Eggplant Parmesan Pasta!

and my wish came true!!!

Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’ve made it here and aren’t yet a subscriber, come join! You can expect recipes in your inbox every Tuesday, and paid subscribers receive even more every Friday! You can also try a week for free!

CATCH UP!

Remember last week when I said “When I want something, I really want it?” Well I got it!! This past Saturday, Grant and I drove down to Oceanside to adopt our new baby girl, our little Willow! She is a little over 1 year old, and we are told that she is a Westie/Poodle mix, with suspected Yorkie, but we don’t actually know because she is a rescue. We see a lot of terrier and not as much poodle, but we will do a DNA test and report back to you! She is the cutest little thing and reminds us of a bunny! I love her so much already. Also, I’m kind of enjoying the training process? It feels like a fun challenge. Watch me eat my words in like two weeks lolol.

THINGS I’M LOVING

Podcast: Healthier Together, specifically THIS EPISODE. I may be biased because yours truly was a guest, but if you’ve ever wondered what it was like to hang out with me, Justine, and Liz, then listen to this special advice episode with all of us! And then when you’re done, listen to the rest of the episodes that include tons of helpful experts in all areas of life! I personally just finished this episode with Charlotte Palermino, another one of my favorite follows on Instagram. She covers skincare, but she also has very wise advice and philosophies on aging.

Accessory: The Beachday Backpack from Bindle! As someone who likes to go to the beach for hours on end, I like to pack everything I need to make the day comfy. Grant and I recently got the Bindle Backpack, and the COOLEST part of this backpack, besides how sleek and awesome it looks, IS THAT IT HAS A COOLER COMPARTMENT. That means you can bring drinks to the beach, a hike, to the park, wherever, and keep your beverages cool! The other day we actually brought some Bitchin Sauce with us, so I can confirm this also works well for food. They were also kind enough to give me a code, BEACHDAY for 20% off!

Dress: Felt a little wild this week and did a fashion show on my Instagram stories yesterday, and my favorite item I purchased was this green linen dress from Mango! I am VERY into linen right now, and this dress is so comfy and breathable, and the color is gorgeous! Definitely something you can easily dress up or down,

RECIPE!

This pasta turned out better than I could have imagined, but I also had the most tragic mishap during filming where half of the dish fell to the floor (if you remember the shrimp salad I made a few months ago, this isn’t the first time this has happened!) You can get a little glimpse in my Reel I posted on Instagram. Thankfully, I made more than enough food to feed just Grant and me, so we were still able to salvage some of the dish and eat it for dinner.

This pasta is (obviously) inspired by Eggplant Parmesan and it also bears resemblance to another classic Italian eggplant dish, Pasta alla Norma. I added melty mozzarella to give it more of the Eggplant Parmesan vibe.

Important note: I used two medium-sized eggplants in this recipe, which made for a verrry eggplant-heavy dish. Grant didn’t love how much was in there, but I didn’t mind it! If you’re a little eh on eggplant, use just one! If it’s your favorite vegetable, you can definitely get away with adding two! You can’t go wrong.

Eggplant Parmesan Pasta!

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 OR 2 medium eggplants, diced (see “Important Note” above)

• 1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce

• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

• 16 oz pasta of choice

• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

• Basil, to top

• Parmesan, to top

1. Bring a heavily salted pot of water to boil. Add olive oil to a large pot or dutch oven on medium heat. Add eggplant, and cook for 8-12 minutes until eggplant is cooked down and very soft (if it needs more time, keep cooking until it’s nice and soft). Cook pasta according to package, and reserve 2 cups of pasta water.

2. When eggplant is cooked down, lower heat to medium-low, add marinara sauce, crushed red pepper, 1 cup pasta water, pasta, and mozzarella. Mix together until a creamy sauce forms, adding more pasta if needed to prevent the mozzarrella from clumping.

3. Transfer to a bowl and top with minced basil and plenty of grated Parmesan.

DISCOUNT CODES

Fable: Code KALEMEMAYBE10 for 10% off ceramic dishware

Ruggable: Code KALEMEMAYBE10 for 10% off

Bindle: BEACHDAY for 20% off!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

Last week, paid subscribers received some true good mood food”wisdom! I included a list of 6 summer fruits and vegetables to include into your diet that are loaded with nutrients to help combat anxiety and depression (plus, a bunch of recipes helping you to use them). I love writing these informative articles — I feel like I’m putting my journalism background to use!

6 Types of Summer Produce To Include In Your Diet To Boost Your Mood

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