I had a feeling all week that I would miss my chance to fill up my fridge before the snow storm… and running around all day Thursday and Friday, I did. When I woke-up Saturday to the storm I knew I would have to be creative in the kitchen for the next 24-hour.

First: inventory. What I miss are the essentials: bread, eggs, meat. On the veggie side, pretty poor too: an eggplant, a couple clementines and the rest of a carton of black bean soup… Dairies: Vanilla yogurt and maybe a cup of milk. For a moment I felt hopeless.

Breakfast turns out better than expected. I dug out a box of No Pudge Fudge Brownie mix from Trade Joe’s and made a chocolate feast. Enough to revive my spirit and accompany a couch/blanket moment with a good movie.

I considered my eggplant for a while. It was originally bought with the idea of making my mother’s breaded & fried eggplants, comfort food by definition to me, little slices of heaven. But without eggs, how can I get the crumbs to stick? My “ta-da” moment was when I found a jar of marinara sauce…

Once the eggplant sliced (1/2 inch max, you want them to cook fast), I dug them in the marinara, and then bread crumbs and popped them in the pan. The result? Good enough to satisfy my hunger and my craving for fried comfort food on a snowy day. However, the taste of the marinara overpowered quite a bit the meaty flavor of the eggplant. The recipe still needs a little work, I’ll have to think about it. Suggestions welcomed!!!

A few slices for lunch and a few more for dinner with the black bean soup, and I was a happy woman… Creative cooking was fun, but I’m on a mission to hit the grocery store before the storm hits again sometime next week.