What Will It Take to Get You to Eat Eggplant?

I'm a vegetarian . . . most of the time . . . so eggplant is frequently used as a meat substitute. For example, there's Eggplant Parmesan and Eggplant Lasagna. I try to prepare eggplant recipes at home, but there must be a catch. There must be a way to make it taste better. If I tell my husband that I've included eggplant in a recipe, he keeps his distance. He's tried it, he doesn't like it, and he's not going to try it again. So there.

Restaurant listings are also limited if you're a vegetarian. However, there is often an eggplant dish available and it's usually quite tasty. I tried the Eggplant Parmesan at the new Jimmy's Oven and Grill location in the Target Shopping Center (I know it's Williamsburg or Monticello something or other, but who can keep them straight?). It was good! How do restaurants do it? Side note here: you should try Jimmy's. Go to their website and download a few coupons.

In the spring of 2005, pre-Katrina, we went to the New Orleans Jazz Festival and I ate Eggplant Parmesan at least once a day. I didn't mind not eating the shrimp and oysters. Really! The eggplant dishes were that good.

But when it comes to preparing eggplant at home, I'm handicapped. Today I saw an "Ode to Eggplant" on NPR. A native of India wonders why Americans don't like eggplant. Well, that's easy. We don't know how to cook it at home. I'll give her recipe for Imam Bayildi a try, though. She says it's adapted from the cookbook Gorgeous Vegetables. We'll let you know if my husband can be convinced to try eggplant one more time.

Now, I just have to wait until the next Williamsburg Farmer's Market to get a choice eggplant. Amy's Garden is one of my favorite vendor's at the market. Her colorful booth is always photogenic. I've bought Italian Eggplants from her before. She should have the very thing.