Eggplant with Tahini, Brown Rice, and Tomato/Cucumber Salad

Keeping with the mode of recovering from eating so much over the holiday weekend I made this healthy and delicious vegetarian meal.
If you are going to serve this with brown rice then start that first. Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Take a couple of eggplants and cut slices that are about ¼ to ½ inch thick. I like to first peel my eggplant a little as shown in the photo, but it’s not necessary, I’m just not wild about a lot of peel.

On a sheet pan (cookie sheet) or two pour enough olive oil to coat them with a thin layer. Put one clove of garlic through a garlic press onto the sheet pan. Add salt and pepper and then swirl it all around to combine it and spread it evenly over the surface. Now place the eggplant on the sheet pan in one layer quickly turning them over after you put them down. This is so they get a little of the oil mixture on each side. Put them in the oven and start checking on them after about 10 or 12 minutes. You want them to brown on the side facing down on the pan and then turn them over and let the same thing happen on the other. Once they start browning keep a close eye because it happens fast. Also, keep an eye on the pieces closest to the edge as they tend to finish cooking sooner than the ones on the inside.

For the salad, cut up one seedless cucumber, a cup or two of chopped tomato, one chopped red onion and at least two tablespoons of chopped dill. Add a couple tablespoons of white vinegar and olive oil, salt and pepper and toss together.

Make a tahini dressing by mixing a couple tablespoons of tahini first with some warm water. When you’ve added enough to get the consistency you want (think creamy dressings) squeeze in half a lemon’s juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.