Bitter Ball is Bitter
Aug. 29th, 2020 01:05 pm Back to your regularly scheduled FOOD posts....
Image: the penultimate summer box, plus sun-washed out cat.
In this latest Hmong Farmers' Association box, I got: curly kale (....yay?), arugula (yes!), ten ears of corn, a huge bag of green beans, Thai bird peppers, rhubarb, yard-long beans, and bitter ball eggplants.
Not pictured because already re-homed: four slicing tomatoes.
My family is not a fan of searing heat, so I chopped up the peppers and made them into... jam? I'm not sure this one worked out as well as previous attempts as, when I last tasted it, it still tried to set my MOUTH ON FIRE. But, my thought is, that perhaps, in this concentrated form that will last for several months, I can cautiously add a bit of heat to things that would benefit from such an addition. If not, well, I mean, it was a fun experiment?
I was stoked to see rhubarb making a return this late in the season. Shawn is trying to decide which of the many rhubarb deserts we will make with it.
And then, there were these, so MANY of these....
Image: a horrifying amount of yuck in an adorable green pumpkin shape.
No offense to the fine people of Liberia, Ethiopia, and the other African countries that really love bitter ball eggplants, this lily white Midwesterner did not like how bitter the bitter ball eggplants were. If you're curious about this plant, its scientific name is: Solanum aethiopicum ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_aethiopicum. I suspect that my biggest issue is that I do not know how to cook these beauties. They are adorable as all get out, but they are very, very, very bitter. They are related to the nightshade (not unlike potatoes and tomatoes), however, this was one time when my body said WHAT IS THIS?? IT TASTES LIKE IT MIGHT KILL US!
It is said that one can eat them raw, so before cooking I tried a tiny bit.
Image: Interior shot of death, incarnate.
I will admit that I never found a particularly good recipe to try online, so I tried to simply add them to a stir fry. I think I was so fooled, thanks to my amazing luck with the Thai eggplants that look somewhat like this but are larger and HONESTLY DELICIOUS. Do not accidentally buy these little f*ckers. I ate the dish as my friends![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
naomikritzer and pegkerr can attest, but, wow, I do not know what I'm going to do with the rest of them.
There is probably some trick to making them less bitter... or perhaps it's an acquired taste, like coffee?
Speaking of coffee, my coffeemaker broke the other morning and I ordered a replacement. It hasn't come yet, so I've been getting along on tea. I swear to god this morning, however, all my neighbors helped me survive by brewing the strongest smelling coffee ever. When I took the compost out to the pile, I stood for a while just inhaling the scent of darkly roasted coffee like the addict that I am.
Image: the penultimate summer box, plus sun-washed out cat.
In this latest Hmong Farmers' Association box, I got: curly kale (....yay?), arugula (yes!), ten ears of corn, a huge bag of green beans, Thai bird peppers, rhubarb, yard-long beans, and bitter ball eggplants.
Not pictured because already re-homed: four slicing tomatoes.
My family is not a fan of searing heat, so I chopped up the peppers and made them into... jam? I'm not sure this one worked out as well as previous attempts as, when I last tasted it, it still tried to set my MOUTH ON FIRE. But, my thought is, that perhaps, in this concentrated form that will last for several months, I can cautiously add a bit of heat to things that would benefit from such an addition. If not, well, I mean, it was a fun experiment?
I was stoked to see rhubarb making a return this late in the season. Shawn is trying to decide which of the many rhubarb deserts we will make with it.
And then, there were these, so MANY of these....
Image: a horrifying amount of yuck in an adorable green pumpkin shape.
No offense to the fine people of Liberia, Ethiopia, and the other African countries that really love bitter ball eggplants, this lily white Midwesterner did not like how bitter the bitter ball eggplants were. If you're curious about this plant, its scientific name is: Solanum aethiopicum ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_aethiopicum. I suspect that my biggest issue is that I do not know how to cook these beauties. They are adorable as all get out, but they are very, very, very bitter. They are related to the nightshade (not unlike potatoes and tomatoes), however, this was one time when my body said WHAT IS THIS?? IT TASTES LIKE IT MIGHT KILL US!
It is said that one can eat them raw, so before cooking I tried a tiny bit.
Image: Interior shot of death, incarnate.
I will admit that I never found a particularly good recipe to try online, so I tried to simply add them to a stir fry. I think I was so fooled, thanks to my amazing luck with the Thai eggplants that look somewhat like this but are larger and HONESTLY DELICIOUS. Do not accidentally buy these little f*ckers. I ate the dish as my friends
naomikritzer and pegkerr can attest, but, wow, I do not know what I'm going to do with the rest of them. There is probably some trick to making them less bitter... or perhaps it's an acquired taste, like coffee?
Speaking of coffee, my coffeemaker broke the other morning and I ordered a replacement. It hasn't come yet, so I've been getting along on tea. I swear to god this morning, however, all my neighbors helped me survive by brewing the strongest smelling coffee ever. When I took the compost out to the pile, I stood for a while just inhaling the scent of darkly roasted coffee like the addict that I am.