Day 51: Bad recipe. . . & a good one

Workouts. . .
15 minutes yoga; 2 mile run @ 10 mph, 10 minutes stretching & abs, 10 minutes weights (arms)

I didn’t get started on my fabulous dinner ideas until far, far too late to execute them properly. Sadly for everyone. The soup turned out great, actually, but I had this idea for spicy fried eggplant that didn’t fare so well. I didn’t realize how much oil eggplant could soak up, and so midway through I felt a little scared of what I was making. I added crushed garlic and mild pepper flakes to the oil, then added half the cubes from a small eggplant, dredged in flour. In about two seconds, all of the oil was gone, and I still had all the other sides of the eggplant with flour hanging off of it. So I turned the heat up to high and it cooked much faster, but still I was a little sketchy on how it would taste. Freaking out, I started thinking of what else I could make. I ended up boiling half a box of penne, and adding mushrooms, chives and 1/2 c. of farmer’s cheese with pasta water to make a sort-of impromptu sauce. It was decent, really, but I wouldn’t make it again. Anyhoo, here’s the soup recipe. Lots of protein in this little guy, which was pretty good served with crostini.

Cannelini Bean Soup
1 T olive oil
1 onion or 2 shallots, minced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 c. vegetable broth
2 cans cannelini beans, drained & rinsed
2 tsp mixed Italian herbs
1 c. milk (I used 1%)

Heat olive oil in a 4 quart pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic, and sauté until translucent. Add broth and then beans and herbs. Cook 20-30 minutes, just enough to meld the flavors. Transfer to a blender in two parts, adding half of the milk to each cycle. Puree until smooth. Season with salt & pepper to taste and serve. Makes four large bowls.

What I ate today. . .
4:30 a.m. - Sandwich with homemade wheat bread, 2 slices of meatless turkey & mayo & 1/2 c. lettuce & a banana
7 a.m. - 3/4 of an iced double tall raspberry white mocha
9:15 a.m. -triple grande 3p white mocha, 2p cinnamon dolce & a Clementine
12 noon – taco with meatless burger-bean mix, salsa & RF sour cream; one of my pre-mixed salads with 1 T Dorothy Lynch
6:15 p.m. – 2 c. cannelini bean soup, slice of Italian bread, cup eggplant pasta
7:30 p.m. – mint tea