Eggplant Parmesan

By Lori Powell

I was surprised to find out the other day that chicken Parmesan is an Italian-American invention. I’m just scraping the surface on what the story behind this dish might be….

Most likely it was a hybrid or a version of a dish related to a veal cutlet that was breaded and deep-fried but was not served with sauce or with cheese from Parma, Italy. The American version might have evolved due to the expense of veal, creating chicken Parmesan, but using mozzarella rather than Parmesan. Still confused? So am I, but I didn’t invent it. It does kind of make sense…yes?

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Going Meatless with Eggplant Parm Stacks

By Lori Powell

Now that we know that we should eat more veggies (although I think we all knew this already), I thought, why not go for a meatless meal?

Eggplant Parmesan seemed like a wise choice, given all the eggplant I have on hand. A big plus when you’re cooking for one is, you can buy a small eggplant so it’s easy to prepare a single serving.

Eggplant, in all of its glory, is out and about in the market in all colors – dark purple, light purple, white, and light purple striped with white. And all sizes – from small rounds, skinny long, short ovals to egg- shaped. They are an international vegetable and hail from not just Italy, but Africa, China, India, Thailand, Turkey the Ukraine, as well as closer to home in such places as Louisiana (Louisiana Long Green).

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A Meatless Meal your Kids will Love

By Andrew Hunter

Whether you eat meat or not, there’s one thing some of us agree on … that we could eat less of it. I first heard of Meatless Monday from my friend Tal Ronnen, who Oprah touts as the best vegan chef in the world. Tal, who used to eat meat, would like to revolutionize the way the world experiences meatless food with his book, The Conscious Cook. He’s not a proponent of eliminating meat from our diets, just eating less, less often.

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