Make sure you peel the eggplant after grilling it if you're trying to fool hubby. You can actually pierce it, put it on whole. Let the skin get nice and brown on all sides. When cool, halve it and scoop out the innards. They'll almost be baba ganoush already. If necessary, chop up, and toss in with the beans. The eggplant will virtually disappear, just lending body and the smokey (ham) flavor to the beans.
When we were on the road full time, it would crack me up that the older men that would be taking their walks would always want to know what I was cooking on the mini weber, it smelled so good. Inevetably, I hadn't yet put the meat on, I was grilling veggies. Now whenever we fire it up, I take the time to grill a large number of veggies. Some we eat with the meal, but they're great for a later meal, especially over angel hair pasta. But, as I said, you'll get that smokey flavor if you're aiming for some meatless meals (we're omnivores, but usually eat meatless one or two days a week on GP).