The Joy of Cooking - How I Learned to Cook and a How-To

As many of you know - I always hated to cook. I refused to learn growing up and would always say I would have someone to cook for me. And I did, until 2 years ago. I was then forced to learn, by necessity. So I had to start slow. I began making dishes I remembered being made or simple recipes I could find. Keeping it simple really helped; recipes that only needed a few ingredients and didn't take long to make. And soon I was asking for a slow cooker and cooking utensils for Christmas!

In the last two years now, I have succeeded. Not to the point of gourmet chef, mind you. But no one has gotten sick or died from my cooking, so to me, it's a success!! I even attempted Thanksgiving Dinner last year. And, god help me, I am thinking about it again this year!

I have even began creating my own dishes that I have no recipes for. And here, I am going to share with you one of my latest concoctions. You make think I'm crazy and believe me you won't be the first, or last!! But anyway, introducing my Skillet Eggplant Parmesan. NOTE: The eggplants I am using a small, miniature eggplants that are 3 1/2-5 inches long, a good size for one to two people.

Skillet Eggplant Parmesan
Serves 2 as a side dish

4-6 Small Eggplants sliced
4 medium tomatoes diced
2 tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt
Italian Seasoning

Heat skillet on medium heat. Add Olive Oil and heat. Add eggplant and cook til just starting to soften. Add tomatoes and let cook until skins have fallen off and tomatoes are mushy. Add salt and Italian Seasoning. Mix together. Add Parmesan cheese while continuously stirring. Turn heat off and serve immediately. YUMMY!

Tip: I found a glass of red wine to help while cooking. Cheers Julia! Bon Apetit!

Cleansing the Body & Detoxifying

I have been thinking about doing a cleanse for some time now. It seems a good way to kick start a healthy diet plan and a good way to re-set your system. A few years back I looked into a few products in the stores and was thuroughly disapointed with the selection. And the mere fact you would be consuming pill after pill after pill. I have an issue with pills, so I put the whole cleanse idea aside, kinda bummed.

Flash forward to this past week. Hanging with my boyfriend and another friend, which the topic of conversation always seems to go towards health, body and metaphysical side and we got on the subject of cleansing and up came the Lemon, Maple Syrup and Cayenne Pepper liquid cleanse. My ears perked. A whole cleanse done entirely with liquid, no pills, and can be done in as little as three days.

I found a great site that lists the benefits, recipe, tips and so much more. You can see for yourself here.I've been trying to shift focus back onto my artwork, health, family and relationships. I think this cleanse will be a good next step for my mental self, and health. Now let's see if I can get my guy to do this with me..... lol I am thinking of starting this weekend. I will be curious to see how I react to the diet/fast/cleanse. After years of drinking, smoking, and eating anything and everything in my way, I am looking forward to being healthier or at least being more conscience of what I am doing to myself everyday.

I know, weird topic, but what do you think? Have you tried this, or something similar? How did you feel afterwards?