A Delicious Accident

If there's one thing I've learned about relationships over the last six and a half years and marriage over the last year and a half (wow! already?!), it's that communication is key. And I think Terry and I have become pretty great about communicating with each other.

In this picture I'm saying, "Please don't do anything weird or embarrassing right now." (He didn't. Because he is a gentleman and a scholar.)

Tonight, however, presented a delicious (and hilarious) exception.

See, this week, I challenged Terry to create our menu. He was responsible for deciding on lunches and dinners from Friday through Friday. He never fails to impress me with his creativity; we ended up making several new recipes this week, including homemade gnocchi.

Tonight, the menu included zucchini ribbons and goat cheese marinara with eggplant. I took that to mean roasted eggplant slices topped with zucchini ribbons and goat cheese marinara. When Terry came into the kitchen as I assembled our plates, however, he looked around with a confused expression and said, "Did you make the almond pesto?"

What the what?!

Turns out, Terry's menu called for goat cheese marinara veggie pasta (with actual pasta) and zucchini-almond pesto salad on the side.

Oops.

Terry laughed off my mistake like a champ while I moped about messing up dinner. Apparently our communication skills still need some work, huh?

Turns out, however, that my mistake resulted in a delicious accident.

And a super simple recipe!

Roasted Eggplant with Goat Cheese Marinara and Zucchini Ribbons
Serves 2

• 1 large eggplant, sliced 3/4-inch think
• 4 small zucchini
• 1 cup of your favorite marinara sauce
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 1/4 cup red wine (optional)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• Parmesan for garnish

Heat over to 425 degrees. Lightly oil the eggplant, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for approximately 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the marinara sauce and wine in a saucepan. Once boiling, stir in the goat cheese and reduce heat to medium-low.

Finally, use a Y-peeler to create your zucchini ribbons. I have absolutely no tips for doing it; my process was extremely awkward and uncomfortable, though generally successful. You'll figure it out. 

To assemble, place the eggplant slice(s) on a plate, then pile on the zucchini ribbons (a generous handful), and top with the marinara sauce. Garnish with Parmesan and serve hot!

*Note: The zucchini ribbons aren't cooked, and you can barely taste them. Perhaps you can encourage a zicchini-phobe to enjoy this meal! Also, this meal can of course be served with pasta instead of or in addition to the eggplant. Be creative--just use whole wheat!

In other news, we didn't wake up this morning for a workout. I take full responsibility for snoozing about eight times before finally telling Terry we should just change our alarms to 5:30 instead of waking up every three minutes. But we did squeeze in a terrific workout this afternoon: My Sure-to-Get-You-Shaky Leg Workout from last month. Damn, that's a doozy! We also tacked on a 20-minute HIIT on the treadmill: 30 seconds HARD, 60 seconds easy; 10 rounds, plus a cool down. We are certainly going to be sore tomorrow!

Here's the leg workout:

I used 10-pound dumbbells for the first four exercises for the first two sets, then increased to 15 pounds for the pendulum lunges, wide leg squats, and good mornings on the third set. 

And finally, some terrific blog posts from some of my favorite bloggers:

• Fire up your weights routine (The Fitnessista)
• 55 Minute Treadmill Incline Walk/Run Workout (Peanut Butter Fingers) (<-- might try this one tomorrow)
• Veg-Filled Sloppy Joe's: A Man and Kid Approved Recipe (Tina Reale)

Happy Friday to you!!!