Eggplant!

Two pounds of Eggplant!  Guess what's for dinner????  Eggplant varieties from left to right:  Florida Market (rareseeds.com), Orlando x 3 (kitchengardenseeds.com), Black Beauty, Ichiban and Hansel (tomatogrowers.com).  Did'ya know Eggplants are perennial?  Short lived sub-tropical perennial.  Protect from hard freezes.  The Black Beauty, Ichiban and Hansel are repeat fruiters from last fall.  I'm guessing fruit yield will be better with some pruning at the beginning of the growing season.  I've started a new batch of Hansel.  This one will be permanently in a pot.  So that it can be moved into the garage in the event of a hard freeze.  Or into a better spot in the sun.  She is a 'dwarf' plant, no more than 24" in your average Florida soil, so she should be happy in a snazzy pot.

Whats for dinner?  And enough for another dinner!  Homegrown, homemade Eggplant Parmesan.  You can't buy stuff this good.

And togetherness time with hubs, because we cook it up together.  Team Work, FTW!

This casserole pan has become my favorite for oven cooked casserole.  Found at a thrift - Bon Chef.   Enamelware Cast Iron I think.  5 qt.  Nice size.  Nice pan.