Vegan Fried Eggplant

 I love fried eggplant. It's hearty and meaty, and it makes one heck of a burger. But I don't like making it with eggs. 

This batter is light and crispy without that heavy, eggy, soggy texture. 

I cut these guys into strips because they will be going into sushi rolls tonight. Normally the eggplant is sliced into rounds, battered, fried and topped with cheese and sauce, or served in a sandwich. You might find that you want to try serving these in some other manner. Go for it.

Eggplant is the meat-loving vegan's best friend. It happily takes the place of a variety of meats in many different dishes. 

To choose a ripe, not-over-ripe eggplant, look for a smooth, dark skin and firm, slightly spongy flesh. 



Ingredients:

1 large, ripe eggplant

Flour of your choice, approximately 2 cups

Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper, or other seasoning of your choice

1/4 cup water per 1tbs flax meal, adjust as needed

 A large amount of cooking oil for frying. I used coconut.


Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Do not allow oil to smoke.  

Wash and slice eggplant. Set aside. 

Stir together flour and seasoning in a shallow dish. Start with one cup flour. Season to taste. 

In a small bowl, combine water and flax meal. Let sit for a few minutes. It will thicken. Add enough to make 2-3 inches. If you find it is too thick, add more water. If it's too thin, add more flax. It will continue to thicken while you cook, Add more water as needed.
The thicker the flax mixture, the heavier the batter. Adjust to your taste. 

Dredge eggplant in flax mixture, followed by flour mixture. 

Fry in oil till lightly golden brown. Turn and fry on other side. 

It's messy, but it's worth it.

Remove to a cooling rack on a baking sheet. 

Yummy. 

These sticks are great for kids to dip into ketchup or ranch dressing. 

1 medium-large eggplant made 2 of the trays shown above. 

Mid-year Homeschool Update

At the beginning of this year, I laid out our plans. We changed almost everything. At least, that's what I thought. I was wrong. 

We have now scrapped most of that. We are on to better and different things and we are SO HAPPY. 

Here's a brief list of what we started with and where we are now. 

Grammar: First Language Lessons is on hold for the 7yo and scrapped entirely for the 11yo. Aries will pick up FLL2 next year (maybe. We may be outgrowing it), Sagittarius starts KISS Grammar  this week.

Imitation in Writing was a big fail. Too rigid, too critical, too demanding, no fun. Sagg chose to do Write This Book instead. He read the full Pseudonymous Bosch series and wanted to finish with this. It turned out to be an excellent experience for him. He enjoyed it, and no longer HATES writing. Two similar resources we will use are Writing Strands and NaNoWriMo Kids workbook. But not till next year. 

Sagg is loving Life Of Fred for math. He does still enjoy Khan Academy, but we have found CK12 Braingenie is a better resource for focused skills practice.
Aries enjoyed LOF Apples, but we set it aside to work on Funnix Math. He will return to Fred after he completes Funnix.

Funnix offers free downloads of their Phonics, reading and math programs in December. I downloaded it on a whim. Aries needed a little extra skills practice, and while Explode the Code was OK, he wasn't loving it.  He LOVES Funnix. LOVES like he has never enjoyed school before. 

We changed out our reading list from Ambleside Online to Mensa For Kids. Shorter, but more modern, more fun, still high quality.

History is still Story of the World. Always and forever. 

We are using Countdown to Logic and loving it. Fun, challenging, but easy enough for my 7yo to join in. 

English From the Roots Up is going well. It's a little fun bonus that Sagg does once a week. 

The biggest change this year is in our schedule. After talking with friends over the summer, I set aside our long-lived rotating schedule (history on Tuesday, Science on Wednesday, etc). We switched to a block schedule. History for a month. Science for a month. Art/music/poetry/creative writing for a month. I LOVE this change. We cover more material, dive deeper, and immerse ourselves in the subject fully until it's finished. 

This month, we are learning Japanese using Mango, free from the library. Aries asked to learn Japanese so that he can watch anime without translation. yesterday was our second lesson. This morning he greeted me with "Ii denki desu, ne?" I think it's working. 

In addition to continuing all of the above, I am adding some new elements. 

Charlotte Mason style composer, artist, and poet studies, and Nature Journals.

A Writer's Workshop  

Little 4 yo Gemini is teaching himself to write his letters. We started Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading yesterday. I hadn't planned to start this early, but he is asking and asking and asking and asking for it, so why not. 

The major shift this year has been away from scripted, prepared lessons toward more free-flowing, spirited, DIY type of lessons. In my earlier post, I asked, "Where is the love?"

It's here. We found it. 











