Conchiglie Pasta with Tomato-Eggplant Sauce, Lemon Green Beans

The pasta sauce that I described last night cooked from about 8a till 7p, or 11 hours. It smelled quite good, though it wasn't as fragrant as other sauces I've made in the slow cooker. It came out tasting very good, but I wish it were more chunky and not so runny; I chalk that up to using the electric chopper. Our friend doesn't like olives, but the sauce could have used a half dozen or more chopped olives. I served it over organic conchiglie seashell-shaped pasta, and then sprinkled on some Eat in the Raw's Parma! vegan "Parmesan cheese".

But no complaints - all three of us enjoyed the meal. I also made some green beans in the simple but so-tasty style that we were introduced to in the Tuscan countryside this past October, just by briefly sauteeing them (after cutting maybe a quarter inch off of both ends) in olive oil then squeezing some fresh lemon atop them and sprinkling with salt and freshly ground peppercorn.

By the way, I was delighted to be introduced to a blog by two vegetarians who found me in the midst of an interesting discussion about Cooking and Chromosomes where the articulate authors, Jai and Bee, were discussing stereotypical gender roles in the kitchen. Just for the record, I do almost all of the cooking for my wife and me (my wife doesn't enjoy cooking but eats out, at my parents', or makes a meal when I am out, such as when I'm teaching), and I also do the cleanup and most of the shopping. But I know I'm not "typical"!