30 min. meal makeover

We see it on the Food Network, it has made Rachel Ray a household name, and it invites busy people to believe that we really can do it all.  The 30 minute meal has become as American as sliced cheese singles. When I think of American food the first thing that comes to mind is convenient. We have created a food culture for ourselves, one that caters to our education, careers, and raising families. We have been force fed the idea that cooking from scratch is an ancient tradition and that homemade is something only our grandmother's generation had time to do. I decided to challenge that theory and dissect a "30 minute meal" recipe, localize the ingredients, and prove that a single girl with two demanding jobs, two dogs, and high rent, really can do it all... from scratch!

This is the recipe that inspired the challenge...

• 1 small eggplant (about 10 to 12 ounces), cut in 8 slices
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 cup seasoned fine dry bread crumbs
• 1 cup instant brown rice
• Sliced green onion (optional)
• 1 15-oz. can navy or Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 26-oz. jar roasted garlic pasta sauce
• Crumbled Feta Cheese (optional)

Eggplant has been calling my name at the market. I don't usually cook with eggplant but when I see something new at the market my mind instantly wonders into Alice in recipe land. I recalled seeing this eggplant recipe on my Yahoo home page (30 min. meals sponsored by Walmart) and decided it was the perfect recipe for my slow it down challenge.  The first amendment I made to this recipe was ditching the instant brown rice. Just start your rice first. It takes 45 minutes but by the time you are actually ready to eat, you will have fluffy, steaming, whole grain brown rice (stove top is totally fine, no need for a rice cooker). Bulk brown rice is super cheap and always available. Next, I replaced the canned beans ($1.59 for littler over a cup) with bulk white kidney beans ($1.79 for a whole pound). I soaked the beans over night (at midnight when I got home from working a double shift at my restaurant job, it took 2 seconds), and started cooking them at the same time as I stated the brown rice. I had garlic,onion and two tomatoes on hand so I used them to make a quick chunky tomato sauce, I added a splash of the red wine I was drinking for a little extra flavor! I had made bread a few days prior so a quick trip to the blender with the leftovers plus a pinch of garlic salt made for some pretty awesome fresh bread crumbs. I mixed in a handfull of corn meal which added to the texture of the breading for the eggplant. My medium sized, local, organic eggplant cost $1.50 at my local farmers market. I priced out eggplant at Whole Foods,  one small conventionally grown (from California, region was not specified) eggplant cost me $2.06.

Already, I have saved money and have tons of leftovers! The meal was fresh, local,delicious and only took 15 minutes longer to prepare than the American home cooked time limit of 30 minuets. It would have been so mediocre had I followed the suggested recipe. I fed three of my friends with my version of the recipe plus I made a cold white bean salad with the left over beans. I had leftover brown rice for two days and had this perfect leftover breaded eggplant and sauteed pepper salad for dinner the next night! The sauce drizzled over the top is my new favorite salad dressing, my homemade yogurt mixed with curry powder, that's it!

Slow food, homemade, from scratch, equals flavor galore and leftovers for days! A little extra prep goes a long way. If I can find the extra 15 minutes, so can you :)
Happy slow cooking!