Curried eggplant & sweet onion with quinoa

Directions

1. Heat 3 tablespoons coconut oil over high heat.
2. In the meanwhile, thinly slice onion into rings (about 1/4 inch; very thin!). Set aside.
3. Half your eggplant, if using a whole eggplant. Then half it again, so that it's in quartered spears. Now thinly slice the eggplant, also 1/4 inch thick (it's not really important how you cut it; just make sure it's sliced thin- otherwise it will take forever to cook).
4. When oil is hot (it will slide around the pan easily), add sliced eggplant and onion to the pan and lower the heat to medium-low. Sprinkle on the curry powder, and season generously with salt and pepper. Turn everything around gently with a spatula to make sure everything is evenly coated with oil and spices.
5. Add a couple tablespoons of water to the pan, as it has probably already absorbed the oil. Turn the heat to very low and cover the pan (if you don't have a lid, use foil as I did).
6. Cook over low heat for 25-30 minutes. Check every 5-10 minutes, turning the veggies so everything cooks evenly. If it seems very dry, add additional water.
7. You can tell when the veggies are cooked when the eggplant is no longer opaque- it should look clear-ish and break easily with a spoon. Remove from heat. Taste and add additional salt if necessary.
8. Remove eggplant and onions from pan and add pinenuts. Put the pan over high heat and shake around frequently for a couple minutes, until the pinenuts are toasty.
9. Serve the eggplant and onions alongside your cooked quinoa. Garnish with toasted pinenuts and a little mint, as I did.