I’ve always disliked a handful of foods - squash, eggplant, tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms - kind of limiting in a vegetarian diet, at least as far as restaurant choices are concerned. I’ve, in recent years, also stopped eating potatoes as they always seem to catch in my throat.

All of the vegetables listed above, excluding squash and mushrooms, are nightshades. Once I learned that, I of course started explaining away my pickiness as an allergy to nightshades.

A few years ago I conquered my aversion to squash by cooking it myself in a multitude of ways. Eggplant was next on my list, I liked babaganoush and that was about it; I enjoyed the crispy fried cheesiness of eggplant parmesan, but it always seemed to make me feel sick. Over the last couple of years, my efforts have mostly involved not picking the eggplant off of vegetarian sandwiches, and eating it when it is fed to me or has been left at my house.

This week, for the first time, I intentionally purchased eggplant for a dish I planned to make: Tofu, Almond & Aubergine Cutlets. The recipe calls for the eggplant to be boiled whole, then skinned and pressed to removed all excess moisture. My hands swelled up while pressing out the juices. Allergy confirmed. Maybe now my husband will stop pretending that I’m making it all up.

This morning I woke up to the sound of rain through our single-paned windows and allowed myself a bit of a lazy slow morning. We made fresh squeezed orange juice out of some very overly ripe oranges & I went through my recipe binders removing every eggplant recipe from the “to try” section.

I thought I’d share them all with you before tossing them, as they all sound amazing - if eggplant weren’t poison. I hope you make and enjoy these recipes that I won’t be able to.

Eggplant Pomegranate Relish originally adapted from License to Grill

Grilled Eggplant & Goat Cheese Salad from Giada’s Kitchen

The Eggplant & Artichoke alla Napoletana from Vegan with a Vengeance

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