and combine everything together.

Step Three: Add in the chopped eggplant. Cook for 5 mins with the lid on, then add in all of the seasonings. Lastly add the canned fire roasted peppers. Let it cook now for about 15 minutes with the lid on!

Step Four: Add in some water and even better if you have veggie stock. Continue cooking on medium-low for 10 mins. Stir once or twice within this time frame. Then you are ready to serve!

I served mine with sausage and a side of potatoes. I also served up some (home-grown) roasted bell peppers. And let me tell you, ooohh was it all so tasty!! This spiced cinnamon eggplant stew is definitely one of my new favs!

Prep: 5 mins Cook: 50 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 TBSP Olive Oil
• 2 medium Eggplants (chopped)
• 1 TBSP Garlic (diced)
• 1 large Red Onion (diced)
• 1 large Tomato (chopped)
• 1 TSP Tomato Paste
• 1/2 – 1 TBSP Brown Sugar
• 4 – 5 Allspice Berries
• 1 can Fire Roasted Red Pepper
• 1 – 2 cups water or veggie stock
• 1 – 2 TBSP Mix Blend Seasonings (paprika, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, black pepper)
• Salt (as needed)