Freaks of the week and rainbow kimchi fermentation

A beet with a huge exterior tumor (i am not going to eat that) some tomatoes shaped like guns and wannabe octopi, and a beautiful rainbow kimchi fermentation.. it came out delish, contact me for fermentation directions......

freaks of the day

Pepper with a giant neck goiter, tomato with a freakishly pointy nose, siamese squash freaks....

Since i've been bringing all these freaks into my house to photograph them, i've actually been eating almost strictly freaks, cause they are lying around... hope this has no adverse effects on my unborn children.

FREAK EGGPLANT WITH HUGE PROBOSCIS

Shown here with a massive orange tomato (about the size of two big fists - a freak in its own right) and a spoon for scale...

...and again so you can ponder just how the phallus itself protrudes out from under its quaint green hat, gently but confidently sloping away from its body proper, further than any freak appendage has ever dared to venture, to culminate in a slightly more pale, perfectly rounded tip. This is the most freakish eggplant I have ever seen.

squash siamese twin freak(s)

Zephyr Summer Squash joined at the head shoulder waist hip ankle and foot........

It's Tomato Season!

Many thanks to Demeter, Greek Goddess of the Bountiful Harvest, that we have so far not suffered from the dreaded late blight that is decimating tomato crops ruthlessly throughout the Northeast. Indeed, the wet and relatively cool summer has not been entirely kind to our tomato crop and it looks like the yield this year will be significantly less than last years prolific bounty, but today I am canning my first batch of tomato sauce out of the leftover cherry tomatoes from Saturday's market. That is, the leftover cherries and the freaks no one would buy!

Click here for a really great kind of old school DIY canning site.

Eggplants can be real freaks

Sometimes eggplants like to grow noses, as this Japanese eggplant readily demonstrates...

Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables and one of the most versatile. Click here for nutrition information.

Baba Ganoush:

Roast eggplant (3 large will yield about 1 Quart) at 350. Chop off the green tip and STICK WITH FORK to puncture skin so they don't explode…. When cool, CHOP COARSELY and place in food PROCESSOR skin and all. Meanwhile, sautee one large onion in olive oil til transluscent, add a few large cloves of diced garlic and cook through. Combine eggplant flesh, garlic and onion, 7 – 10 sprigs of parsley, salt, pepper, 1/3 cup tahini, a liberal sprinkling of CUMIN, a dash of cayenne, Juice of one lemon. Blend til smooth.

Serve with toasted Pita...

Freak radish with a mutant baby attached

This purple Radish tried to give birth to another radish deeper down in the soil, ignoring the traditional way in which plants reproduce. Shown here with a regular radish for comparison.