Eggplant

OK, first of all let me apologize for being so behind on posts.  My daughter wanted to join the Girl Scouts about 5 months ago, so we signed her up.  Then no leaders took the reigns to get these girls started in new troops so my Friend Marlene and I (thank you Marlene) decided to take one for the team and started our own troop.....NO ONE SAID how much time it would take.  Not to mention we joined at COOKIE TIME!!  But I digress, I have been a bit busy lately so I am behind in the posting of my blog....please enjoy as I try to catch up on my weeks.

The Eggplant, also known as Aubergine, Melongene, brinjal or guinea squash is considered a Night Shade.  Eggplants are native to India, this I did not know, however they seem to be cultivated just about anywhere now a days I even grew them in my garden a couple of years ago. This particular Night Shade is in the genus; Solanum along with Potatos and Tomatos.  They often have colorful flowers of white or purple and in the wild the fruit grows much smaller than those in cultivation.  The fruit itself is classified as a berry so I am not quite sure if this is a fruit or veggie, non the less I wanted to try it at home.  The flesh of the fruit is fleshy or meaty as they say, with many many seeds that really should be removed prior to cooking if you don't like the bitter taste.  I seem to only like it in Eggplant Parmesan and thought I could cook it up like my favorite Mushroom Steak Fries (Portabellos) and see if it retained the same texture.  Alas it did not, it became quite mushy inside and I really didn't like it.  So I guess I am sticking to Eggplant Parm for future Eggplant ingestion.  To be honest I didn't even take photos, I was so disappointed.  :(  If you know of any other recipes where the fruit does not tend to get mushy, let me know and I might take another crack at it.