I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've actually tried eating eggplant and not a one of those times has encouraged me to eat some more. But I figured maybe it's one of those foods for which I just haven't found the right preparation and/or cooking style. Hell, I just found out in the last 6 months or so that I love scallops and VPH has been trying to get me to eat those for over 10 years. We didn't actually get around to eating the 2 eggplants that we already harvested, so with another 4 ready to pick today, I insisted that we actually try eating these:
The Royal Purple Bush beans were a nice bonus and will be eaten tomorrow. Watch out for those Ichiban eggplants -- they're lethal:
But they make a pretty landscape:
VPH opted to prepare a "summer eggplant lasagna" from a recipe he found on line. It called for egg bathing, breading, and frying the eggplants:
And then layering them with cooked lasagna noodles, shredded mozz, chopped mint, oregano, parsley, and basil covered with a splash of red wine vinaigrette and serving at room temperature:
You know where this is headed...still not a fan of eggplant. The dish was fine, but I sure didn't enjoy it the way that VPH did. I thought the mix of the sweet eggplant and the red wine vinaigrette was odd. He's dying to make it again and I'm wondering if I'll ever enjoy eggplant.
The first Kentucky Wonder beans are coming in:
While VPH was cooking dinner I went outside to check things out after the 1.5 inches of rain we got in 20 minutes Wednesday afternoon. Predictably I found one Brandywine Pink tomato sideways on the ground and the other leaning precariously. Some emergency staking was in order:
All better:
No real harm done aside from one lost tomato:
As long as I was out there with stakes, mallet, and Velcro tape I decided it would probably be a good idea to take care of this mess:
I pulled a bunch of the volunteer seedlings and though I doubt the rest will actually produce tomatoes, I staked them along with the two main plants that were leaning dangerously to the left:
Taken during the massive rain storm (see the water sheeting down on the right?):
Between rain showers today (3.5 inches in less than 36 hours) I went out to check on the garden. I think one more day until FIRST TOMATO (it's too firm on the squeeze test still):
The zucchini on the far right wasn't looking good at all:
All of the leaves showed heavy signs of gnawing, so I looked underneath the leaves and 3 of the plants in the container were covered in these:
I can't figure out what they are -- does anyone out there know? Needless to say I pulled those nasty infested plants immediately (they did not go in the compost). There was one bug on the remaining plant in the container on the right, but I removed it. Hopefully it was the only one:
This leaves a big opening in this container. I think I will just stick some more zucchini seeds in there and see what happens. At the very least I think the nasturtium will do better:
The veggie garden at 5:00pm today:
I am still thinking about planting more beans and carrots, but I haven't actually done anything yet. Do you think it's too late?
You are a better (more patient) gardener than I am... I would already be eating that tomato, and thinking, "Well, I'll just wait for the NEXT one to be REALLY ripe..." lol. Great job on the staking, too. Wish I had an idea for you on those bugs--they certainly look nasty!
I'm sorry that you don't like the eggplant still. I love eggplant, and that dish sounds awesome. Any chance you could direct us to the recipe online? And speaking of eating, whatcha going to do with that green tomato? I read somewhere that you can pickle green tomatoes in brine (when your jar of pickles is gone, just pop some in the brine that's left and let them sit in the fridge for two weeks before you eat them) so I want to try that sometime.
Posted by: Kim | July 25, 2008 at 12:37 PM
Heather, I'm with you on the eggplant - but I kind of love anything smothered in cheese and sauce... I hope you post pics of your wildflowers soon - especially if you decide to change that bed around!
Posted by: Kris at Blithewold | July 25, 2008 at 12:59 PM
Kim -- I think FIRST TOMATO is going to be dinner tomorrow with some fresh mozz and some of my basil. This is the receipe that VPH used, but since he was using skinny Japanese eggplants instead of a big fat one, he's not sure if he got the ratio right: http://www.recipezaar.com/292471 Not a big pickle person, figured I'd just let the fallen tomato sit on the table out there until it either ripens or rots (totally thinking it's going to rot).
Kris -- I think even smothered in cheese and sauce eggplant doesn't do it for me. I'm a texture and firmness in my food girl, so some things are just not my cup of tea and I supspect eggplant is one of them. They were quite sweet though and I wasn't expecting that. I'm thinking cut up in a stir-fry they might be more to my taste.
Posted by: Heather's Garden | July 26, 2008 at 12:54 AM
That looks like an American Dagger Caterpillar. They sting! My wife just got stung by one last week...
Posted by: Compostings | July 27, 2008 at 05:04 PM
Thanks for the recipe, Heather! If not pickles for those green tomatoes, how about breading and frying them Southern-style? Delicious...
Posted by: Kim | July 28, 2008 at 10:55 PM
Heather:
Eggplant is not for everyone but the other components in the dish look great! I think you have the larvae of the Mexican bean beetle on your squash. I have some also. Check them out here: http://bugguide.net/node/view/207658
Posted by: Layanee | July 30, 2008 at 12:41 PM
Compostings -- Good guess, but I looked up the American Dagger caterpillar (nasty things) and that wasn't what I had.
Kim -- It's still sitting on the table, lol. If we have green ones at the end of the season I think we'll try fried green tomatoes.
Layanee -- you put me on the right track, it's actually the larvae of the squash ladybird beetle -- Epilachna borealis -- which makes sense since they were eating the zucchini plants. Ugh!
Posted by: Heather's Garden | August 02, 2008 at 08:18 PM