Dear Diary Livin' like an Italian Gangsta

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables!!!

Well this Fatty McButterpants was on vacation for 3 weeks.  Yes I know how does one take a vacation when one is unemployed well by going to Italia!  Yeah it was awesome and yes don't worry I will have pics up soon on Picasa peoples.  So I have been doing a weight loss challenge too for 12 weeks.  So far I have lost about 11 lbs when I started said challenge but officially I have lost 16 lbs since I started trying to shed weight beforehand.  Yeah well it is a miracle that I kept weight off in Italy but was it a miracle?  Apparently in Italy they have fresh fruit and vegetables and serve them at their restaurants, THAT IS CRAZY YA'LL.  I am used to vegetables that are picked way before they are ripe and are weeks old by the time they come to restaurants or grocery stores and I am used to frozen processed chicken matter pressed into nugget form that is deep fried served with tater tots (which are also processed potatoes pressed into tater form).  Yeah don't bother asking for that at any locally owned restaurant.  I was surprised to see so many American fast food chains there and packed with so many teenagers!  I wanted to yell at them to stop it DON'T EAT THERE!!!!! Yeah but teens are teens they are the same in most countries, obnoxious and loud and do not listen to their elders.  Well point being we ate well and we walked a lot!

I fell in love with fresh easy dishes, seriously there were no more then 4 ingredients in most dishes and the taste was so complex yet simple.  Check me out with my vague food review like most horrible food critics.  Hey in my next life if I ever master the English language and write well, I do want to be a food critic.  Anyways here is a dish I loved called Pasta Alla Norma, a traditional Sicialliana dish.  It is so simple and delicious!

Pasta alla Norma, Molto Bene

Pasta alla Norma

Serves 2-3 as a main dish

1 medium eggplant, cut into 1" cubes (or 2 Italian eggplants, they are smaller in size)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided 
1/2 teaspoon sea salt 
freshly ground pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
pinch of red hot chili flakes
1 14-ounce can whole tomatoes, crushed
8 ounces spaghetti
1.5 ounces ricotta salata * (this is a hard ricotta cheese and you can find it probably at a gourmet specialty store or Italian grocery store or Whole Foods or Central Market but you can substitute parmesean or pecorino romano)
handful of fresh basil leaves 

Preheat oven to 400° F.  On a baking sheet, toss the eggplant cubes with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the dried oregano, sea salt and some freshly ground pepper.  Roast for about 25 minutes. 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for your pasta.

Place 2 tablespoons of the olive oil into a large saucepan or skillet.  Add the grated garlic and gently cook for about 1 minute.  Add the chili flakes and the crushed tomatoes (I like to just crush them with my hands). Simmer for 5 minutes, uncovered.  (Start boiling your spaghetti at this point. Don't overcook it.)  Add the roasted eggplant to your tomato mixture and simmer for 5 minutes, covered.  

Remove the spaghetti from the pot and put it right in the eggplant tomato mixture.  Toss well.  Add torn fresh basil leaves and some grated ricotta salata.  Turn out onto a serving platter and grate some more ricotta salata on top and tear some more basil leaves for the top.