Friday, August 5, 2011

The eggplant that made me look twice


I wish I could say that these came straight out of my garden but the credit goes to a farm in Tuscany. Aren't they gorgeous? The label on the box described them as melanzana striata (striped eggplant), but these look alot like the Listada di Gandia eggplants that are spoken so highly of by just about every eggplant-loving person on the planet. I've never cooked this type although it's been said that the flesh is firm but turns into a wonderful creamy texture when done.

I almost squealed when I spotted these last night at Esselunga supermarket. Guess how much? Only 1.75€ for each 1.5 kilo (3lb 5oz) box, which, if I did the math right comes out to something like 75¢ per pound. SCORE!

And....not to be forgotten. Thank Garden It's Friday means a big deal to me this week - drum roll please - we have tomatoes! This is what happens when I gripe less than a week ago for only having a few cherry tomatoes - mother nature shoots back with nearly 4 pounds of cherokee purples to keep my mouth shut for awhile.

7 comments:

K and S said...

those eggplants look so nice! and woot! on those tomatoes :)

Andrea said...

What a bargain,will be looking forward to hear how they cook up and what recipe you use them in.
Happy gardening/cooking!!

Rowena said...

Kat - it was one of those in the right place at the right time moments. I was so tempted to hoard and by 4 boxes but the fridge is not that big!

Andrea - I did simple dish of eggplant slices cooked on a cast iron grill and they were lovely. Will take proper photos the next time I cook them because the flesh is really a beautiful cream color.

Julie said...

Love the blog makeover Rowena! Eggplants look great, too.

Rowena said...

Julie - I was actually trying to figure out how to put static pages just under the header when I realized that it was beyond my capability. Hence, the change in background (more my speed!)

veggiegobbler said...

Same thing happened to me over our summer. I was moaning about my tomato crop being lousy and a couple of weeks later they all started coming ... And kept coming for ages. The trick must be to whine and complain.

Rowena said...

veggiegobbler - I intend to whine (and whine plenty) for next year's peas, cherries and pears!