*sniff, sniff*

The pumpkin I hand pollinated about 10 days ago looked just fine yesterday (it was about the size of a baseball). When I went to check on it this morning, it was wrinkled and fell right off the stem when I touched it. *sigh* Growing pumpkins is way harder than I thought! I'm going to try my hand at corn next year instead. Tamara

Oh no, that's so sad. Don't give up though! Maybe you just need to find a different variety for your area? I thought my cantaloupe melons were going to be a bust when the first ones were falling off like little yellowed raisins, but now I have 6 that are almost full sized. From what I've been reading on this site, seems like lots of folks have problems with their corn too. It's so hard though, to take care of something carefully and then have it not survive. I hope you get more pumpkins coming along soon.

Thanks! Guess I'll skip the corn too, and just stick with cukes and tomatoes. lol Tamara

I haven't tried cukes, but I'm in a similar zone to yours. Maybe I'll try 'em next year!

Cukes are easy! I train mine vertically to save on garden space. I'm also finding that my eggplant is growing really well too. Too bad I don't like it! ;-) Tamara

LOL....funny, I grew 2 eggplants for the first time this year and I have 2 fruits and I have pretty much no clue what to do with them. They just look pretty and I like to grow things. I am not a big eggplant fan, but I used to hate tomatoes until I started to grow my own, and now I love them (only the ones from my own yard, not grocery store ones). So I thought I'd grow an eggplant and see if I liked it.

But, I'm thinking of trying this recipe with the eggplant, just for the heck of it. I might leave out the anchovy.

Italian stuffed eggplant

1 medium eggplant 12 -14 oz oven 350 F
3 large ripe tomatoes 16 x 20 baking dish , oiled lightly
1 medium onion, finely chopped baking sheet ,solid , oiled lightly
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon of torn fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons tomato paste
6 drained anchovy fillets, chopped
1 rounded tablespoon drained capers
5 oz mozzarella
1 and a half tablespoons of fresh bread crumbs
2 level table spoons of freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 basil leaves lightly oiled
salt and fresh ground pepper

After washing eggplant, remove stem, cut lengthwise into quarter inch thick slices. Bulbous side slices should be chopped for the filling. Arrange slices in rows on baking sheet, brush each slice lightly with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Pop on a high shelf in oven to pre-cook for 15 minutes, by which time they will have softened enough for you to roll up easily.

Skin tomatoes [ boiling water , one minute ] cut in half and gently squeeze seeds out over a bowl, using palm of hand. Chop tomato into quarter inch cubes. Saute in heavy frying pan the onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Then add the chopped tomatoes, the torn basil leaves, and the paste, allow to cook another 5 minutes. Season to taste, and add anchovies and capers. Allow mixture to cool a little,

Chop mozzarella into small dice. As soon as slices are cool enough to handle, sprinkle each one with chopped cheese, placing it all along the centre of each slice.On top of that put an equal amount of stuffing mix, leaving a border all round for expansion. Roll up slices and put in the baking dish , seam side down, making sure the over lapping ends are tucked underneath.

Finally brush each one with oil, combine fresh crumbs with Parmesan, sprinkle the mixture over them and pop a basil leaf on top, then bake for about 20 minutes at 350. Serve immediately.

Oooo, that recipe is a keeper! I'm growing the eggplant for my DH and MIL, and they would love that! Thanks, Tamara

Cmoxon...you have GOT to try fried eggplant....sooooo YUMMY!!!!!!

Got a recipe noobiegardener? I'll try almost anything once!

Here's one from foodtv.com

1/2 cup all-purpose flour or cornstarch
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus additional for sprinkling eggplant
1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
1 small eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices and then quartered
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
Marinara sauce (optional)

Place the flour, egg, and bread crumbs each in 3 small bowls. Add the 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the egg and whisk to combine. Season the bread crumbs with the tablespoon of Essence and stir with a fork or your hands to thoroughly combine.

Dredge each piece of eggplant in the flour, coating thoroughly and then shaking to remove any excess flour. Coat each piece with the egg, then dredge in the bread crumb mixture, pressing to make the bread crumbs adhere. Transfer the eggplant pieces to a rack or to paper towels to let them dry slightly before frying.
In a deep, heavy skillet heat 1/2-inch of vegetable oil to 375 degrees F. Fry the eggplant pieces, in batches if necessary, for about 1 minute on each side, or until golden brown. Transfer with tongs to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle lightly with salt before serving. Serve with marinara sauce, or as desired.

Yield: 2 servings as a side dish or appetizer; 4 servings as an hors d'oeuvre.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Emeril is a wonderful chef so this is probably pretty good. I have to call my mom and get her recipe...and I can give you that one too you if like. Momma is Italiano and her recipe is bellisimo!!!

There's a website totally devoted to eggplant recipes called Ashbury's Aubergines: http://www.aubergines.org/recipes.php
It has over 3000 recipes! Man alive...he/she must really LOVE eggplant! hehe Tamara

Thanks noobiegardener! I'll try the recipe but I'll switch out the essence and put in some thyme and oregano and basil instead. I'm not a fan of cayenne or black pepper. I have sweet smoked paprika...I bet that would work well too. I bet your mom's recipe would also not have the really hot stuff in it - that's always an Emeril touch! I am wondering if you could basically do the same thing baked in the oven on a tray instead of the deep frying part? I'll do it that way first, to get the flavour, and then try it baked, just to make it a little healthier. I think the taste of oven-roasted vegetables is just fabulous.

Thanks for the link Tamara! That is wild. I wish they were categorized by type of dish, like appetizers, mains, soups, etc. I will have to do a lot of searching in there to see what all the possibilities are! In the Italian section there is a goat's cheese and roasted vegetable lasagne. That sounds really good! And it uses zucchini, which I also have in my garden! Yippee!

zone5girl - i will try that recipe with the neon explants i am growning. you should put that on the recipe forum. thanks again