Eggplant. A necessary ingredient for Ratatouille. Late summer is the perfect time to make this French recipe that's experiencing a revival, thanks to Pixar's hit. There are many versions of this recipe, but I think they generally all include eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, garlic, onion and herbs. We had it for lunch yesterday with fresh-from-our-garden produce and rolls from the local bakery topped with Amish roll butter.I also love to make eggplant parmesan, and as soon as there are a few more eggplants ready, it'll be on its way!
Growing eggplant was a big challenge for me this year. I planted two varieties, a Thai eggplant called Hmong Red Eggplant which is apparently quite rare. It was brought to the greenhouse this summer by a Thai couple and I fought away the flea beetles and colorado beetles, applying diatomaceous earth and picking off the grubs of the colorado beetles and covering the plants with floating row covers. Now I have little Thai eggplants that look like miniature pumpkins, though I'm not sure how to prepare them. If you are into Thai cuisine and would like some seeds, let me know and I'll send you a fruit...in exchange for a few recipes, of course!
And I have my purple eggplant as well, which I also fought to preserve, but now they're here and I have a lot of beautiful purple flowers covering the plants, promising me yummy eggplant dishes for the next few weeks.
