Eggplant

Eggplant is not an easy crop to grow in northern Vermont and I love eggplant, so I have to choose varieties that will ripen here; I also grow the plants on IRT mulch, which is a black plastic that allows infrared light through to warm the soil. Growing this heat loving plant under a row cover also helps. This plant is Diamond, which ripens clusters of long narrow fruits. I've had really good luck with this variety, which I get from Fedco, a wonderful seed company in Maine; they have many varieties for northern climes.

Last night I fried up slices of eggplant in good olive oil and ate them in homemade pita bread. Delicious. I realize it's mostly like eating olive oil sandwiches, but still it's wonderful. I also like to make eggplant salad, a middle eastern recipe: cook the eggplant directly over the flame on the top of the stove till blackened all over and very soft. Then scrape out the cooked flesh, or which will have a smoky flavor; some bits of skin are fine. Chop, season with olive oil and lemon juice, and add some chopped parsley, and if you have on hand, some sweet pepper, tomato, cucumber.