i don't wanna work, i just wanna bang on my timbale all day...

okay okay...i'm confused. when i saw this being made on the food network's itallian cookin' show, the chick said that this was called a timbale, which meant drum in itallian. i looked up timbale on google, and it's a term for a cone shaped mold in cooking and is derived from "thimble". i think it's itallian for "yummy veganized eggplant upside down casserole". this was really pretty and i didn't want to cut it, but we were all hungry. it all fell apart and didn't make neat pie-like slices like the food network lady, but oh well. i think to preserve the prettiness during presentation (sorry for the alliteration), i'll make mini timbales with cupcake tins. i'll let you know how it works out.

anyway, i'm not a recipe person so here's a loose interpretation

• cooked pasta (the recipe called for ziti, but i used macaroni because it was on sale. i used the fortified stuff that has lots o' protien and fiber)
• pasta sauce- i made some home made from tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil...you foodies know how to make sauce, right?
• peas
• smart ground seasoned with some sage and fennel seeds. or you can just buy gimme lean sausage
• follow your heart mozzarella
• grilled eggplant slices- (a couple large eggplants worth)
• basil for garnish
• round casserole pan (the recipe calls for a spring form pan, but us punks use what we can)

so you cook the macaroni and drain. cook the mock meat in a skillet with the peas. mix pasta, fake meat, peas, and sauce (this will look like goulash) and set aside. preheat the oven to 350. take that casserole dish and line the pan with grilled eggplant. it is very important that you grill the eggplant. line the pan so that the eggplant hangs over kind of like long flower petals. make sure the bottom of the pan is covered. okay, put some shredded follow your heart mozzie on the eggplant, then add the goulash mixture, then sprinkle some more on top. fold the eggplant slices over so it looks like a nice little package. take any remaining eggplant slices and cover the top of the casserole with it. you shouldn't see any goulash at all. bake in the oven for 45 minutes. take out of oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. take a plate and put on top of casserole and turn upside down like you would an upside down cake. if you're lucky, it'll turn out pretty. marvel at the pretty. top with some fresh basil leaves and take a picture. if you're feeling ambitious, make some vegan tiramisu for dessert.

i hope that made sense.