Eggplant: Parmesan

Eggplant is easy, we started the white eggplants from transplants, my purple ones are still growing because I started them a little late from seed. My garden is definitely helping me achieve my goal of eating healthier and cooking more. When I had 4 little eggplants ready that I needed to use, of course Eggplant Parmesan came to mind. It was my favorite garden dish so far, wait, no cucumber chicken salad, wait, no, fresh salsa. Ok, Eggplant Parmesan is my favorite hot dish thus far.

Eggplant Parmesan Recipe
Ingredients
2 lbs (about 2 large) eggplants
1 can of tomato sauce
3 clove garlic, peeled and minced
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 lbs of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1 cup grated high quality Parmesan cheese
1 packed cup fresh basil leaves
Method
1 Cut eggplants lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Dredge the eggplant slices first in the flour mixture, then in the beaten egg. Working in batches, slide coated eggplant into hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides, turning once. Drain on paper towels.
4 Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the bottom of a 10x15 inch glass baking dish, spread 1 cup of tomato sauce. Top with one third of the eggplant slices. Top eggplant with half of the mozzarella slices. Sprinkle with one third of the Parmesan and half of the basil leaves.
5 Make a second layer of eggplant slices, topped by 1 cup of sauce, remaining mozzarella, half the remaining Parmesan, and all of the remaining basil. Add remaining eggplant, and top with the remaining tomato sauce and Parmesan.
6 Bake until cheese has melted and the top is slightly brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.

Okra: Garden to Table

So Okra was another vegetable I had no idea what looked like in 'real' uncooked form. I have about 25 plants and they have been producing really well. This is the first crop that produced that I started from seed. The first trick harvesting it at least every other day, because if you don't, the plant gets lazy and stops producing.
My second challenge with okra was my challenge with my whole garden. How do I eat all this stuff. With Okra, I cooked gumbo, i'll fry my next batch. Okra is good raw to me, it has a buttery starchy taste and it's kinda gooey.

Gumbo vegetables (all from Garden)

Papers, Onions, Tomatoes, and Okra, garlic, Parsley, and Basil.

Garden: After & Before- June/March

We have come so far in just 4 months!

Garden Layout:
Area 1
Bed 1: Cantelope
Bed 2: Asparagus, Rutabaga, Garlic, Cabbage, Broccoli, Collards, Strawberries
Bed 3: Parsley, Oregano, Rosemary, Lavender, Chives, Thyme, Sage, Mint, Catnip, Basil, Dill
Bed 4: Watermelon, Pumpkin, Gourd

Area 2
Bed 5: Peppers, Tomatoes, Onions, Potatoes (harvested)
Bed 6: Cucumbers, Squash, Zucchini, Eggplant, Okra
Bed 7: Corn, Beans, Squash
Bed 8: Sunflowers, Sweet Potatoes

The Garden is close to the original layout plan from March.

What the Heck is a Rutabaga?

One time my sister stopped by a country kitchen to get some dinner, as she peered over the counter of county foods, she pointed and said “I'll have some rutabagas” The overwieght black woman behind the counter erupted in muffled chuckles as she leaned on the counter burying her face in the arm of her spoon hand. When she recovered, she said “i didn't know no skinny white girl knew what rutabagas was”.

She was right, I am not skinny, but when my rutabagas seemed to be getting big, I had no idea what to do. Basically a rutabaga is a cool season root vegetable, its what happen when a collard and a turnip really love each other. I ended up just cubing, boiling and seasoning for lunch. Cooked, it takes like a zesty potato.

POTATOES-catching up on the harvest

I haven't been able to post in the last month. I have been working full-time, went on vacation, and spent the last week as 4-H Camp. This has highlighted the fact that my garden has such little upkeep. We go a neighbor to come turn the water on 3 times that week, and the garden's doing beautifully! I have also been trying to figure out video blogging with no success. The Garden has changed so much in just 4 weeks.
When the weather warmed in late may, the garden exploded with life!
At that point I was harvesting a strawberry here and there, eating lettuces and collards. There was a period of time that everything was growing rapidly, but there was nothing to harvest. Then when we came back from Florida last week we had our first Summer bounty!
There is so much to post that I thing I will highlight a Harvest each post.

POTATOES
Growing: easy
The first of the harvest was when I notice my Potatoes looking sickly, I got worried and looked it it up in a book and saw that when you potatoes plants decline, it's time to pull them up and get your potatoes. It was so fun, we had half red potatoes half white. We had 3 rows of about 10ft and produced around 100 Potatoes total. Next year I want to plant more! I am deciding if I should do a second crop, if I do, I have to battle with the potato beetle season. Ewww.

Whe potatoes look bad...


1. Pull potatoes up-pull potatoes off roots

2. Roll plastic much-dig up the rest of the potatoes



3. Re-bury drip line for next crop

4. Roll plastic mulch and hay back over dirt to keep weeds away

5. Enjoy Potatoes~