Tis the season for one of our most beloved seasonal foods--eggplant!!
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| A fistful of Purple Long eggplant. 8/17/2023 |
Boy, oh boy, are we pleased with the harvest. The rainy, cool June weather gave 'em a slow start, but there is an aubergine flood roaring from the garden this month. We're just barely keeping up with it! Eggplant
must be on the menu at least once a day.
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| Matt's beautiful spread after an especially big harvest. 8/20/2023 |
When we first cultivated eggplant (in 2012) we really only knew about using it for eggplant parm and ratatouille. We gradually built up a repertoire of other eggplant dishes over the years.
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| A lunch of triple eggplant including fried eggplant with a sweet and tangy soy-and-apple sauce (top), mashed eggplant and potatoes with ginger and chiles (right), and eggplant stuffed with ground cashews (bottom). 8/18/2023 |
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| An eggplant heavy dinner including mashed eggplant and potatoes with ginger and chiles (top, next to the seitan adobo), aloo gobi with eggplant (right), stewed eggplant with onions and mustard seed (bottom). 8/23/2023 |
We lean heavily on the first two--very, very heavily! They're SO GOOD. Both recipes come from the fabulous 660 Curries cookbook. We have them at least once a week for the duration of our eggplant season.
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| Cabbage, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, and corn. We'd been traveling and there was a lot waiting for us when we got home. 8/20/2023 |
In addition to fresh eating, Matt has roasted, pureed, and frozen several batches of eggplant for the mashed potato/eggplant dish we love so much. We're also experimenting with freezing bite-sized pieces of roasted and breaded eggplant, too. The hope is that we can enjoy the fresh eggplant now and also preserve some to enjoy in months to come.
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| Eggplants on the bush. 8/17/2023 |
The garden is such a gift for our household. It saves us money. It connects us with time and place. It nourishes our body and soul. It brings us joy.
Wowser! That is a flood! We have harvested one so far and hoping there’s at least one more quite soon 😁 Haha, amateurs!
ReplyDeleteWe tried many varieties and types before we landed on a few that work consistenly well here. So much trial and error and so many variables at play. Good luck with your eggplants endeavors, Belinda.
DeleteI'm amazed. I'll bet that eggplant lasagna is really good!
ReplyDeleteI think we're going to make it again this week. Also a friend suggested trying thin slices as the base for pizza! So, that's on the agenda, too.
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