well, I still say you look great just as you are.. but, the exercise and healthier diet, can help keep you that way longer. so if it helps in your over all health. and your happier. thats a good benefit as well. so keep up the good work. (that includes getting to the gym and working out no playing hooky LOL. )

TOMATO PASTE.... now it makes sense why it did not taste right.. I had forgotten all about it thank you.
like most cooks, when the native ingredients are not easily available. the recipe adapts to it's new environment. (beaf or lamb for exaple instead of goat)
she may have also added extra vegitables, because they were also easier to get. and as you say.. they compliment each other in the dish. (an Americanized version if you will.) the last time I tried making it, I used Elk meat. it still tasted good. but just not right. because it was missing the tomato paste.
something so basic. and I could not figure it out.
Tess would be laughing at me (probably adding something like this in pidgin, while shaking her head:
thats why men should only drink beer at the B B Q,, while women master the kitchen.)

thank you Apple for solving my mystery, I hang my head and kneel. ;-)

sorry Apple, I did not really describe it properly. but yes its all cooked together with the egg plant and squash added in last so they dont get over cooked. first the sayote because it takes a little longer
it's really more of a pan fry, then stir fry
with a garlic, onion, bell pepper, soy (chili optional) seasoning base.
I trim the fat from the meat to use to season the pan first. once it's cooked down I remove it and add garlic(2 or 3 decent sized cloves) about half an onion minced, pepper, bell pepper and a beaf caldo cube and soy sauce and once once the veggies used for seasoning are cooked down and the caldo's dissolved.
I add the meat and wait till it is about half cooked
to start adding the vegetables. some other optional. vegetables are sugar peas, mushrooms carrots, zucchini. but the base vegitables are always the eggplant and sayote. goat was the meat source most often used.. the sayote and eggplant is cubed in large bite size chunks, and added last because you want them cooked but still firm.

as I mentioned before .. there are allegations, by outsiders made against trump (proven or are in the process of being proven false , and then there are confessions and admissions by the bidens, their family members and heads of state. that are just not being covered and are quickly hushed up. as well you know, thats not what joe, john or hunter really meant to say. if the house and senet flip after the mid terms, the stalled investigations will no longer have the dem watch dogs suppressing them. heck even some of th dem supporters of biden and fauci have started speaking out, because they want to separate them selves from them to try to save their up coming elections.

tonight I have a little time so I'm making up a batch of spaghetti sauce. I'm starting with
1 pound of ground turkey and 1 pound of ground beef. to that I will add Italian sausage seasoning to taste(I like it a little spicey so I'll also add some Cyane pepper ground white pepper and black pepper. all to taste before adding it into the meat) once I'm happy with the seasonings I'll slowly need the turkey and beef together while adding the seasoning.
next I'll add some white straw mushrooms finely minced and black olives also finely minced. . and then start warming my large fry pan, with olive oil and a couple crushed cloves of elephant garlic(cause I have some) and a small hot white onion minced
once the onion becomes transparent, I'll start browning the meat (olives and mushrooms are in the meat already) in the seasoned oil.
once browned, but not completely, I'll drain off most of the oil into a clean jar with a lid (waste not want not, this is great for cooking other meals with)

next I'll add a couple pint cans of diced stewed tomatoes with (I like the ones with green chilies also in them) and continue to cook on low I'll also add 1 pint tomato sauce, 1 half cup catchup and let that reduce (instead of diced stewed tomatoes I some times will use 1 quart of mild salsa)
once the water has mostly cooked out and the diced tomatoes are broken down. I'll add 2 cans of quartered stewed tomatoes to add water back into the sauce and allow the tomatoes to soak in the flavors. I'll only use some of this tonight. the rest will go into freezer bags for later use.
serve over pasta noodles of your choice, I like using a mexican cheese mix out of a bag, and sliced french bread (about an inch wide slices) toasted with garlic butter and some of the same cheese sprinkled on it.
you might notice, theres no real measuring involved here, all cooks only use them as a guide any way. play with it. have fun and enjoy.