On the castteam, in honor of developing good, new habits in the New Year, some of us have joined together in a Face Book group to encourage and support each other in our endeavor to eat with wisdom and become immune to all the food distraction and lures that are all around us. CHUBBY CHICKS CHANGIN' CHOICES is the Face Book group. If you're interested in joining, convo Becky from 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/GoodNeighborsCandle

We subscribe to Dr. Axe's online info. I love his name because I can just imagine Dr. Axe chopping the pounds off my chubby little frame.   http://www.draxe.com/  

Another habit we are working to develop is to be good stewards of what we already have (that means - your stash of "whatever"). For some of us it's yarn, others it's fabric, others love paper, glue, wire, glitter, rubber stamps, and so on. We have a struggle staying out of our favorite haunts - JoAnn Fabrics, Michael's, etc. while they lure us with coupons and sales, causing our stash to balloon to unmanageable proportions, defying our best efforts to hide it under beds, in closets, in the trunk of our cars, in the attic, in the basement............One of our teammates, Karen from  https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChocolateDogStudio?ref=ss_profile        has challenged us to  "The 100 day/100 item" test. Here's how it works ~  use what you already have. Make something with it. List it in your etsy shop. 

In both of these very similar disciplines, there is an "end target", a goal. We may not reach it but we are developing valuable and wise habits in our efforts to get there.  

February's recipe ~ CAPPONITINA ~ is a vegetarian dish. It can be served warm or room temperature. It can be a meal, a spread for crackers or bruschetta, or an appetizer for parties. At the present time, I am using it as a meal because I am attempting to eat lots of veggies and fruit, filling my tummy with beneficial nourishment rather than empty and/or unhealthy calories.

I can't claim to be the author of this ancient Italian recipe. It's been made in almost every Italian household for generations. My husband's grandmother canned this in the early fall when she "put up" all the produce from her garden. In her house, the kids spread it on bread for their lunch. No PBJ for them. This is what you had, you used it and didn't make purchases when you had a stash in your kitchen cupboards. The added benefit was ~ that was much healthier for them than PBJ.  Each Italian family probably tweaked it to suit their own tastes, just like they do with all the classic recipes. This is how I make it. It is delicious and the aroma is captivating.

All of these ingredients are of  "approximate" amounts according to what's in your kitchen.

3 cups of cubed, unpeeled eggplant

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium pepper, inside veins removed and discarded, chopped

1 pound of fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 gloves of garlic, chopped

I put all of these in my wok because it is the only vessel I have that's large enough to hold all of these raw veggies. Brown this melange in oil, stirring occasionally, for about 10-15 minutes.

While Veggies are browning, empty a

 6 ounce can of tomato paste. 

1/4 cup of water or wine

2 tbs. of wine vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. of brown sugar

salt and pepper

into a small bowl and whisk together
add to this 2-3 tbs. of rinsed off capers

pour over veggies, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

I like to serve this on olive oiled and grilled sliced Italian bread (bruschetta) . Try it, you'll like it.