A Few Experiments

Most of the time my experiments bomb.  I'm pretty much the queen of Pinterest flops.  Lately, however, I've been winning in the experiment department.  Here's some of my successes...

First off, Eggplant pizza...

Last week we got eggplant in our produce share and I decided to venture away from my typical eggplant parm fallback and tried this out instead.  Boy am I glad I did because it was GOOD!  I posted the photo on facebook and got lots of requests for the recipe.  Here's what I said on there...

I just sliced it, about 3/4 in slices I think, salted it and let it "weep" for about half an hour before wiping the salt off and throwing it in a 400 degree oven for 20 min or so. Then, I topped It with a little marinara and a sprinkle of cheeses and broiled til bubbly, probably about 3 min or so. I couldn't believe how yummy it was.

It will definitely be my new go-to eggplant dish.  A friend even had the idea to put in on some fresh baked bread with some basil.  That sounds heavenly!  Maybe I'll try gluten free bread to take it up a notch;-)  

I tear out ideas from magazines all the time.  Every once in a while, usually a long while, I finally try one of them out.  :)  One of the recent ones was regrowing celery.  I was a bit leery at first, especially as my husband laughed at the stub of celery root sitting in water, but we've both become believers as this little nub is finally taking off...

....pretty cool, huh?  The next part of the experiment is transferring it to soil.  Keep your fingers crossed that it works.  You better believe I'm trying it with romaine and another hunk of celery now that I've seen that it just might work.  Next up, green onions and garlic :-)

I also did a little experimenting this morning with some gluten free flour I impulsively bought over the weekend after reading more and more about the downfalls of gluten... 

I was a bit nervous when I tasted the uncooked dough and it was HORRIBLY bitter (probably because it has some garbanzo bean flour in it) but I was pleasantly surprised with the finished product and so were the boys :-)  

Maybe this will be the secret to keeping me from eating too much raw cookie dough while making cookies??!!  This could actually be a fabulous thing.  In case you're wondering, I used this recipe and subbed coconut oil for the butter, gluten free flour for the flour.  I also added 2 cups of rolled oats and 1/2 cup of ground flaxseed along with a big spoonful of peanut butter to the dough before adding the chocolate chips at the end.  

Apparently the boys have been interested in trying out some of their own experiments as well.... 

....the literally spent hours playing with these test tubes that used to hold bubbles.  Pouring, refilling, making them burp under water, etc.  Who needs a water table when you have a pool and gadgets like this?? 

Yesterday morning, I experimented with enjoying my coffee from Starbucks at a table rather than in the car before picking up the boys from their play group...

That last errand could wait, right??   My 15 minute experiment was a definite success as I left there a new, refreshed mama.  It's amazing what 15 minutes alone AND not checking off a to-do item can do for the soul.