eggplantAs have the eggplant, or at least the very first one to appear. This is the long, slender Asian-style variety known as “Ichiban.” It makes for a great Chinese yuxiang eggplant dish (fried eggplant, garlic, ginger, vinegar, chili sauce… delicious.)

The garden has been producing other good things for the kitchen as well. I harvested some tasty chard from out back for a nice dish of cannellini and garbanzo beans together with onions and tomatoes, which I served on top of pasta. (Many thanks to Christina from A Thinking Stomach for the suggestion to grow chard and the encouragement regarding eggplant this past spring!) The inspiration for the dish, incidentally, was a delicious recipe offered at A Chicken in Every Granny Cart. It made for a great meal, and an economical one at that… not to mention healthy (it’s both vegetarian and high in protein.)