Last night contained a somewhat successful experiment that led to an amazing revelation:

The goal was to make breaded, fried eggplant without breading or frying.  First, I took a few long and very thin cross-section slices (think sagittal view).  Then I coated the (eggwashed) eggplant in falafel mix (more about that later).  I spray olive oil flavored cooking spray onto a piece of tinfoil, and piled on the coated eggplant.  Then I seasoned with garlic and onion powder and gave a quick topcoat spray with the spray oil.  

Baked at 400F for 20 minutes, then set to broil for 5.

The "breading" was still a bit too bland..(I'll try again tonight by spicing it up a bit more), but overall, it was very tasty.  The very thin slices were crispy like crackers!!

Now, the revelation:  the broiled eggplant skin tasted JUST LIKE BACON!!!  *faint*

I need to try skinning a whole eggplant and attempt doing some vegan pork rind type things.