Hey, I need some help from all of you knowledgeable foodies ;) Whenever I go to my favorite sushi places they bring out a small dish of eggplant that has been marinated in a sweet-ish sauce as a sort of appetizer (around the time they serve the miso soup). I don't order it, it is just a little free thing. Any idea what it is called? I have a pantry full of asian ingredients and a fresh eggplant and want to make it but google isn't helping with my inept searching.

Thanks bunches.

Tags: japanese
Feelin': hungry

Ashley did this first, and better.

1. Was 2006 a good year for you?
I didn't think it would be, but yes.

2. What was your favorite moment(s) of the year?
White water rafting, camping, New York, hugging Chris again.

3. What was your least favorite moment(s) of the year?
A few weeks in February.

4. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
Lots of them are NSFW. However, teaching a college class ranks up there.

5. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I kept at least one and I haven't decided if I'll make more.

6. Where were you when 2006 began?
At home.

7. Who were you with?
My cats.

8. Where will you be when 2006 ends?
I'm not sure, perhaps the Whig?

9. Who will you be with when 2006 ends?
Hopefully with good friends.

10. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My new friend Rachelle and Josh's sister, Carol.

11. Did you lose anybody close to you in 2006?
Luckily not forever.

12. Who did you miss?
My Dad and Chris.

13. Who was the best new person you met in 2006?
Rachelle or Aleks or Matt or Heather or or or.

14. What was your favorite month of 2006?
June or July.

15. Did you travel outside of the US in 2006?
Nope.

16. How many different states did you travel to in 2006?
10-ish. I don't feel like counting all of the states that showed up in those long drives. The important ones were Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Illinois, Wisconsin. Hmm, that might about cover it. I think Indiana was tossed in by necessity.

17. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
Nothing important is coming to mind. But what I'm buying with my birthday money is a food processor!

18. What date from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 3rd. (I got it out of the way early, there are other specific days but I don't know the dates.)

19. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Teaching my college students.

20. What was your biggest failure?
I'm trying not to think of them as failures.

21. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I have a cold now, just like I did this time last year. Otherwise nothing too bad.

22. What was the best thing you bought?
My car is pretty wonderful and my Calphalon cookware. But probably tanks of gas to go great places.

23. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Headlights merited a cupcake party.

24. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The obvious answer is George W. Bush and I don't mind being obvious.

25. Where did most of your money go?
Those car payments have been pretty serious and unrelenting.

26. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
New friends. Geocaching, camping.

27. Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2006?
Hardly any.

28. Did you do a lot of drugs in 2006?
No.

29. How many people did you sleep with in 2006?
7. What? I said that most of my new experiences were NSFW!

30. Did you treat somebody badly in 2006?
Almost certainly.

31. Did somebody treat you badly in 2006?
Yep.

32. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? meh.
ii. thinner or fatter? fatter
iii. richer or poorer? richer (barely and not if you count student loan debt against me)

33. What do you wish you'd done more of in 2006?
Exercised.

34. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Felt helpless.

35. Did you fall in love in 2006?
Yeah.

36. What was your favorite TV program(s)?
A few weeks ago I discovered Heroes. And I like cooking shows on the Food Network.

37. What song will always remind you of 2006?
Not sure, probably something by the Magnetic Fields. Or the Schneider TM cover of "There Is A Light That Will Never Go Out"

38. How many concerts did you see in 2006?
Only a few but one was in my living room!

39. Did you have a favorite concert in 2006?
I can't choose between Headlights at my house or The Wedding Present in Chapel Hill.

40. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Gosh, nothing is jumping to mind. Sucks.

41. What was the best book you read?
Fuck, I did not read enough that wasn't for school. Thom Gunn's "The Man with Night Sweats" was pretty good.

42. What was your favorite film of this year?
Little Miss Sunshine

43. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
It is today. So far I woke up and filled out a survey, I'll get more productive soon.

44. What did you want and get?
A grade changed.

45. What did you want and not get?
Compared to kids making Nike's in Bangladesh, I'm in pretty good shape.

46. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Living closer to my family.

47. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Not yet pissed on by cats?

48. What kept you sane?
I wish it was just myself. Daddy helped a lot and Josh and Chris alternated between making me sane and insane. Way to take turns, guys!

49. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
If this said "crush" I would ignore it. But I wholeheartedly approve of the word "fancy" (especially when it refers to ketchup. . .). John Stewart can have my babies.

50. What political issue stirred you the most?
I've been sufficiently apathetic.

51. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.
At the risk of sounding like a self-help book. . . I am responsible for making myself happy.

52. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"How fucking romantic."

A guy (First Frat Boy) comes into the computer lab and sits directly behind me. A few minutes after sitting down, he says to no one in particular. "God, I knew it. I knew that guy was gay!" Then, silence. A few minutes later two friends join him. . .

First Frat Boy: "So, I just saw this kid that I went to middle school with on The Facebook. We always knew he was gay. We'd be like 'you're gay'. Look, I just found him. He is gay!"

Second Frat Boy: "Are you friends with him."

First Frat Boy: "No, not really."

