vegan eggplant parmesan

so Jesse's mom and I wanted to surprise him with a fantastically yummy dinner this past saturday night...and we didn't disappoint! This yummy eggplant dish came together so well, i just HAD to share....enjoy =)

first, i took 2 spaghetti squash, cut them in half and seeded them. then, i placed them facedown in a shallow baking dish with about an inch of water in the bottom. i drizzled some EVOO and sea salt inside the squash before placing them in the baking dish.

next, i sliced 2 baby eggplant into thin slices and set them aside.



after that, Jesse's mom chopped a large onion and green pepper and got the onion started in a skillet with EVOO, until translucent, and i added the green pepper in at the last minute to keep the flavor.





next, i placed the eggplant slices on a wire rack over a pan and salted them with sea salt, allowing them to sit. **this brought the bitterness out of the eggplant--you start to see moisture forming on the slices and you place them facedown to drain...its really cool =)...just another trick of the trade from Jesse's mom...



Jesse's mom started working on the sauce...she roasted two bulbs of garlic in a garlic roaster in the micro...it smelled AMAZING!!!



then she added tomato sauce, tomatoes, onion and peppers, and various italian seasonings to start this amazing sauce...



meanwhile, after the eggplant slices drained away the bitter water, i blotted them on paper towels and seasoned them with italian seasonings.



next, we sprayed olive oil spray on the eggplant slices and got ready to bread them!!

the breading: i took 4 slices of frozen Ezekiel bread and thawed them in the micro. i placed them in the food processor until they were bread crumbs. next, i seasoned the bread crumb mix with italian seasonings and put them in a gallon sized ziplock bag. Ezekiel bread is the best choice we have found if you have to have bread. it is flourless (not gluten free though...), and made with organic whole SPROUTED grains...good stuff. NO PRESERVATIVES!

i took each slice and placed it in the bread mixture until well coated, placed them on a foil covered baking sheet, and sprayed the tray of breaded eggplant slices once more before placing in the oven to brown.

here's the yumminess straight outta the oven:



after getting the spaghetti squash ready...



i started building the plates =)





it was YUM to say the least...




perfection...