Last week, I whipped up some easy mini pizzas, using leftovers. Read the recipe after the break.

Ingredients:

Asparagus (raw or steamed)

Prosciutto

Pizza sauce

Thin sliced, whole grain, flax bread

Fresh basil leaves

Parmesan cheese

Farmer’s cheese

Olive Oil

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Arrange bread slices on a cooking stone. Mine is small, so I could only do six slices of bread.
3. Spread sauce on slices, maybe about a tablespoon each.
4. Add basil leaves, either whole or torn up. Mine were nearly dried (they were fresh earlier in the week).
5. Add cheese (use a cheese grater).
6. Add rest of toppings (prosciutto and/or asparagus). For a fancy touch, roll the asparagus in the prosciutto.
7. Drip a bit of olive oil on top of the slices. Not a lot, just a few drops.
8. If you have any Italian style seasonings laying around, sprinkle those on top. I have a Tuscan blend (it has rosemary, etc) that I used.
9. Cook for 10 minutes or so.

And that’s it!

Easy. All of these ingredients I happened to have on hand, so I decided to mix them together (hence my using farmer’s cheese instead of mozzarella). You could make a whole tray of these for appetizers if you wanted.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 good size eggplant (a large one will feed three people easily, if not four.  Check for damage first)
• 1 container of Italian style bread crumbs (these have the extra seasoning.  you can make your own with basic bread crumbs, just add oregano, dried garlic, etc).
• Extra virgin olive oil – you’ll need a lot, so get a good sized bottle. Darker the oil, the better. It’ll add a lot of flavor.
• 1 chunk of parmesan cheese (skip the powered container junk, get the real thing). Go to a place like Horrocks Cheese Room, where the price is based on weight and get only what you need (little goes a long way). Make sure you have a cheese grater.

Steps

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Slice eggplant into thin slices, the thinner the better as they’ll soak up more of the olive oil. You can do thick slices if you want. I keep the outer skin on.
• Salt eggplant and layer them in a colander, place colander in the sink with a heavy plate on top for 20 to 40 minutes. This draws out some of the bitter flavor of the eggplant. Use kosher salt if you have it.
• After eggplant sits, rinse and pat dry with paper towel.
• Pour a decent amount of olive oil in a large bowl (big enough that a eggplant slice fits into it). Season the olive oil if you want, I usually do with garlic (not too much) or oregano.
• Pour a decent amount of the bread crumbs onto a plate, next to the bowl of olive oil.
• Dip eggplant slices into olive oil, covering both sides, and then into the bread crumbs (again, both sides). Do that one at a time. NOTE: this is a bit messy, be prepared to have your hands covered in oil and bread crumbs.
• Layer slices (don’t stack) in either a baking dish or cookie sheet (cookie sheet makes them a bit crispier).  You may want to spray baking dish or cookie sheet with nonstick spray. Do this until you either run out of eggplant or think you have enough. If you run out of olive oil and/or bread crumbs, just pour out more.
• I season the slices before putting them in the oven with a little bit of extra oregano and the Outrageously Garlic seasoning by Two Sisters Gourmet (dried garlic, onions, etc).
• Bake for 20 minutes or so and keep an eye on it–especially if you have thin slices on a cookie sheet.
• Remove slices, put on a plate (careful! they are HOT), grate cheese over slices and serve right away! You can also cover them in pasta sauce (either buy pre-made or make your own). Simmer the sauce on the stove top while you are prepping and cooking the eggplant.

Extra Credit

• Pair with garlic bread and a nice red wine, pinot noir is my favorite (I don’t care if that is “right” or not ) and you got yourself an easy, tasty dinner that can feed quite a few people.
• Refrigerate leftovers for a tasty treat later–cold, breaded eggplant is yummy. They make a great sandwich (I’ll put cold pasta sauce on the sandwich too).

A weekly Internet talk show focusing on the people, issues and events affecting Lansing’s next generation.

We recorded this Monday night and we totally hit it out of the park. It was the exact opposite of how the recording of the first show went (there was a bit of a learning curve for JL and I). This episode was recorded “live on tape,” meaning we did everything in order as if it was going out live. The first show was done out of sequence and sort of pieced together.

