Eggplant

Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables, but it wasn't always that way. Eggplant, when not prepared properly, can be tough, chewy and stringy. It seems I never had well prepared eggplant which is why I didn't think I liked it. But, when I started growing my own veggies I wanted to try new things that I had not tried before. When I first grew eggplant, I had the same problem. But then Karen and I discovered how to prepare eggplant correctly and it has been one of our favorites ever since. We use eggplant in Eggplant Parm, ground up in Eggplant Balls, grilled or roasted.

With apologies to Karen's Italian heritage, our favorite variety of eggplant is Asian Eggplant. The long, skinny fruit are easier to peel and taste better because they have fewer seeds and therefore, get less bitter than their Italian cousins. As you can see from the pictures above, we grow several varieties of eggplant, including Italian.

Last year was a lost year for eggplant. The weather was cool and wet and Eggplant likes it hot and dry. In addition, flea beetles completely devoured the plants and we had to rip out every last one. Not a single Eggplant at One Love Farm in 2009. This year has been the polar opposite. Warm and dry weather has ruled the summer and the eggplant has thrived! In additon, the flea beetles were not as invasive this year and we have a bumper crop of eggplant. In fact, we usually don't harvest eggplant until early August(note the date of this post from 2008), but right now we've got tons of fruit on the plants ready to pick!