Kale-Eggplantalicious Quinoa Loaf - VeganMoFo Day 3

Yesterday I was wracking my brain thinking of something to make with the leftover eggplant and kale we sauteed Wednesday. Then I found a recipe for Kale-Eggplanticious Quinoa Loaf and knew I had to make it. I used a larger onion and only had enough eggplant to cover the bottom and not do layers, but it was excellent. I used more than a dash of cayenne and walnuts for the topping. So yummy that immediately after the kids and I ate lunch, I packed some in Rob's To-Go Ware so he could try it. I ended up warming some up for his dinner and he loved it! Our house temperature got down to less than 60 degrees yesterday (I refuse to turn on the heat yet and we keep our heat low anyway) so warm, comfort food was just what we needed. I can't wait to make this dish again. It would be so easy to make a sweeter dish with apples instead of eggplant and raisins with a dash of cinnamon or play around with the veggies, etc. This is a perfect dish to introduce people to quinoa. Why should you eat quinoa (nutritional analysis here)? Quinoa is high in Protein, Iron, and Calcium and has Folate, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and Manganese. It cooks quickly, is pretty when cooked, can be used like you would rice or pasta, and tastes great.I made mashed nooch potatoes (boiled potatoes, nutritional yeast, sea salt, ground black pepper all hand mashed with enough of the cooking potato cooking water to make them smooth) and we ate pears from our neighbor's tree along with the loaf. I can see this being my cold day lunch all fall/winter. Josie liked it the best, but the boys both felt like there were too many onions, but they will warm up to it...sometimes it takes a second try before they love something. It was very oniony so people who don't like onions (Jennifer) could probably omit them, but you might need more spices without the onions.Non-food related, but cute. Josie is spinning herself around in circles as I write this post. This is a new trick she just discovered and she is very happy with herself. I wish I had a video of her. Just imagine a little blonde, blue-eyed 12 month old girl in a green diaper and her brother's green shirt in the middle of the floor spinning around in little circles and loving the dizzy sensation. We are going to have our hands full with her.