2013 - Year of the Veggie!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL FROM YURTGIRL WORLD! New Year's Eve passed us by quietly here at The Yurt. Actually so quietly I admit to sleeping through the whole thing!! Somewhat of a shame, as we apparently had an ideal view of the local fireworks display a little way along the bay from the window in Michelle's studio. Ah well, sleep was probably best given that this poor YurtGirl has been ailing for the past 2 weeks. I'm finally on the mend, but not before losing my voice... (although there are some who might think that not such a bad thing!).

The first day of 2013 was spent clearing the way for bigger and better things at The Yurt. My study (which until recently was in danger of becoming some sort of biohazard zone) is slowly taking shape into the chocolate & turquoise den of my dreams. There is still much clearing to do, but it's getting there. Miss Yurtette's room is also receiving a makeover and she's eagerly awaiting the arrival of her 'big girl' desk as well as the promise of sugar pink walls.

As for the garden... Unfortunately with the weather heating up (42 degrees celcius this coming Friday!), there isn't a lot that can be done during the day. So the gardening work is being restricted to early weekend mornings, and evenings. Luckily though I was able to get 2 olive trees and a St Dominque Violette fig in before the hot weather took hold. They've all transplanted well, and hopefully this time next year we're able to get a bit more shade out of them! The plans to revamp the expanse of couch is slowly taking shape, and come the next few weeks the marking out of paths and preparation/tilling of beds will start taking place. There will be plenty of photos and documenting.

Apart from getting the garden up and running properly, there are no real concrete 'resolutions' here at YurtGirl World. However there is going to be a concentrated effort to eat more of that non-meat stuff - otherwise known as fruit and veg. To kick things off, I whipped up some Stuffed Eggplants for dinner tonight. And to wash it down, the left over bubbles from last night... I've been told that they way you spend the first day of the year, sets you up for the year ahead. If that's true, then there is an amazing year ahead of new beginnings and moving forward.

Oh... and lots of veggies!

STUFFED EGGPLANT

2 x large eggplants
1 x onion, finely diced
1 x clove garlic, minced
1 x can tomatoes
1 teaspoon Morroccan spice mix
1 teaspoon dried oregano
125g mozzarella
Generous pinch sea salt and pepper
2 tablespoons Olive Oil

METHOD: Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Halve the eggplants, and score the flesh in a criss-cross pattern without cutting through skin. Heat olive oil in large fryingpan over med-high heat, and place the eggplant halves, 2 at a time, in the pan. Fry 2-3 minutes each side, then set aside for a few minutes to cool. Scoop the flesh out, leaving approx 5mm in the skins, and chop up finely. Fry the onion for 2-3 minutes to soften, add the garlic and sizzle for 30 seconds. Add the spice and oregano, then the tomatoes and eggplant. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring every now and then. Place eggplant skins in an ovenproof dish. Fill the eggplant skins with the stuffing, and sprinkle with mozzarella. Place in the oven for 5-8 minutes until cheese has melted.