Second Frat Boy: "I mean on the Facebook?"

First Frat Boy: "Yeah, I am now."

Second Frat Boy: "You're a faggot. You have gay friends."

First Frat Boy: "Shut up."

Second Frat Boy: "I'm not sleeping on my stomach around you anymore."

Third Frat Boy: "I had a gay uncle"

Second Frat Boy: "Did you disown him?"

(whiney prattling about some Frat party)

First Frat Boy: "God, look at this guy!"

Second Frat Boy: "You're still looking at the gay guy?"

First Frat Boy: "He is so gay looking."

Feelin': nauseated
Listenin': dumb frat boys now talking about a computer game

"Breakfast" this morning:
Liver Flush #2

1 cup freshly made apple juice
juice of two lemons
tsp. grated ginger
pinch of cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp. safflower oil
1 tbsp. olive oil

Sounds pretty nasty, huh? It actually wasn't that bad. I've drank worse on this thing so far. It was unsettling - basically like drinking apple juice with salad dressing mixed in. It coated my throat. But, it didn't taste wretched, I managed to get the whole glass down. I followed the a cup of Herbal Purification Tea which is actually okay. It made me basically not hungry. I think because I just ingested a few hundred calories worth of vegetable oil.

And now it is the time of day when Elyn eats a huge handful of supplements. C, E, Omega-3, Acidophilous, Multi-Vitamin, and now I am enjoying my calcium chewable tabs for dessert. Yum! Today went fine so far. I am not looking forward to the Ionic Coctail I am supposed to drink before my workout tonight - I forgot my E3Live this morning so I guess I will take it with the Ionic Poop Coctail. Wheat Germ oil is foul. Food went okay. I switched my meals around a bit but still stuck to the spirit of the diet.
( what did I eat? you say. . . )
Overall, I did a pretty good job on combining. My portions were completely reasonable and I haven't been hungry. I don't really think that the shrimp and crab are going to introduce too many toxins back into my body. Taking a bath every night is so relaxing, yay!

Last night I was supposed to write an entry about what nurtures me and I didn't do that so I am doing it now. In no particular order:

Chris
Cuddling with kitties
Reading good books
Sleeping in
Nice aromatherapy baths
Massages
Sex
Nourishing foods
Love

Feelin': happy

Well, things are going well. Except this morning I added to much cayenne pepper to my hot lemon flush and it was basically undrinkable. I managed to get through about 1/3 of it before I thought I was going to be sick. I am eating my apple breakfast right now. I like showering with all of these natural soaps and things. But, I cheated a bit today by using nail polish remover - probably the most toxic thing out there. Oh well. I also drank my E3Live blue-green algae stuff. That shit is disgusting but I don't mind it mixed in with apple juice. It is also the most perfect food in the world. If I ever do a juice fast I will be drinking it like crazy.

I don't feel less toxic yet. But the food is simple and filling. I am also gaining lots of energy. Surprisingly I haven't been having many cravings that aren't satisfied by a glass of soy milk. I rock.

So, I went to my detox workshop this morning and it was really interesting. The yogi was really nice and relatively normal. I definitely plan to go back there for yoga classes sometime soon. I need to go shopping for this week's produce this afternoon and then hopefully do some laundry. I feel quite good, though.

So, I'm trying to figure out what to write my Kenneth Burke paper on.  I want to use music in some way so I think I am going to look at his music reviews in The Nation between 1933 and 1936 and compare them to Permanence and Change.  There is a critical article that makes a similar move with Counter Statement and the earlier reviews in The Dial.  So, I should be able to pull it off.

In other news, North by Northwest is a really long movie and I have to wait for it to be over before I can go home.  My students are watching it right now while I sit in the computer lab being productive/lazy. 

I will be glad when the semester is over but I have so much work to do before it ends.  The more I need to get done, the more I seem to procrastinate. 

( shit I have to get done. . . plan of action! )

Phew, I am really looking forward to starting my detox.  I have collected all of the supplies and will get going with it on Saturday.  I made a pot of the tea that I have to drink the entire time and it is delicious! Peppermint and sage with other things that don't have much flavor but are good for me (good deal!).  I have a new set of toiletries so I won't be putting any icky chemicals back into my body that way.  I expect this to go quite well.

You Are 31 Years Old

31 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

You scored as Buddhism. Your beliefs most closely resemble those of Buddhism. Do more research on Buddhism and possibly consider becoming Buddhist, if you are not already. In Buddhism, there are Four Noble Truths: (1) Life is suffering. (2) All suffering is caused by ignorance of the nature of reality and the craving, attachment, and grasping that result from such ignorance. (3) Suffering can be ended by overcoming ignorance and attachment. (4) The path to the suppression of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right-mindedness, and right contemplation. These eight are usually divided into three categories that base the Buddhist faith: morality, wisdom, and samadhi, or concentration. In Buddhism, there is no hierarchy, nor caste system; the Buddha taught that one's spiritual worth is not based on birth. </td> Buddhism 88% agnosticism 75% Paganism 67% Satanism 58% Hinduism 50% Judaism 42% Islam 42% atheism 38% Christianity 29% Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com