Cheesy Eggplant Rigatoni

This was a perfect sort of day. It started out the best way - lazing in bed until 8am when we finally decided to get up. Okay, so Tibbs totally had a say in that time! When the doggie needs to pee, the doggie needs to pee. We had a relaxing morning watching a 'Little Travelers' DVD (Iran), and Kyle made us a delicious brunch of oven roasted potatoes, soy sausages and leftover spinach and cheese turnovers. Tiernan headed over to a birthday party for a friend of his who lives down the street while the rest of us went to Avery's first soccer game of the indoor season where he got his team shirt (first time he couldn't get #13! #12 it is!). Woah, that game was intense! They tied with the other team, 2-2, and there was not one minute of boredom. The kids on his team are fantastic. They all seemed to mesh well, there were no kids with attitude, none of them are ball hoggers, and it helps that I know a fair few of the parents already. I'm even more excited about this season now.

Now I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I'm not the biggest fan of eggplant. I've tried it time and time again, hoping that one of those times I'm going to fall in love with it. The only way I've actually enjoyed it so far is in the form of a dip as baba ganouj. But I keep on trying, and tonight was no exception. I threw it into a pasta sauce as an experiment, but - I'm still not the biggest fan. I ate it because the sauce itself was yummy, but I would have liked it better with mushrooms or zucchini or spinach or something. Luckily, the rest of my family likes it more than I do!

Cheesy Eggplant Rigatoni

3 tbsp olive oil

1 medium eggplant, diced into small pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp Italian seasoning

dash of red chilies

28oz can crushed tomatoes

1 ball mozzarella, diced into small pieces

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 large bag rigatoni

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While the water is heating for the pasta, heat the olive oil in a large wok. Add the eggplant and cook for about 3-5 minutes, until eggplant has started to brown and soften. Add the garlic and fry another 30 seconds. Add the seasonings and crushed tomatoes. Stir until well combined. Lower heat, cook for about another 5-10 minutes making sure to stir occasionally. Add the two cheeses and stir until melted.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and mix it together with the sauce.