Eggplant Season

For those of you who like to cook, now is the perfect time to showcase a fall favorite: eggplant. It's full of fiber and also a good source of potassium. If you're anything like my husband, you're probably shuddering at the thought of trying to choke down the purple veggie, but really, you need to give it a fair chance!

Last night Graham came home from work (very hungry I'm sure) only to look down at his plate and notice a foreign and undesirable object beneath the red sauce and cheese. "Is this eggplant?" he asks. "Yes" I reply, and smile at him with a look that he knows means "I know how you feel about eggplant but just give it a shot." He took one bite and it didn't kill him and so he proceeded. I knew this would happen! Pretty soon, his plate was clean and he rose from the table, glanced at me sheepishly and then headed towards the stove to dish up seconds! I didn't have to say it--he could see the "I told you so" look beaming in my eyes.

Ahh, success! Oddly enough, it is often my goal to somehow get people to like the foods that they think they despise the most. This task can be rather tricky, but if you just present it to them in the right form, it can be done! Try the recipe below showcasing and see if it doesn't win you over. If you don't want to make the pesto from scratch, you can just blend store-bought pesto with the cream cheese and ricotta for the filling.

Eggplant Manicotti With Creamy Pesto Filling
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup shredded part-skim Mozzarella cheese -- divided
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup spinach leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts -- toasted
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup tub-style fat-free cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 container (15-ounce size) fat-free Ricotta cheese
2 cloves garlic
1 large eggplant -- cut lengthwise into quarters
Cooking spray
2 cups low-fat spaghetti sauce -- divided

Directions: Combine 1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese and next 9 ingredients (Mozzarella cheese through garlic) in a food processor, and process until smooth. Set pesto mixture aside. Arrange half the eggplant slices in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil 5 minutes or until lightly browned and very tender. Repeat procedure with remaining eggplant. Preheat oven to 375. Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Place eggplant slices, browned sides down, on a smooth surface; spoon about 2 tablespoons pesto mixture in center of each slice (the amount will vary from 1 to 3 tablespoons depending on size of eggplant slices). Roll up, starting at short ends; place eggplant rolls, seam sides down, over sauce. Repeat procedure with remaining eggplant and pesto mixture. Pour 1 cup spaghetti sauce over eggplant rolls. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Top with 1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese; bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned.

A real blusher

My coworker told me this hilarious interview story today at work. I hope I can do it justice...

About 30 years ago, when she was newly married, she and her husband were in desperate need of money so she applied for a well-paying job at an orthodontist's office. She interviewed well and at the end of it all, stood up to shake the interviewer's hand. As she leaned forward, something unexpected happened. She farted!! Unfortunately, this was no small little wiff of air that could easily be played off as a chair squeaking on the floor. No, it was a loud trumpet of gas that was not to be concealed. As hard as she tried, she could not hold back the nervous giggles welling in her throat (what else is a girl supposed to do in an awkward situation like that!!??) BUT, it gets worse! She began laughing so hard that she lost control of another very important body function........and proceeded to pee her pants. Well, actually, she wasn't wearing pants but rather a dress, so the stream created a nice little puddle on the orthodontist's floor. She ran out of the room as fast as she could and didn't turn back.

Needless to say, she didn't get the job....

We're going to.....

HAWAII!

Exactly 7 months from tomorrow, we will be boarding a plane to Kauai for 8 nights of tropical bliss. Because we became Starwood Resort members on our honeymoon, we got a really cheap offer for 5 nights at a nice hotel right on this beach:

Would wouldn't pass up an opportunity to pay $100/night for a room that was normally $250-300/night? We were sneaky about the airfare too. Graham signed up for an Alaska miles credit card and so he was basically able to purchase his ticket and then get mine for only $50. I think this post will accurately illustrate that we are complete suckers for a good deal. But hey, I'm not complaining! I've never been to Hawaii and so can't wait to take this trip with Graham. We'll be staying 5 nights at a larger hotel on the south shore of Kauai and then are hoping to find more of a unique bed and breakfast or boutique hotel on another part of the island for the other three nights. Anyone have ideas or recommendations?

My Interviews

Yesterday was the big day! I must say that it was far more exhausting than a regular work day but I would highly recommend having interviews on the same day! After completing one, the second was nothing and I found that a lot of the questions that I was asked were the same anyway. ;o)

So, here's the run down...