  

Loose Parts Playground

A hose reel, assorted bricks and stones, a stick, and wire mesh shelving. Black smith shop.

Not long ago, I started seeing mention of Loose Parts Playgrounds.  As I read the descriptions of giant blocks, boards and spools, it occurred to me that we have many of those elements in our own back yard. I have since made an effort to have them more accessible to my children. We will continue to add pieces as we come across them.

Everyone loves a cardboard box.

The concept behind a loose parts playground is simple. Instead of, or alongside, traditional playground equipment, provide children with large, heavy building materials that they can use to build life-size constructions.

Kids love blocks. They love to build, to create, to design. These materials allow them to build on a large scale. To build things they can walk on and climb into. Unlike tiny Legos and unit blocks, they can interact with their creations using their entire bodies.

Many of the pictures and descriptions I have seen are composed largely of specifically designed large scale toys, or carefully landscaped play areas. They are beautiful. And pricey. But we have built our collection out of scraps salvaged from our property and our home improvement projects.

Scrap wood- minus nails, screws, or obvious splinters- becomes a ramp, a bridge, a door, a wall. Assorted sized and shaped bricks are huge, weighty blocks, building muscles and increasing awareness of ones position in space. And boxes. We all know about boxes. 

Bottom line: Scraps+creativity= loose parts=fun.

Surprise Spice Muffins

My mom used to make a version of these muffins. I LOVED the little bite of warm applesauce hiding in the center. 
I don't just limit myself to applesauce for these muffins. A spoonful of jam, preserves, pureed fruit, Nutella, or anything else you fancy turns a regular old muffin into something special.
I used pear preserves in this batch, so I cranked up the spice to complement the fall flavor. 

1/2 cup sugar

1 TBS flax meal

2 TBS water

1 1/2 cups flour (All Purpose or whole grain)

3 TSP baking powder

1/2 TSP salt

1/4 cup olive or coconut oil

3/4 cup Almond or other milk

1 TSP vanilla

dash of nutmeg

sprinkle of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray, grease lightly or line with cupcake papers.

In a large bowl, stir together sugar, water, and flax meal until well combined. 

Add flour, baking powder, salt, oil, milk, vanilla and nutmeg all at once. Stir until just combined.  

Fill muffins cups 2/3 full. Add a 1/2 tsp dollop of filling to the center of each cup. As it bakes, the filling will settle into the center. 

Bake 25 minutes. Cool well. the filling will be hot. 

Hands-on Studies: Playdough Labyrinth

By the kids' request, we have been studying ancient Greek mythology. We used a variety of picture books, but the bulk of our study comes from D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths. 

I can't say enough about this anthology. It is beautifully illustrated, simply and appropriately presented for children, thorough and complete. 

I have found that my children sit and listen better when their busy little hands are busy. I often hand out art supplies and have them recreate or illustrate some aspect of the story. Reading during mealtimes is a popular choice, as well. 

They have painted Heracles' feats, drawn the hydra with markers, watercolored Aphrodite rising from the sea, and now, built a labyrinth-complete with Minotaur and Theseus waging battle and Ariadne waiting by the door- of homemade playdough .

Each kid made his own version. I love seeing the variations in their individual interpretations.

Gemini's is a bit more abstract.

Giving them something to do that relates directly to the lesson engages different parts of their brain, creates new information pathways, holds their interest, makes the lesson more enjoyable for everyone, preserves mom's sanity, provides inspiration and an outlet for their creativity, and knocks out 2 subjects at once. Everybody wins!

Racing Ramp

1 piece of scrap wood + 1 monkey bars + toy cars + little boys = super intense fun

Vegan Cinnamon-Flax Coffee Cake

My kids always light up when I tell them we're having cake for breakfast. I do, too, actually. Coffee cake always reminds me of my mom, PTA bake sales, coffee dates. There is something special about starting the day with a slice of cake. 

Before we begin:

Add 2 TBS of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk of your choice. This is cheater buttermilk. It will curdle and thicken.

Add 1/4 cup water to 1 TBS flax meal. This replaces the egg you would normally find in a cake. 

For the cake:

2 1/2 cups flour of your choice. I used all-purpose, but you can use something else.

1 1/2 cups brown or raw sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Combine all dry ingredients. Add sour milk and flax mixture all at once. Stir till just combined. Do not over stir. 

Pour into prepared cake pan. 

For the topping:

1 cup flour

1 cup brown or raw sugar

1/2 cup flax meal

6 TBS melted coconut oil or butter substitute

Combine all ingredients. 

Spread evenly over the top of the unbaked cake.

Bake 45 minutes at 350 until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Cool 5-10 minutes. Serve warm.