My Love-Hate Relationship with Eggplant


I love eggplant. I love the word "eggplant", I like the dark purple color and the light heft of a ripe one, and the way they curve so delicately.

I love that they have a weird soft-firm texture, and that the plant has pretty blooms, and that they are so versatile.

I love baba ganoosh. I especially love slicing an eggplant in thin rounds, brushing them with olive oil, garlic, chili, salt, and pepper and then shoving them under the broiler until crispy. I LOVE a good eggplant parm. I love eggplant on pizza.

What I hate about eggplant is that I worry it might kill me.

Every time I eat eggplant, the first bite makes me instantly want to vomit. And sometimes it give me a little touch of asthma.

As long as I can choke down that first bite or two I am good. Seriously.

This is the only time I ignore my rule about not eating things that make me sick.

Comments

Mary said…
I hated eggplant as a kid, but I picked up too beautiful ones at the grocery this weekend.
Oh and I tagged you for the 6 word memoir that's going around!
April 13, 2008 at 9:23 PM
tammy said…
Now that you mention it, eggplant can sometimes make my mouth a little itchy. Not always, just maybe 50% of the time. Your symptoms are very interesting. I wonder if that's why people used to think nightshades were poisonous.
April 14, 2008 at 10:04 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

You should be eating: Braised Chicken Meatballs

Image
This was an impulse order at the Dumpling Cafe on Washington Street in Boston. (True story: when I was telling my Mom where it was, I used the Naked i as a point of reference.) I'd actually gone for the xiao long bao (broth filled dumplings) also known as "Juicy Buns", which they are famous for apparently. Hey, better late to the party than to not party at all, right? Because I did my homework, I knew to load one on to the spoon and then to nibble a little hole and suck out the piping hot broth. That is a tip that you will thank me for later, I promise you. There is no time that biting down enthusiastically into a bun filled with scalding hot filling and broth will reward you in any way. Also I knew from my homework that the key was to order everything at once while the waitstaff was near you. So in a panic I ordered the braised chicken meatballs. What a treat! They come with baby bok choy and a plate of rice. I totally think you should go eat them righ
Keep reading....

Aggressive coffee.

Image
The Evil Twin got us iced coffees this morning because it's what you do in Boston when the temps are above 40 degrees. Apparently she ordered hers "fucked up with 28 splenda". There is no other explanation. Unless it's "fuck you and your 28 splenda".
Keep reading....

Eastah Scorchah

Image
In April when the temps rise above 40, everyone around these parts switches over to iced coffee with a childlike glee that summah is just around the cornah. However when the temps rise to the 80's we all just complain. It's too soon for the beach, in a day or two the temps will drop back to the 40's, everyone is hot in their Easter dresses, it's too soon for A/C. We complain because we know that summah does NOT arrive in April, no matter how much global warming is happening, the possibility of a snow storm exists right through the end of the month. But hey, it was Easter and it was hot so we grilled and drank cold drinks and ate cool desserts. Sriracha grilled shrimp is literally one of my most favorite things to grill. If you are a recipe person, use this recipe from Food 52: Spicy Shrimp Recipe . If you are a just-wing-it cook like me, you basically marinate peeled and deveined shrimp in a gloopy mess of olive oil, Sriracha, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, br
Keep reading....