“It’s snowing…?”

Today is Mother’s Day, the second Sunday in May, and yet yesterday, it snowed on and off all day. When I spoke with my father about it on the phone, he said, “Maybe Mother Nature has the corona virus, and it’s affected her seasons.”

As we are all too aware, the pandemic has definitely affected our lives over the past many months, and I know that one of the ways I have been impacted is that for the first time in a long time, I find myself tired of trying to come up with dinner plans each and every day. With the virus impacting my ability to shop for groceries, our menus have been more limited, and thus has become rather boring.

However, since this is Mother’s Day weekend, the family decided to rise to the occasion. One of my daughters and my son made chocolate covered strawberries, and I decided I really wanted something summery since the weather was not cooperating on that front. Fortunately, I was able to get some eggplant and a variety pack of heirloom tomatoes. Using fresh basil and a vegan parmesan, I created a layered entree which was quite tasty and well worth the work.

I share it with you in case, you too, are looking for inspiration to liven up meal-time during the pandemic.

Layered Eggplant and Tomatoes

Ingredients: Amounts will depend on how much you are making and the size pan you are using.

eggplant

olive oil

oregano

basil

salt

pepper

pear tomatoes

grape tomatoes

cherry tomatoes

fresh basil leaves

minced garlic

vegan parmesan

Cooking Instructions:

1. Slice washed and dried eggplant into 1/4 circles.
2. Lay out eggplant circles on a large pan.
3. Brush both sides of the eggplant circles with olive oil and sprinkle each side with oregano, basil, salt and pepper.
4. Either grill or broil the eggplant a couple of minutes on both sides until browned.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
6. In an oven safe dish, lay out cooked eggplant circles to cover the bottom.
7. Slice tomatoes into halves and layer on top of the eggplant.
8. Slice the fresh basil leaves and sprinkle on top of the tomatoes.
9. Sprinkle minced garlic on top of the basil.
10. Sprinkle the vegan parmesan on top of the basil.
11. Repeat layers until you reach the top of your dish.
12. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
13. Enjoy!