Welcome to The Cherry On Top.
If you follow me, you'll know I've been gardening for several years, but not so well. I'm a lazy gardener and I'm limited in space as well. My success are few, but since I've had some pretty darn good luck with eggplants, I thought I'd share my experience with ya.
That large potted plant was my eggplant from last year. I find the plant so pretty. The huge green leaves and lovely, purple flowers. I bet you could use it as an ornamental plant. If you don't like the fruit, give it to your neighbors, feed it to the chickens or sell them.
Light and water is a must and keep your eyes out for slugs, too.
Eggplant is a really mild tasting vegetable. I'm the only one in the family that likes it, but I have discovered a few ways to get the rest of the gang to eat it. Slice it, top it with tomato sauce and shredded cheese and bake for mini pizzas. Try it with squash, too.
Another way to use eggplant for those not a fan is to chop it small, add it to a sauce like spaghetti. No one knows it's in there! Isn't that great?! The longer you cook the sauce, the better. I do the same with mushrooms.
I had success with both potted and in the ground, in my greenhouse. Potted and in the greenhouse was not a good idea. When it got a bit hotter, it got moldy. My yield wasn't quite as good either with the potted plant, but that might be ok if you really don't want too much. Of course, you could freeze or can them, I think. I don't do too much freezing because I have a tiny freezer and I still find canning a bit daunting. I'll can and put in the fridge, but that's as far as I got. Call me chicken!
Pictured above is a small eggplant from this year's, gorgeous plant. I've cut 4 so far and it's not even July! I'm super pleased that I can harvest something already. You can see the rest of the garden still needs a lot of time.
Here are just a few links for delicious recipes you can make using eggplant. Feel free to peruse Pinterest or our Food Board there for more recipes.
eggplant hummus
moussaka
pasta with eggplant
(Add some ground lamb or hamburger if you want a meat version.)
eggplant rolls
(This recipe looks amazing! I've not made it yet.)
Pinterest is full of awesome recipe inspiration. It's my go to spot when menu planning.
Feel free to download some designs I designed for Design Bundles Plus. There's a huge collection there.
Some fun, free garden word art.
Download these stickers for free.
Download the free recipe card.
If you like this kind of thing, you may also like our huge series of free chicken designs.
I also gave away this entire cooking collection.
This blog is a must if you're still not menu planning.
Feel free to share any garden tips you've got or recipes. I love to hear from you.
Happy gardening!
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