eggplants like wow

It's hot today. I feel compelled to do little but sit in my room with a hot computer in my lap thinking about yesterday's food victories instead of actually cooking or eating anything that's not mostly ice. This is good because 1) my kitchen is dirty and full of ants and I don't want to clean up my housemate's messes again and 2) I've been going through quite the cooking spurt lately, which has been a little embarassingly obsessive, and it's good that I take a break and write down what I've been doing.

So the other day I went to the Lebanese grocery store with my very fun friends Margaret and Jake on a trip to look at interesting birthday presents for Margaret's boyfriend. While they went off ogling the many olives and candy and hookahs the store had to offer, I was drawn in by the tiny egg-sized eggplants in the produce aisle. They were very cute, light purple and not as intimidating-looking as their bigger cousins. I had to know how to eat them, even if I'm not actually a fan of eggplants (I've had to suffer through the Korean version of eggplant which is so indescribably yucky and full of soy sauce that it's bound to scar anyone for life), they were too cute to pass up. And cheap. So I asked the nice Lebanese woman (I guess?) at the counter how to prepare them, and this is what she told me, or at least, this is my interpretation of what she told me:

Eggplants Like Wow

You'll need: tiny eggplants (about 4 to a serving), some ground meat, about half an onion to every pound of ground meat, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, tomatoes

• take the tiny eggplants and peel them, coat them with olive oil and bake them in the oven (I guessed at about 350) until they're golden brown
• meanwhile, fry up some ground meat of some sort (I used ground turkey) with some onion and spices (cumin, ginger and cinnamon)
• when the eggplants are done, cut a slit down the middle of the tiny guys. scoop out the insides of the eggplant with a spoon and mix it in with the meat.
• stuff the tiny eggplants with your meat mixture, top with diced tomatoes
• stick this back into the oven until the tomatoes are sort of melted.
• eat with rice. YUM.

I think this dish could be improved with some kind of sauce and green stuff, it's not particularly colorful or yummily liquidy. Maybe some kind of tahini-based sauce drizzled over the top? With some cilantro? I must try it again next time... Also, be warned, this dish is pretty labor-intense. You don't think peeling tiny eggplants would take a long time, but... whoa.

Apparently they are also served at the restaurant right next to the store. I'm pretty sure that what I made is nothing like what one would actually get, but I'm sure whatever that dish would actually be would be pretty damn good. Anyone interested on splitting an order?