If they don't let me pick up and smell the merchandise,
no sale.

Agreed. In order to purchase fresh corn on the cob, Gail has to have it
pass the thumbnail test. We have run into growers who take objection to that, saying something like "all my corn is fresh" or "don't touch my
corn". To that, we say OK -- we won't touch your corn, and then move
onto the next booth.

Those people likely have something to hide -
perhaps they're trucking in things from California
as I have suspected some Washington- and Boston-
area "farmers" have done.

The only way to tell if an ear of corn is fresh
is that fingernail test - if a ruptured kernel
exudes liquid, it has a fighting chance of being
okay, and the more opaque the liquid the better.
Best for a true assessment is to lick the juice
off your finger afterward.

Title: Begun Kalia - Colorful Eggplant

What makes it colorful? A little yellow or
orange, maybe, around the edges is all.

2 lb Small (Italian style)
-eggplants
4 c Oil or ghee for frying

Rich people's cooking. 2 lb of ghee is a lot.

2 tb Oil or ghee
6 Cloves
6 Whole cardamon pods, crushed
1 Piece (2 inch) cinnamon,
-crushed
1 ts Turmeric
1 ts Cayenne powder
1 c Yogurt
1 ts Salt or to taste

Interesting spicing. I'd add cumin of course
and cut or cut out the cinnamon.

From: _Sampling the cuisine of India_ by Sambhu Banik

Hedgehog meatballs with beef and rice
categories: main, beef, middle eastern
servings: 4

h - For the meatballs
14 oz minced beef
7 oz basmati rice, uncooked
2 onions, peeled
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 sm bn parsley, top leafy part only (3/4 oz)
1 sm bn mint, top leafy part only (3/4 oz)
1 sm bn coriander, top leafy part only (3/4 oz)
1 ts ground coriander
1 ts ground turmeric
1 Tb salt
1 ds white pepper
h - For the sauce
3 Tb olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely diced
1 leek, thinly sliced and washed
1 garlic, peeled and crushed
1 green chilli, thinly sliced
4 celery sticks, thinly sliced
1 ts ground turmeric
2 dried Persian limes (or 3 wide strips of lemon peel)
2 bay leaves
1 lemon, juice of

Place the beef and rice together in a large bowl.
Use a food processor to blitz the onions, garlic
and fresh herbs together to a paste (or you can
chop everything by hand very finely) and add to
the meat and rice along with the ground coriander,
turmeric, salt and pepper. Mix together until fully
combined and then divide into 12 to 14 balls. Cover
and store in the fridge until you are ready to cook.

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a shallow
casserole that is large enough to contain all the
meatballs in one layer. Add the onion, leek and
garlic and cook on medium heat until they soften,
then add the chilli, celery, turmeric, Persian
limes and bay leaves. Mix well and fry for 5 min,
stirring occasionally, then add 1 L boiling water.
Bring the mixture to the boil and carefully add the
meatballs to the liquid. Bring back to the boil and
cook uncovered for 5 min. Turn the meatballs over in
the liquid, then cover and reduce the heat to low.
Keep covered and cook for 30 min. Open the lid, add
the lemon juice, re-cover and cook for a final 10 min
before serving.

Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich, Honey & Co via houseandgarden.co.uk
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