In today’s episode, we talk about a super-high speed Google Internet fiber possibly coming to Michigan and Google Buzz in the first segment (I also make a reference to the film Short Circuit in hopes of explaining technology running amok to Julielyn).

After the break, we interview Chad Jordan of Cravings Popcorn, a company based right here in Lansing (Twitter, Facebook).

In the third segment, we chat with craftbeer enthusiast, John Palmer (Twitter, Facebook), about microbrews and beer breweries in Michigan (and I accuse Julielyn of setting the Guinness Brewery in Ireland on fire). I also share the legend of the Nain Rouge of Detroit.

Online security and such is the subject of the fourth segment, including Julielyn’s “Microphone Rule” when it comes to social networking. But, we shift gears and chat about the Team USA v. Team Canada ice hockey game. Which was AMAZING.

Our last segment features JL and I sharing favorite recipes and the always  popular, “What’s on Your iPod?” segment. JL picked “Call Me” by Blondie. My choice this week was a medley of music from the video game Contra, done as a high-energy heavy metal song by Lansing band Year 200x (Twitter, Facebook).

I believe that starting next week, the episodes will be hosted on TalkLansing.net and they’ll be on iTunes sooner than later.

To Listen: click on the gray play button below.

To Download the MP3: Right Click on the Download link, choose Save Target As or Save Link As from the menu and then choose where to save the .MP3 on your hard drive.

Check our first episode here.

You can buy that special someone(s) a copy of my novel, The Magic of Eyri, through Lulu, Amazon and Barnes & Noble (you can even go in any physical book store and give the ISBN 978-0615145280 and they should be able to order it for you).

A friend made my week by ordering ten copies to give out as gifts.  Any day I have to sign ten copies of my novel is a good day.

signing ten copies of the magic of eyri at once.

So don’t hesitate, g’head and order a few dozen copies of your own. And if you live in Lansing and want ‘em signed, let me know.

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In other Magic of Eyri news, episode 015 of the free podcast version, “Every Which Way but Uth,” is now online.  Download!

And remember that I’m not releasing any episodes in December (trying to build up a stockpile of episodes and to give myself a bit of a break).  Episodes will resume on the first Wednesday in January 2010 (the 6th).

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Here’s a digital digest of my other writings wandering aimlessly ’round the Internet:

• Save money by ordering a la carte at Los Tres Amigos, Examiner.com, 11.24.09
• Make the lunch buffet at Mumbai in East Lansing a regular stop, Examiner.com, 11.25.09
• And now for something completely different-breakfast at the Holiday Lanes bowling alley,
• This week’s High Noon Fantasy Hockey, IllegalCurve.com (11.23.09)

The month off from releasing episodes will help me built up a bit of a buffer so that I’m not worrying about releasing episodes week by week.  My goal is to have at least two episodes totally finished by the first of the year, if not more (or at least some more scripts finished). I’ve been going full throttle on my free podcast since last Spring, so I figured I’ve earned a break. The less stress around Christmas, the better. I am looking forward to giving myself a bit of a breather–in a way, it is a Christmas present to myself.  I may take that time to re-record episode 001 (“A Shameless Summer“) as well.  It could certainly benefit from it, as I’ve become much better at producing episodes since then (if I do that, I’ll still keep the original version online, so one can compare and contrast).

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And here’s your weekly round-up of my various writings running wild around the back alleys of the Internet:

• Divide and conquer your hunger with the soup and sandwich combo at Soup Spoon Cafe, Examiner.com (11.16.09)
• Hold the cow and grab a spicy black bean burger at Michigan Brewing Company, Examiner.com (11.18.09)
• Find a fast, spicy lunch at Bangkok House, Examiner.com (11.19.09)
• This week’s High Noon Fantasy Hockey, IllegalCurve.com (11.16.09)

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The big news of this past week is that the first draft of my next novel, working title Night of the Lonely Werewolf, is done. Yep, all 94,000+ words of it are finished.  I opted to print the dang thing out (all 499 pages of it, double-spaced at 12 point font) as I go through the editing process.  I’m glad I went this route, because I’ll at least have a hard copy of the first draft, and I like taking notes as I do that always important first read-through.  I may need to invest in more red pens.

