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| Japanese eggplants growing |
These are our Japanese (or Asian) Eggplants. We currently have two plants growing and they have been VERY productive. As you can see above, they are covered in eggplants of various stages, from blooms to small, medium and large. Below is the harvest that I gathered. We usually use them diced up with some other veggies like onions and peppers and mixed into scrambled eggs or maybe into a pasta sauce. But that's when we have one or two. With this many, we are thinking fried eggplant will be on the menu one night this week. Do any of you have lots of eggplants and maybe a favorite way to use them?
I'm thinking we'll be having a lot more before the season is over and we'll need some more ideas!
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| Japanese eggplants |
Beautiful eggplants! I wish we had lots of eggplants, but we never have enough. Favorite ideas: we make lots of ratatouille. Also, an easy tasty recipe is to dip sliced eggplant in Italian salad dressing, then in breadcrumbs mixed with parmesan cheese. Bake them on a cookie sheet til they're soft and brown, turning over once. Makes a nice side dish. Last idea: my husband is vegetarian, so I often grind up eggplant in the food processor and throw it into spaghetti sauce in place of hamburger and let that simmer in and "beef" out the sauce. Enjoy those eggplants!
ReplyDeleteThanks! What some great ideas! I love the Italian dressing and bread crumbs. Yum! I like the idea of adding it to sauce, we're not vegetarians but hey, anything that cuts down on meat expense or is healthier is ok with me. Thanks for the info!!
DeleteYour eggplants are lovely! Our eggplants have done fantastic this year as well :O). We like to slice them about 1/2" thick, put some olive oil or grape seed oil rub it over the slices. Some spices what ever you like salt and pepper.. Then grill them on the grill! I have also canned two batches of eggplant tapanade. Which we just love. I dehydrate them as well. Then you can use them in things like eggplant parmigiana later :O).
ReplyDeleteI did a harvest post today too, I forget about Harvest Monday. But then I don't post daily. :O(
Sounds delish!! You had a very nice harvest, I'm jealous of the red peppers (and always jealous of fresh tomatoes, ha). Mmm, tapenade, never thought of that. I might have to try that.
Deletep.s. Love all your posts, no matter when they are! :-)
Would you look at that. Good deal, 1st!
ReplyDeleteOurs are already spoken for in either baba ganouj or baingan bharta. :)
DeleteSee, I can grow stuff, LOL! Dang it makes me sad I didn't get to the farm garden in time but it's ok, I'll have a lot of it done for Fall and then finished for next Spring. And lots of seeds to go in the ground!!
DeleteI know what baba ganouj is (and love it) but don't know about baingan bharta. I'll have to google it!
Here's how I've been serving eggplant lately: grilled. Brush with olive oil and put on the outside grill or the last time I used my inside grill pan then layered them between marinara sauce and mozzarella with a topping of parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 min. If you want to bread them dip in an egg wash then crumbs and fry up in olive oil.
ReplyDeleteI'm sending a grill theme with everyone! This sounds great as well. Dang, now I have lots of choices. that layered idea sounds delicious!
DeleteForgot another recipe we got from a CSA we did years ago: spread with a thin layer of mayonnaise then dip in grated parmesan cheese. Broil for a few minutes on each side until they brown up.
ReplyDeleteOK....now I'm psyched. We have mayo in the fridge. We have parmesan in the fridge. I'm sensing a snack tomorrow night! I'll blog about it when I do it! Thanks!!!
DeleteBeautiful eggplant! Mine is not producing more than 1 at the time.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry. If it's any consolation, our tomato plant is huge but hasn't produced a single fruit. Ugh. It's a weird growing season for sure.
DeleteWow! What a haul! I'm hoping to get a few eggplants this year...but no blossoms yet. Enjoy all that delicious-ness!
ReplyDeleteWe will! You'll have blossoms soon too! I know ours are loving the heat, which i guess is a good thing, ha.
DeleteI love the beauty of eggplant...and I love the word aubergine...but I do not like to eat eggplant...Sam I am...I do not like to eat eggplant...not even with ham.
ReplyDeleteNow that made me laugh out loud! I hear ya. Thankfully I love them, but there are a few things I'm not fond of, not even with ham. LOL!
DeleteMy suggestions: Eggplant Parmesan, Grilled Eggplant, Baba Ganouj, and I also add it to spaghetti sauce I make from my tomatoes. But if you do that you have to freeze the sauce, you may be able to pressure can it, but I'm not sure. I usually save myself the hassle and make up spaghetti sauce by roasting tomatoes, onions, garlic, eggplant, and whatever other veggies in the oven; then I simmer the roasted veggie mix on the stove and add all my spices and such. Then I freeze for use later in the year. The eggplant thickens the sauce nicely but doesn't add a whole lot of flavor.
ReplyDeleteGreat suggestions, thank you! I like the idea of freezing sauce. That's something we haven't done a lot of. And I can see how the eggplant would add texture and thickness. Great suggestion!
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