Eggplant Rant

This may be obnoxious and judgmental, but I’m firmly opposed to picky eating. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t prefer certain foods over others or have an opinion when it comes to what to have for dinner or where to eat out. I just mean that people shouldn’t cut out entire categories of food (oh, I hate spicy things) or entire ethnicities (oh, I don’t eat Thai), especially when it comes to eating in someone’s home or with a large group.

However, I do think it’s completely acceptable to have a handful of specific ingredients that you abhor. I’ve heard that some people find cilantro soapy or brussel sprouts bitter. My dad claims not to like asparagus (this isn’t *actually* true, but he claims it to be the case). While I don’t hate raw onions, I don’t usually go out of my way to eat them.

However, I do truly *hate* eggplant. I don’t mind it if it’s ground up and mixed with other delicious things (baba ganouj, yum!) or if it’s the small, round, firm, Thai kind. But I do truly hate the big, nasty, mushy, aubergine eggplants. I used to think it was only the texture, but I think it’s the taste as well. Yann made a Thai curry last summer and couldn’t make it out to the Asian market to get the yummy little ones. He used the regular ones instead and I actually nearly gagged on the one piece I managed to swallow. Yuck!

Anyway, since we’ve been in Morocco, I’ve had several vegetable couscous dishes and the delicious eggplant and tomato salad that I can’t currently recall the name off. I *love* Moroccan eggplant. They are smaller, so maybe they just aren’t as mushy and repulsive, but they are awesome—hooray for eggplant!