This is the eggplant my daughter from Portland brought when she came to visit. She originally got the plant from me last spring. I don’t care for eggplant, which is a shame since it is usually such a beautify, vibrant purple. They tell me I just haven’t had it cooked right. Hmmm. They said that about lamb too!

Supposedly, white eggplant is more mild and not so bitter. That is why I offered it this year. So, wanting to share it with us and knowing I will give it another try, she brings it up from her garden,

We find a recipe for cheesy, crispy eggplant, “fried” in the oven. It smelled good while cooking but I still didn’t love it. I didn’t hate it either but that’s not a glowing review. No bitterness but the texture seemed mushy and it almost reminded me of fried zucchini. (the following recipe works great with summer squash). My honey didn’t like it at all although I give him credit for trying it. Everyone else loved it. Guess I’m just not meant to love eggplant, white or purple. Saves more for everyone else, right?

Here you go:

• 2 eggplants, about 6-inch long
• ¹⁄₄ cup panko breadcrumbs
• ¹⁄₄ cup grated kraft parmesan cheese
• ¹⁄₃ cup finely chopped fresh basil
• ¹⁄₃ cup light mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1. Peel eggplant and cut into 3/4-inch thick slices.
  2. Mix the parmesan and panko on a plate.
  3. Mix the basil, milk, and mayonnaise in a bowl.
  4. Dredge eggplant in the mayo mix and immediately dredge in cheese mix.
  5. Grease a baking sheet with spray cooking oil.
  6. Place the eggplant on the baking sheet and bake at 425°F for 25 minutes.

One of the most recognizable, medicinal and useful plants, foraging for mullein is easy and fun!

Source: Foraging for Mullein

Not only a stunning color, purple shoulders with a red bottom,  but the taste is exceptional. I’ve had two off my plant so far and it is consistently sweet and juicy. Generally, red tomatoes aren’t high on the top of my list for flavor but this one is very good. The plant isn’t a monster, in fact quite well behaved. It is about the size of a tennis ball, the inside is dark red, almost a smoky red and if you cut it on a white cutting board, the juice is purple. I will have this in my garden next year.

Here are some pictures of our homegrown cantaloupe. We’ve tried several times to grow melons in our garden. Spokane Valley used to be know for the fields of Hearts of Gold melons that they grew everywhere. I don’t know if the climate changed or what but we had no success at all. The plants grew but we had nothing ever get any bigger than a tennis ball!

This year I started several varieties in late April. I have a hunch that the extreme heat we’ve had (apparently 27 days of over 90 degree heat) caused them to flourish. These are the first to ripen, 4 of them, and they range from tennis ball to softball size. Their taste is incredibly sweet. First time in my life I’ve grown my own melons. First time!

The varieties we are growing are Oka Bizard (shown below), Dove honeydew, Ambrosia, Hearts of Gold, Hales (a volunteer in the greenhouse) and Inspire. I will let you know how those taste

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This one is Bianca. There are a total of 3 fruits on the plant right now. Big, beautiful and lovely creamy white color. I fell in love with the white peppers when I grew my Albino Bullnose.

Cubanelle. Another one of my favorites, I grow it every year. Since I don’t like hot peppers, I use these for stuffing as in Chile Rellenos. They turn a pretty fiery orange.

Who doesn’t love purple? This is called Islander, a new one for me. It starts out as a tiny green pepper and turns to purple as it matures. The next color will be red, yellow, orange, not sure what order before it reaches final maturity.

This would make a pretty and lively salsa or cut up into salads.

This is the only time I have been able to grow a Pink Brandywine. Ever. In our area they are just too late of a season. Every year II grow them because of customer request but I generally push the Red Brandywines over the pinks since they are more reliable. While they may be the epitome of an heirloom tomato by which all heirloom tomatoes are judged by, I have yet to be able to grow them successfully.

This was a sad looking leftover, in a gallon pot, which were 2 months ahead of the game. No one wanted to take it home and there were already two tiny tomatoes growing so I put it into the garden. I’m a sucker that way, I shudder to kill something that is obviously trying so hard, even if it is just a plant.

So here we are, pictures of the elusive Pink Brandywine! One of the pictures has a tag that I make and sell. (I know, shameless plug). Today we will have BLT’s or put it into a salad and try it. I will let you know if I think they are worth all the hype.

This one of the most asked questions that I get about tomato plants. I also advocate NOT to prune because I believe it opens up the plants to sunscald and that is one of the ways it feeds itself. Here is an article from Tomato Growers that discusses that very same thing. I am happy to see that research backs me up.

A friend of mine found htis and posted it to Facebook. This might make you laugh so hard YOU might wet your “pants”

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I posted some pictures in one of my last posts. Here are some pictures taken about two weeks later. They are growing wildly.

Here is a picture of the guajillo peppers, they show a marked difference in size from the last pic (the first one). Look how much difference two weeks can mark with the following two pictures side by side.

King Arthur – beautiful green bell

Corno di Toro = a favorite heirloom, sweet non-bell, the name means horn of the bull

Orange Blaze – Sweet bell that turns fiery orange when ripe

a multitude of pepper plants including Thai and Carolina Reaper