Of all the fabulous and quirky names out there such as aubergine, brinjal, melanzane, and egg apple, we had to go with "eggplant." It's such a dull name to describe such a singular vegetable. (Botanically, it's a fruit, but we all use it as a vegetable, so let's go with that.)
Why "eggplant"? Apparently some 18th century European cultivars resembled goose or hen's eggs, so planters called them "eggplants."
Eggplants have a long history. They are native to India where they were first cultivated over 4,000 years ago. During the Middle Ages Arabs introduced eggplant to the Mediterranean region. Eventually European explorers introduced eggplant to places such as Africa and North America. Today China, India, and Egypt are the world's leading producers of eggplant.
Eggplants are available year-round in most major supermarkets, but they are best during August-October, their prime growing season. So here are some tips on how to select, store, and cook with eggplant:
Notice anything unusual about this corn? No, it's not some nifty Photo-Shop-Curves technique. It's real red you're seeing. That's no ordinary ear of corn. That's an ear of edible red corn.
Last weekend we found ourselves sipping on these. It's not like the weather was nice enough in any way, that it would have warranted having such a cool and refreshing cocktail. But the watermelon has been so sweet and I bought so many of those baby seedless ones at the store, I had to do something with them!
The best thing about this time of year is the abundance of fresh ingredients available at the Farmer's Markets and roadside farm stands. Freshly harvested arugula is widely available right now, which makes me almost giddy, I love it's peppery flavor.