I'm oldschool. Markin' up the paper with a bunch of red marks.

This is the novel I started for last year’s National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo).  Not happy that it took me almost a year to write the last 44,000 words after cranking out the first 50k in less than 30 days, but “thems the breaks.”

“Life happened” right after the holidays last year and I fell off the writing horse for a few months–but I dusted myself off and get right back on, spurs an’ all.  Getting that first draft finished is key, after that, things kind of fall in place.  But reaching that final goal of a workable first draft–no matter how good or bad it is–is super important.

I didn’t want to become a writer with a few half-finished novels lying around, so I’m happy that I soldiered on and finished this thing.  The interesting thing is that I got some of my better ideas after that six month dry spell, life’s funny that way.  I actually enjoy editing my novels and watching it change into something even better.

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And here’s your weekly round-up of my various writings infesting other parts of the Internet:

• Lansing’s International Flavor, Capital Gains (11.04.09)
• The Big O Mess at Grumpy’s Diner will put a smile on your face, Examiner.com (11.10.09)
• Photo tour of the Michigan Brewing Company Brewery, Examiner.com (11.11.09)
• Sip some apple cider at Decker’s Coffee Company, Examiner.com (11.12.09)
• This week’s High Noon Fantasy Hockey, IllegalCurve.com (11.09.09)

Some more great news: I am now doing a weekly column about fantasy hockey for the hockey blog IllegalCurve.com. My first column went online today. They pop up every Monday at noon (I turn them in Sunday night-ish).

I know what you’re thinking: where can I get an awesome hat like this dude? How the heck can he do all of these side things, along with his other freelance work, the podcast, his in-progress novel and his day job?

Answer: I’ll make it happen. There will be a bit of a learning curve as I get used to these added duties, but I think once I get in the habit things will get smoother. Also, as a person who works better under pressure and with deadlines, this will strengthen my time management skills.

I’m already getting better–I set up a Google doc today to act as a note pad for my hockey column during the week. I read about hockey daily anyway, and this way I’ll have a running tally of news and ideas–unlike last night when I had to spend a lot of time looking for stuff while working on my first column.

My second Examiner story went way smoother today as well.  I made the mistake of using the advanced publishing tool for the first story and it resulted in way more work than I needed to do. Heck, I wrote all of the Soup Spoon story and started a new story tonight while at the laundry mat. I’m confident I’ll do fine.

For those unfamiliar. Examiner.com is a network of local bloggers that focus on a certain topic for each city.  These bloggers are usually based in or near a big city.  Michigan has sections for Detroit and Grand Rapids, but not Lansing specifically–however, there were a few I saw.

They proudly display ads on the site asking folks to apply to be an Examiner of whatever topic they wish.  So, being the crazy ambitious person I am, I filled out a form and pitched bloggin’ ’bout restaurants in our fair capital city.

I’ll post a link to my page once it gets set up, which could be a few days.  They ask that I aim for three to four posts a week, but they can be short–between 250 to 500 words.  Heck, I write more than that in Twitter updates on any given day.  The goal here is frequent, short posts.  I can do that.  I enjoy dining out and any of my friends know I’m a big foodie.  Also, I have prior experience writing about such things thanks to my freelance work with Capital Gains.  However, my style for Examiner will be a bit different than how I write for Capital Gains.  I’m going for more of a loose, witty, goofy style for Examiner.  I try to keep the Capital Gains stories a bit more on the serious side, to match the style of the rest of the website.

The other interesting thing is that the Examiner stuff is done pretty much without a net (my first post will be reviewed however), so it’ll all be on me in regards to editing and style (which isn’t any different than this blog post).

Yes, I get paid.  My payment is based on traffic (page views, subscribers, etc).

I’m excited.  I’m not expecting to make any a bunch of money doing this, but the way I look at it, I dine out any way, I might as well get the writing experience and exposure.  I learned about Examiner via my pal Kevin, who is the Chicago Comic Books Examiner.  I love his funny style, it is something I want to try and emulate–which I think would make my subject more fun to read about over more traditional restaurant reviews.

I saw a Twitter update by @gmcalpin (writer and artist of one of my favorite webcomics, Multiplex) about the metal band Mastodon allegedly scoring the upcoming film Jonah Hex (based on a comic). It lead to an article on Ain’t It Cool News (movie rumors and such).

