Eggplant Quinoa Lasagna and Chicago Travels

I'd like to think I'm a smart person.

I get good grades (most of the time), I have common sense (some of the time), and I make good decisions (.....).

But yesterday morning, my common sense was a bit off due to the fact that I got approximately 4 hours of sleep (my flight was at 7:35 AM so we had to leave at 6:15). Still, I woke up so excited, because I was gonna fly to Chicago for a girls' weekend with my cousins (#cgw [Caligiuri Girls' Weekend])!!

Anyway, we left at around 6:35 because that's Arab time for 6:15, and arrived about 15 minutes later. I had already checked in online, so I went through security and looked for the gate on the TV screen. I couldn't find it. I checked my boarding pass and realized....I was in the wrong terminal. For some reason, I thought I was flying Continental, mainly because the stupid United logo is the exact same as the Continental logo, (why I looked at the logo and not the name of the airline, I do not know). They merged, but for some reason they decided to keep being separate, and for another strange reason, Logan decided to have them be in different terminals -____-

I asked a security employee what I should do, and he gave me directions for Terminal C (I was in A). I ran like the wind (jk my bags were too heavy. I walked.) and arrived to a new, longer security line. I was freaking out that I was gonna miss my flight. I exchanged conversation with probably the most pleasant airport employee I've ever met, which was nice, and then actually ran like the wind to my gate. I barely made it, thank God. But we ended up waiting on the runway for like half an hour, lol. I felt like such a flying noob when I arrived and was hitting everyone with my bag. The flight attendants kept saying "Is this your first time flying, sweetie?" and I was forced to smile sweetly back and then say "no."

Okay that's enough about my lack of common sense. Time for food.

Every week I make lunch or dinner with my friend Codi, so this week we decided to make Eggplant Quinoa lasagna, inspired by Peas and Thank You. The original recipe calls for Zucchini, but Codi and I are both eggplant fiends, so we decided to replace it. (btw I'm watching TV right now and I find it really funny that the Magnum ice cream company's slogan is "Magnum. For pleasure seekers."). I attempted to slice the eggplant and cut my finger in the process, so my housemate, an expert chef, had to take over for me. We smoked some delicious hookah while waiting (coconut flavor--Leavitt and Peirce in Harvard Square was having a huge sale so I stocked up) until it was ready. And man, was it good. So, here's the recipe. My Auntie Rada made it for me when I was in Dubai over Winter break and it was the most amazing thing. Ever. Love you! Kick Nadia and Amino for me.

"I guess it's more like lasagna casserole. It doesn't really actually looks like lasagna...most of the time." -yours truly

Eggplant Quinoa Lasagna

inspired by Auntie Rada and Peas and Thank You

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant, cut into thin slices
• salt
• 1 c red quinoa
• 2 c vegetable broth
• 1/2 c tomato sauce
• 1/4 c minced onion
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 c fresh basil, chopped
• 1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 jar marinara sauce
• cheese (optional)

Note: Weshop was out of fresh herbs so we just subbed with dried. I tend to use a 1:2 ratio (dried:fresh).

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. To prepare eggplant, cut of a strip off of one side to make a flat base. Then, thinly slice eggplant into 'noodles.' DO NOT CUT YOURSELF. This is important. Really.
3. Place noodles in a colander and sprinkle with salt, layering between paper towels.
4. Let this sit and absorb moisture while preparing the quinoa.
5. Combine quinoa, broth, tomato sauce, onion, and oregano in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
6. Cover and lower heat, simmering for 20 minutes.
7. When quinoa has absorbed all the liquid, fold in herbs.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Pour enough of the marinara sauce in the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish to cover the bottom.
10. Using a dry towel, blot remaining moisture from eggplant and layer enough noodles to cover the next layer over the marinara.
11. Repeat with another layer of quinoa, sauce, and eggplant.
12. Top the final layer of eggplant with remaining sauce and cheese, if using.
13. Bake 35-40 minutes, let cool for 5 minutes.

Seriously, this thing is delicious (all of the time). Make it. Now. It's gluten-free, vegan (if not using cheese, which we didn't), and..delicious. I said that already. The eggplant replaces the lasagna noodles, and the quinoa replaces the meat, but feel free to mix the eggplant with regular noodles.

Anyway, back to the Windy City. Chicago has been awesome. Seeing my cousins has been wonderful, and I was able to see a dear friend of mine who I hadn't seen since May. She took me Intelligentsia yesterday, which was delicious.

"How do they do that?????" -most people, I would think

She took me to Wicker Park today and I got an awesome '50s style dress at Buffalo Exchange. White, classic. Gram would've loved it. We went to a great coffee shop, too, but more on that in the next post.

Anyway, I should get to bed. I'm exhausted and my nails just dried so I can actually go to bed without ruining them (hopefully). Sleeping on the couch is awesome cause then you can watch TV and fall asleep (which I would be able to do if I hadn't forgotten my glasses at school -_____- ).

Song of the Day-- The Phantom (1930 Version) by Parov Stelar. A very catchy song, fun to blast with the sunroof open and windows down.

Recovery Quote of the Day-- I've been looking for a quote like this for a while. I always see "When Did This Become Hotter than This??" with pictures of people like Keira Knightley on top and Marilyn Monroe on the bottom and get really aggravated. Reasoning below.

"Just because you call a woman beautiful who isn't stick thin doesn't mean you're promoting body acceptance. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: We won't resolve our body image issues by creating a battle between size 12 and size zero, or judging someone's health by rudimentary and outdated measures."

K now I should really go--my contacts are so dry. It's really uncomfortable.

-Carina