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I can never get enough of Smitten Kitchen's ratatouille, even though it's not a strictly eggplant dish.

My wife and I received a garden shipment from her Mom in KS.

In it were a mix of Italian and Japanese eggplant which I charred on the grill and made into a soup.

This soup is great hot or cold and is vegan (I may have used a knob of butter but it's not necessary by any means--just use a nice, robust extra virgin olive oil.

The soup was flavored with cumin, mint and preserved lemon then finished with a drizzle of evo and fresh cracked pepper.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chel/sets/72157608276653961/

Mark Bittman's curried eggplant or just simple sauteed eggplant with onions, tomatoes, carrots, and garlic.

I love Ina Garten's eggplant gratin, served with crusty bread and a salad.

My mom would grow them in the backyard and use them mostly for her Filipino torta recipe--broiling them, taking the skin off, and chopping them into an egg batter with tomatoes, garlic, and beef, then frying them into "pancakes." It was one of the first things I learned to cook.

I just sauteed one the other night with zucchini, mushrooms and red peppers and stirred it into a risotto (with a little bit of andouille sausage for zing).

1) Grilled with adobo as a side to rice and beans.
2) Sauteed with red pepper, lemongrass, onions, ginger, chili powder and coconut milk; rice on the side for a quick pseudo-Thai dinner.
3) A stew of eggplant, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and my Penzeys Singapore seasoning with sides of rice and sauteed shrimp.
4) Lean ground turkey with basil leaves, cumin, onions, garlic, salt; sliced eggplant and tomatoes: layer all with paramasan for an Italian-style moussaka (original recipe calls for lamb instead of turkey and mint instead of basil) serve with greek-style yogurt with lemon zest mixed in
5) grilled and served on a hearty roll with fresh mozzarella and roasted red pepper spread
6) brush with a mixture of olive oil, cinammon, coriander, lemon juice and cilantro; broil

How do I love eggplant? I have counted the ways.

Moussaka!

Eggplant rollatini. Bread and fry long thin slices of eggplant. Place some ricotta in the middle of each slice and roll up. Place in a baking dish, pour marinara overtop, add some fresh mozzarella and bake.

Baba ghanoush

Baighan barta (an indian eggplant dish)

grill eggplant along with some zuchinni, summer squash, and portabella mushrooms. Use as a sandwich filling along with some pesto or tapenade, red onion, roasted red pepper, and cheese if you prefer. Great on fresh foccacia.

Eggplant peanut stew

Eggplant parmasean

Replace meat in lasagna with a mixture of grilled or roasted eggplant, mushrooms, peppers and zuchinni

Serve grilled slices of eggplant in a mezze platter with cheese, bread, hummus, olives etc...

Okay, have one more to add. I made eggplant parmesan last night (also Mark Bittman's recipe) and can't get over how great it is. It presents the essence of the eggplant perfectly: the velvety texture, the flavor, the smoky undertones. I just love eggplant.

I love pickling eggplants and then doing sandwiches with a crusty baguette, veggies and a thick slice of fresh mozzarella.