Eggplant Parmesan Casserole with Goat Cheese

After spending fourteen years of my life working forty to fifty hours a week it is so weird to not be working. At the moment I’m on disability recovering from back surgery.

My boyfriend says I’m like a hyper chipmunk most days, I have so much energy and am just running from one task to the other;

Am I doing laundry?

Am I making salad dressing?

Is it time to blog?

Oh! Farmers market!

Not having a job to go to five days a week is a weird thing to get used to. It’s awesome and I don’t know sometimes how I fill my days and never, ever get bored. It makes me think, how did I ever have a life when I worked that much?

The simple answer to that question is I slept for six hours a night for fourteen years. That gave me two extra hours a day to go for runs, work on my blog, and cook all my home made food for the week.

This morning I got up at seven, drank some coffee, did laundry than made two different salad dressings. Once that mess was cleaned up I took Carly for a two mile walk up Polique Canyon Road than decided to really mess with her little doggy mind and take her to our local farmers market.

This went over remarkably well. Carly has never been in a bustling people filled situation like that before. She was scared at one point when I reached down to pet her but she was very well behaved the whole time; even with all the other locals there with their dogs. She got warning growls from two different little rat dogs and Carly did nothing. She was very well behaved.

One of the things I was looking for at today’s farmers market was eggplant. I left there, my wallet fifty dollars lighter, my reusable bag full of apricot goat cheese, local lavender honey, chili peanuts, dolmas and a ridicules amount of fresh berries. But I completely forgot the eggplant.

My boyfriend and I were just discussing the other day how much we love eggplant and yet neither of us ever cooked eggplant for each other so when I went to the market the other day he asked me to buy six eggplant I told him I think that may be to many eggplants

Or we are on the eggplant diet.

 Eggplant Parmesan Casserole with Goat Cheese

2 eggplants, peeled and sliced thin

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup pecorino romano cheese

1 tsp olive oil

6 leaves basil

6 leaves oregano

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

1 cup bottled red pasta sauce (I use Trader Joe’s Creamy Tomato Basil)

1/2 cup goat cheese

2 eggs

balsamic glaze

Liberally coat the slices of eggplant with salt. Let the slices sit out for at least thirty minutes until they are wet and sweaty.

Wipe off the excess salt.

In a food processor combine the pecorino romano cheese, the basil and the oregano.

Beat the eggs. With a pastry brush, brush egg on both sides of egg plant slice. Dredge each side in the pecorino cheese mixture and fry in the olive oil.

When the slices are fried just until brown, place in a baking dish.

Preheat the oven to 375.

On top of the eggplant layer the pasta sauce, the dollops of goat cheese and than the mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 375 for twenty minutes.

Serve with a drizzle of the balsamic glaze.