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Eggplants like it hot, so they love summer
Available at the Peacock Family Farms booth, the white-skinned Clara lives up to the eggplant name.
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More from FoodWith their deep-purple skins, eggplants look like something out of a fall catalog in which the clothing is described as being "aubergine" — another word for eggplant — in color.
But eggplants like it hot, and hot means summer. So it is that farmers markets now are overflowing with eggplants, some of which aren't even aubergine.
One is Clara, an oval, white-skinned variety that, as shown at left, certainly lives up to the "egg" portion of its name. It is available from Peacock Family Farms, which also grows a cylindrical white eggplant called Tango, said to be especially good for grilling and pickling.
Also available are the fist-shaped, violet-streaked Rosa Bianca (packed with creamy flesh suitable for eggplant Parmesan) and its tiny teardrop cousin, Fairy Tale.
But if "traditional" deep-purple eggplants are more to your liking, you'll see plenty of those, too. Prices range from $1.50 to $2.50 per pound.
Also in the markets: Brown Turkey figs, $4.50 per tray from grower Vince Ditomaso.
Find a farmers market for every day of the week:
WEDNESDAYS: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Pacific View mall parking lot facing Main Street, Ventura (529-6266).
THURSDAYS: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Plaza Park at Fifth and C streets, Oxnard (483-7960). 2 to 6:30 p.m., 403 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks (529-6266).
FRIDAYS: 3 to 8 p.m., Simi Valley Town Center, 1555 Simi Town Center Way, Simi Valley (643-6458).
SATURDAYS: 8 a.m. to noon, 2220 Ventura Blvd., Camarillo (482-1507). 8:30 a.m. to noon, Palm and Santa Clara streets, Ventura (529-6266).
SUNDAYS: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 300 E. Matilija St., Ojai (698-5555). 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Harbor and Channel Islands boulevards (includes a fishermans market), Oxnard (643-6458).
MONDAYS: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Plummer Park, 1200 N. Vista St. at Fountain Avenue, West Hollywood (323-848-6502).
TUESDAYS: 4 to 7:30 p.m., 500 and 600 blocks of State Street, Santa Barbara (962-5354).
— Lisa McKinnon
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