Eggplant - Fresh from the Garden

Eggplant ... Mysterious, exotic, loves purple! Get to know Emma.

"Oh Gavin, you're embarrassing me." [Blushing.]
"A stage career? Me?"
[It's true I yearn to be discovered, and yet...]

The eggplant, while it's most widely recognized as a purple vegetable, also "comes" in other colors! White, lavender — even light green! A delightfully versatile vegetable, it's use sometimes takes a back seat to more common favorites like corn, broccoli, and carrots.

Eggplant combines particularly well with other ingredients, due to its texture and mild flavor. Native to Asia, the modern eggplant is also commonly used in the cuisines of Italy, Greece and the Middle East.

Eggplant is 92.4% water, and also a good source of dietary fiber. When well-grown, it's high in potassium, phosphorus, calcium, vitamin C and vitamin A. It also contains a number of trace minerals.

Nasunin, an found in the skin of eggplants, has been studied as a potent anti-oxidant. Eggplant may also have a beneficial effect on blood cholesterol levels.

Eggplant is generally regarded as having warming energy.

Please see your health provider for guidance on your own health program.

Eggplant is generally served cooked, either baked whole and then scraped out of the skin; peeled, diced, and sauteed; or sliced and layered into a dish like eggplant lasagna or the Greek dish moussaka. It's a mainstay of the French staple, ratatouille. Eggplant can also be breaded & lightly fried, then smothered in tomato sauce & cheese and baked to perfection — or even made into refrigerator pickles!

Eggplant — Try this: Have on hand 1 cup of previously-dried garbanzo beans, soaked and cooked OR 1 15-oz can garbanzos. Peel and cube one medium eggplant. Heat a little olive oil and a clove of minced garlic in a medium skillet. Add eggplant and saute until soft and just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together 3T lemon juice, 2T tahini (sesame paste), 1T water, 1T olive oil, and a little salt. Add in the garbanzos, the warm eggplant, and a little chopped parsley or red onion if you have it. Serve as a salad or wrap sandwich. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese, fresh sliced tomatoes in season, olives, more parsley, more onion...

Or Try: Baba Ganoush Step-by-Step