Helynn Hart - Lowfat Eggplant

Nana

by Marla Clark

I cannot imagine my life without my grandmother. I credit my "Nana" for many things; among them, a gentle good nature and my love of cooking. As a young girl, I was fortunate to live next door to my grandparents. My grandfather picked my sister and I up after school and my grandmother cared for us until our parents came home from work.

Two things really stick out in my mind. One is that I cannot remember a single time when my grandmother raised her voice to us. Upon questioning her about this in later years, she simply replied that she just reasoned with me and and that was enough. The other is how much I loved watching my grandmother cook. She frequently prepared meals from scratch and I would sit at the kitchen table and watch her patiently grinding her meat and rolling out dough for baking. She never saw cooking as a chore, but rather as a way to love and nurture and lift the spirits of family and friends with great food. It is from her that I inherited my love of cooking.

A year ago February, my "Nana" passed away at the age of ninety-nine. While we spoke frequently and maintained a loving relationship, during her last years we spoke over the telephone every Sunday. She was always thrilled to hear from me and made me feel like the most important person in the world. She always told me a joke. Truthfully, it was the same six jokes that she recycled, but I laughed and acted like I was hearing each joke for the first time. I loved hearing stories about her life and especially appreciated it when she shared family recipes. Most of these were in her head and the quantities were general, at best. My favorite was when she shared with me her recipe for cheesecake. She scribbled this recipe on a piece of paper and sent it to me. I laughed out loud when I read it. Along with the other ingredients, the recipe included "some sour cream". I called her and asked her, "Nana, how much is some sour cream"? She responded, "Honey, buy a container of sour cream, save some for baked potatoes for during the week and use the rest". That was my Nana!

As my Nana got older and became more health conscious and aware of more modern dietary restrictions, she began to modify some of her favorite recipes. Here is a modified eggplant.

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click to meet Marla

		Nana by Marla Clark I cannot imagine my life without my grandmother. I credit my "Nana" for many things; among them, a gentle good nature and my love of cooking. As a young girl, I was fortunate to live next door to my grandparents. My grandfather picked my sister and I up after school and my grandmother cared for us until our parents came home from work. Two things really stick out in my mind. One is that I cannot remember a single time when my grandmother raised her voice to us. Upon questioning her about this in later years, she simply replied that she just reasoned with me and and that was enough. The other is how much I loved watching my grandmother cook. She frequently prepared meals from scratch and I would sit at the kitchen table and watch her patiently grinding her meat and rolling out dough for baking. She never saw cooking as a chore, but rather as a way to love and nurture and lift the spirits of family and friends with great food. It is from her that I inherited my love of cooking. A year ago February, my "Nana" passed away at the age of ninety-nine. While we spoke frequently and maintained a loving relationship, during her last years we spoke over the telephone every Sunday. She was always thrilled to hear from me and made me feel like the most important person in the world. She always told me a joke. Truthfully, it was the same six jokes that she recycled, but I laughed and acted like I was hearing each joke for the first time. I loved hearing stories about her life and especially appreciated it when she shared family recipes. Most of these were in her head and the quantities were general, at best. My favorite was when she shared with me her recipe for cheesecake. She scribbled this recipe on a piece of paper and sent it to me. I laughed out loud when I read it. Along with the other ingredients, the recipe included "some sour cream". I called her and asked her, "Nana, how much is some sour cream"? She responded, "Honey, buy a container of sour cream, save some for baked potatoes for during the week and use the rest". That was my Nana! As my Nana got older and became more health conscious and aware of more modern dietary restrictions, she began to modify some of her favorite recipes. Here is a modified eggplant. contact us membership agreement top of page click to meet Marla


eggplant parmesan - low fat