baby eggplant (or aubergine, if you prefer)

Aubergine sounds so much nicer, don't you think?
At any rate, I've been picking these tiny things by the basketful as two of my plants seem to be wilting away (odd watering, I suspect). Nevertheless they are quite tasty and great for a pan of curry.
By the way, having all the veggies for this dish, hand-picked from a short walk out the door, is, in a word, amazing.
Baby Eggplant and Potato Curry

Heat 3 Tb. ghee in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 medium onion, chopped, and 1/2 Tb. brown mustard seeds and cook for about 3 minutes, until the onions begin to soften. Add to this 3 large tomatoes, chopped, a pinch of turmeric, and a bit of salt, and continue to cook another 3 minutes or so, until the tomatoes begin to break down and the onions get even softer. Then toss in roughly 2 1/2 C. of sliced baby eggplant and 2 1/2 C. of peeled, chopped potatoes. Stir in 1 tsp. of red chili powder, 1/2 tsp. garam masala, 1/2 tsp. sugar, and 1 tsp. ground coriander, and 2 C. water. Bring the curry to a simmer, then lower the heat and put the lid on. Cook, gently simmering, with the lid on for about 20 minutes, or until the eggplant and potatoes are cooked through. If too much liquid remains, remove the lid and increase the heat, simmering - almost boiling, to reduce the liquid.

Serve with fragrant basmati rice and cooling cucumber raita.

Quick Cucumber Raita

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 C. Greek yogurt, 1 small minced garlic clove, 1/2 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and minced, a pinch of salt, a pinch of ground cumin, and 1 tsp. of chopped fresh cilantro.

july's tomatoes

Principe Borghese, yellow pear, sungold, and orange-fleshed purple smudge.

How do you like to eat them?

jam for a challenge

Blueberry Lime Jam
(adapted from the recipe for Blueberry Quick Jam in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving)

*For the Blueberry Challenge over at Grown In Frederick*

In a large jam pot, combine 4 1/2 Cups of crushed blueberries, the juice of 1 1/2 limes (4 Tb.), the zest of 1 lime, and 7 Cups of sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly and stir in 2 pouches of liquid pectin. Boil hard for 1 minute, skimming off the foam. Ladle the hot jam into clean, hot, sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch head space, wipe the rims clean, center on the lids and screw bands down until finger-tight. Process in a water-bath canner for 10 minutes; remove the canner lid, turn off the heat and let rest for another 5 minutes before removing the jars to cool on a towel on the counter. Any that do not seal can be kept in the refrigerator for a few months.

pickling

A few photos - as promised - from the steamy, summer kitchen...
(garlic dills with hot peppers)

mid-summer

Such a slacker I've been.

Here, I mean, of course. At home I've been whirring through batches of jams and jellies, picking beans and trying to keep up with zucchini - and those darn deer that seem to STILL make their way into the garden.

Keeping up is what I should have titled this post, because that's really what's going on. It's mid-summer, and dreadfully hot in the garden and, some days, even hotter in the kitchen. It can be a bit - un-inspiring, you know? So much time is spent pickling this or preserving that, freezing, packing and picking some more, that meals lately have been a second thought - cobbled together, often enough, from a handful of pasta and whatever vegetable is abundant that day. Sad to say, when there is so much to be had right now, but this is the downside (if you could really call it that) of growing your own. Lucky for us that this summer's bounty doesn't need much to be made into dinner - perfectly ripe, perfectly fresh - there is no better way to eat, and that's what it's all about.

Back soon with photos, I hope...

Happy summer!