I read the article and was amused, I enjoy Mastodon but realized I don’t own nearly enough of their music. I hopped over to YouTube and watched a few music videos and also listened to some other songs, sampling cuts from the albums Leviathan and Blood Mountain.

Realizing I still had an online gift certificate from my birthday, I decided to buy a Mastodon album (along with Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon on vinyl). But I couldn’t decide which to get–then a friend commented on my Facebook page that Crack the Skye was nothing short of amazing (a friend whose opinions I hold in high regard).

So, I ventured back to YouTube to listen to a few cuts from Crack the Skye and read a few online reviews. I quickly decided on ordering the album–and when it comes to bands like Mastodon, I really prefer having the original CD over .MP3s (because the music is complex and/or layered–things that can get lost when compressing music to .MP3s).

After clicking Finish My Order, I sat back and thought “What the heck just happened?” Over the span of maybe twenty minutes, I went from reading about Mastodon scoring an upcoming film to buying one of their albums, mainly on a whim.

It was an interesting string of events: I read the article, listened to songs online/watched videos, got a recommendation from a friend who lives in another city, read reviews and purchased an album. All without leaving my seat.

I guess this shows you can’t underestimate the advantages of people talking about your stuff on the Internet.

Also: My latest article for Lansing Capital Gains is now online.  It is about the Soup Spoon Cafe, a very tasty restaurant (good coffee too).

This was inspired by a recipe for “Rice Triangles” in the cookbook that came with my Laptop Lunch bento box. I figured, “Hey, that’s just sushi without the fish, I’ll give it a try.” Well, the first few I made weren’t that pretty and were difficult (based on the directions in the recipe), so I said the heck with it and just started doing my own little sushi rolls. I laid the seaweed paper out, spread out the rice and started laying veggies on top. It took a few times to get the hang of it, but I’m glad I decided to experiment (which is what I like most about cooking, just trying whatever I want).

I had a lot of fun! I love cooking and this was certainly a new, fun way to cook. Plus it lets me make healthy stuff for my daily lunches I take to work. My veggie rolls are a neat way to eat some raw veggies, and they are fun to make.

I decided to make more today, so I headed off to the East Lansing Farmer’s Market and picked up a cucumber and a zucchini (and a pint of super yummy blue berries).

Came home, made the rice (making only half of what I had made last week, because it was way too much for just me), added the sushi vinegar (have a bottle of stuff ready to go I got at the store), and the sesame seeds. Then the fun began.

This one has carrot, spinach and zucchini. I think I seasoned it with cilantro, can’t remember (some were seasoned, some weren’t, like I said: I experiment).

I switched some things up with each batch, but they all had some mix of veggies.

This one was spinach, cucumber and zucchini. I also seasoned it with cilantro as well as Two Sisters Gourmet Outrageous Garlic seasoning (dried garlic, onion, etc).

I might pick up some soy meat/tofu to try out next time as well, so I can have some protein in there.

I’m happy with how these turned out. Still need to get the bamboo mat-rolling thing, but I will soon. And I’ll tell ya, they ain’t kidding when they call it ‘sticky rice,’ it is a pain to get off my hands, but that’s part of the fun.

Please let this be true. As a suburban Detroit native, I grew up eating at National Coney Island restaurants. Things got even better when the big 24 hour place went up in Roseville, granting my high school cronies and I great place to hang out.  Then one opened up minutes from my parents’ place and things got even better.

I suffered without my beloved National for too long while on the West side of the State during my Grand Valley State days. It was a sad state of affairs.

Thankfully, Lansing has its fair share of excellent chili dog places, so I have not suffered here. But as good as they are, they still aren’t the same as National. There was always something special about National, even the small place they had at Lansing Mall in the old food court (don’t know if they still have one, I doubt it).

When I was younger and still drank pop, I would always order a Coke in a styrofoam cup go wash down my chili dogs.  Coke always tasted better in their styrofoam cups for some reason. Can’t explain it.

This reminds me, I need to stop at a National next time I’m back in the D. It has been too long. I’ll break my pseudo-diet and get a chili dog. Mmmm. Chili dog.