Holes

You know, there is something very particular about us humans: We’re never satisfied. As kids, there’s always a bigger, better toy. As teenagers, we want better grades, cooler gadgets, finer clothes. As adults, it gets even more complicated. We not only want better and more material possessions, but better jobs, relationships, lifestyles…well, you name it.

I’ve always used to feel like I have a hole inside of me. I was always striving for something, be it a good grade, or a thinner body, but each time I got to the goal I want, the temporary joy I achieved was short-lasting. Nothing seemed enough, nothing seemed to be able to fill up that emptiness in me.

Now, I’m starting to realize that true contentment doesn’t come from the outside. It starts from the inside. You know that inner peace that those weird meditating Zen people preach about? Well, I’m not sure if it comes from sitting in a Buddha-position and humming “ohmmm” for hours. But I can testify that it comes when you deeply discover the pure, unrefined love of God.

Right now, I feel like I’m relearning and rediscovering the intricate wonders and power of God’s amazing love. The fact that He so unconditionally and faithfully manifests His love to me through every single detail in my life, and every single creation in this world fascinates and moves me to tears. With the love of the Creator God, what more do I want? With the power and riches of the omnipotent God, what more do I need?

Suddenly, a lot of things I cared obsessively about just seems so trivial and meaningless now. I can honestly say that finally, I have found something that will fill up that hole inside of me permanently and eternally.

But when it comes to holes in pancakes…there’s also just one perfect item to fill them up. Can you guess? Why, it’s eggs, of course! Preferably one with a wobbly yolk!

After making that ratatouille from the last post, I still had half an eggplant left to use up. I decided to make pancakes, because obviously eggplants are best made into pancakes. Obviously. But with the addition of kabocha, obviously it’s just gonna get better. And with a runny egg in the middle of it, obviously it’s just gonna turn out perfect. Yes, obviously.

Egg-in-the-Hole
Egg in a Kabocha-Eggplant Pancake

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 eggplant, diced
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Mexican chili powder
• cumin powder
• Tabasco chipotle pepper sauce
• salt and pepper
• about 1 cup kabocha puree
• flour
• cornmeal
• 2 large eggs
• grated Parmesan cheese

First heat up the oil in a pan. Toss in the eggplant and onion and garlic, sautee over medium heat until soft and mashable. Season with spice, Tabasco, and seasonings to taste.
Put the eggplant-onion mixture into a large bowl with the kabocha:
Mix and mash in 1 egg, and enough flour/cornmeal to make a mixture dry enough to form with hands.
Take about a cup worth of batter and flatten it out onto an greased frying pan. Make a hole in the middle and crack the other egg into it. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese:
Heat it up on top of a medium-heat stove until the bottom is set, then pop it into a 300 degree Fahrenheit oven until the egg white is opaque and cooked through. Serve immediately.
Now doesn’t that pancake look so happy and contented now? An egg is the perfect thing to fill up its emptiness indeed!
You can’t see it, but there were beautiful steam rising as I shot these pictures…enough to make my mouth water and my hands tremble!
Ooh…Gotta love Parmesan! Unfortunately I was a bit sparse with the cheese because I wasn’t sure how well it’d go with the pancake, but turns out it was absolutely perfect. Duh.
The flavor? Freaking amazing. Who knew kabocha and eggplant go so well together? But then, doesn’t kabocha go well with practically anything?
The spices were right on too! Sort of a Indian-ish flavor, but in the form of brunch!
The neat thing about having an egg with a runny yolk in the middle is that you just eat around it. Stab into a bit of the pancake, then dip into the yolk. Repeat, repeat, until all you’ve got left is the single golden yolk.
I had some batter left over, which I formed into smaller patties, and rolled in Parmesan.
Then I cooked it over a skillet.
They were nice, but I much preferred the baked version.
Oh, and what is life without a bit of sweetness in it?
Yes, cupcakes! Specifically: Strawberry cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting adorned with a single blueberry.. Recipe from the awesome cupcake cookbook that Heather of Girlichef awarded me from her Cupcake Giveaway!
I baked these for my youth group whom I was teaching Sunday school today, and they lapped them up!
I myself put two of these cupcakes to test. One to see if it tasted good, and the other to make sure it really did taste just as good as the first one. Verdict: Both freaking good! And I should know, I double-checked The best thing about these cupcakes were that they were slightly tart and full of real strawberries. Not cloyingly-sweet at all!
I did a messy job with the frosting, but cupcakes are forgiving in that they still manage to stay photogenic! Oh, lovely little creatures! Thanks, Heather! This won’t be the last of the cupcakes I’ll be whipping up, I promise you!

Question of the Day: If you’re worried that I’ll be asking you something profound like “Do you feel empty inside” or “What fills you up”, you needn’t worry (Unless you really wanna talk about such things). Today’s question is easy-peasy. What is your favorite kind of pancakes?

Related posts:

1. Identity Crisis
2. Killing You Softly…With My Words…
3. Life University
4. The Real Natural Diet
5. One in a 150,000