First interview (Children's Center in Everett): panel of 6 people, 2 of which I already work closely with, 2 that I have met before, and 2 that were entirely new faces. They utilized a system called "Select Interviewing" where all candidates for any and all job opening are asked the exact same questions to keep everything consistent. The questions were very behavioral based and thankfully I had lots of stories to share that fit all 25 or so questions. All in all, I think that it went really well! I felt at ease and was SO excited by the work environment and the general vibe I got from the panel (it REALLY helps to know the people that I interviewing you!) Anyway there are 2 other applicants to interview so it will probably be 2 weeks or so until I hear anything, but as I was walking out the door, the manager kind of paused, got a smile on her face and said "I'm pretty sure you'll be getting a call from us." Woo-hoo! It sounds promising!

After the interview, I had enough time to come home for a bite to eat and then Graham decided to drive me to the 2nd interview at Children's Hospital and then meet a friend at Starbucks. Bad idea! He had coffee w/ his friend Brant for about 1 1/2 hours and then decided he should probably head back to the hospital to come get me (even though I said I would call him when I was done). He waits at the hospital for about another hour and then starts really freaking out. He's thinking "what could possibly be taking her this long!? I bet something happened to the phone and she tried to call me but couldn't get through..... and then started walking towards U Village and got hit by a car.....etc.....etc......lots of worry..." I guess he even came into the hospital and was asking all the receptionists if they had seen a 23 year old with brown hair use a phone anywhere (for the record, I'm 24!) He thought about coming down to nutrition services to ask them how long it had been since I left their office. Poor guy! Thankfully he didn't go that far because he would have barged in on my THREE HOUR INTERVIEW!!!!

Phew! I started by meeting the 2 current renal dietitians and we just chatted about this and that with a lot of awkward silences. This lasted about 1 hr and 20 minutes and then I moved on to meet with the manager who was very nice and told me a lot about Children's visions and goals. Then we got into the interview questions. I found the hardest question that she asked me was "Why do you want to be a renal dietitian?" I found myself thinking "Do I even want to be a renal dietitian?" And so that kind of decided it for me. I think I would love working at Children's Hospital--I would love the environment, the people and what they stand for- but I just don't think this position would be the right fit. I hope that doesn't mean I've burned by bridge for the future, but if they do call back for a 2nd interview, I think I will be telling them no.

So that's where I'm at today. I'm thrilled that the hard part is over but am surprised by how relaxed I was at both interviews. I'm sure that was only the result of lots of prayer!

Something Magical

Today something incredible happened...I lost to Graham in tennis with a score of 6 to 4!!! And yes, that is GOOD NEWS! Actually, it is quite amazing news...my highest score so far has always been 2 (and that only happened once) so the fact that I almost kept up with him is a miracle! I am thrilled that I might be becoming a challenge for my husband to beat in the near future--hehe, a little healthy competition never hurt anyone. Thankfully, Graham has put up with my learning this sport and has kept with me long enough for me to hold my own. Tennis anyone?

Update

Today I was offered an official interview for the Everett Children's Center job!!! At 9 AM one week from today (Thursday, Oct 9th), I will be interviewing in Everett for the outpatient job. I'll have lunch, take a deep breath and then at 2 PM, I'll be interviewing at Children's Hospital in Seattle. That will be a big day--2 interviews for 2 different jobs--but I guess maybe it's better just to be nervous once and get it over with!

I Did It!

Today I made arrangements to meet with my manager and I let her know that I am interviewing elsewhere, and at this point, if the job is offered to me, I plan to accept. I can't believe I actually did it and that this happening! She was very nice about it and seemed understanding. I made sure to emphasize all the positive aspects of the other jobs that I'm pursuing rather than stating the things I don't like about my current job. I had kind of dropped hints at my last annual review that I was hoping for more of a Monday to Friday schedule so at least that was on her radar and she wasn't blindsided by my pursuing a "normal" schedule.

After the meeting, I felt at peace and free. And then I flipped out and wondered if I did the right thing. But I'll admit that today I had an extra skip in my step, wondering if maybe, just maybe I'm on the way to a job where I'll LOVE what I do! (Is that allowed??!!)