Pass the veggies.

I was a little worried about how the kids would react to me becoming a vegetarian—especially Hawthorne who thinks that bacon is one of life's greatest pleasures. They've been great sports about it though. Of course, Hawthorne still gets to eat bacon, but we usually have vegetarian dinners that are a little more creative than our meals used to be. Tonight we had eggplant sandwiches. They were super yummy. The kids gobbled them up and went back for more. Ainsley took a picture of Carter's sandwich because he had the most left when it dawned on me to take a picture for our blog.

Here's the recipe in case you want to try it too.
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Eggplant Sandwich

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 medium eggplant cut into eight 1/2-inch rounds
1/2 cup canola oil, split
Kosher salt
lettuce
2 medium tomatoes sliced
4 ounces goat cheese crumbled or sliced
vinaigrette dressing

Place the flour, eggs, and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Dip the eggplant slices in the flour, then the eggs, then the breadcrumbs, pressing gently to help them stick.

Heat 1/4 cup of oil over medium-high heat. Cook half the eggplant until golden brown and crisp, 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate. Wipe out the skillet and repeat with the remaining oil and eggplant. Sprinkle hot eggplant with 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Layer the eggplant, lettuce, tomatoes, goat cheese, and dressing to form sandwiches with the eggplant as the bread. Enjoy!
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The kids also really liked the eggplant dipped in ketchup, of course. Anything fried and dipped in ketchup is seriously good stuff.

You know what's not good stuff? All the dead and dying animals that Lucy keeps bringing in the house. We were home all day Saturday, so she brought us lots of presents. I think the final count was 1 snake, 2 moles, 4 lizards, 1 baby frog, and various yucky bugs. I appreciated having Carter and Hawthorne around to save me from having to round up and get rid of everything. I'll rise to the occasion when necessary, but I prefer it not being necessary.

Lucy's need for new stimulation is scaring me. Today she crossed the street. When Carter and I both went running out of the house after her, I think she realized what she had done wasn't a good idea. We got a little help from a very noisy scooter to reinforce the fear of the street lesson. Oh that cat! Here she is at the top of the trellis that is supposed to hide the neighbor's garage from sight. I think I'm going to have to get her a battery powered mouse to keep her entertained in the winter. Otherwise, who knows what she'll do in search of her next adrenaline rush!