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Eggplant varieties are making their appearance
eggplants
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More from FoodWith their deep-purple skins, eggplants look like something out of a fall catalog in which every other piece of clothing is described as being "aubergine" (another word for eggplant) in color.
But eggplants like it hot, and hot means summer. So it is now that farmers markets are overflowing with eggplants, some of which aren't even aubergine.
One is the green, golf ball-sized Thai eggplant, suitable for cooking with its skin intact. Another is the violet-streaked Rosa Bianca, packed with creamy flesh that is especially good in eggplant Parmesan. The oval heirloom is $2 per pound from Peacock Family Farms, which also grows round and cylindrical varieties with names like Clara, Black Beauty and Tango. The latter, a mild, white-skinned eggplant, is described as being especially good for grilling and pickling.
Also in the markets: yellow seedless watermelons, 49 cents per pound, and green beans, $3 per pound.
Finding the markets: Camarillo: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, 2220 Ventura Blvd. 482-1507. Ojai: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays, 300 E. Matilija St. 698-5555. Oxnard: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays, Plaza Park at Fifth and C streets, 483-7960, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays (includes a fish market), Channel Islands Harbor, 643-6458. Simi Valley: 3 to 7:30 p.m. Fridays, Simi Valley Town Center. 643-6458. Thousand Oaks: 2 to 6:30 p.m. Thursdays, 403 W. Hillcrest Drive. 529-6266. Ventura: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays, Pacific View mall, and 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturdays, Palm and Santa Clara streets, 529-6266.
— Lisa McKinnon
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