Lettuce pray...

"Man was put on this earth to eat meat – the Bible says so…who the hell ever heard of sacrificing a head of lettuce?" Archie Bunker

As with most foods, people have learned what is good to eat by observing and experimenting. The root of the Latin lactuca sativa (Old French laitue) means milk, implying that early varieties were moist and gooey when eaten. Paintings in Egyptian tombs show early varieties were prickly and had seeds, not unlike dandelions gone to seed. Something had to be done, and it was; we now have four major varieties that we eat today: crisphead, cos, loose-leaf and butterhead. This combination of cultivars has become the second favorite vegetable in the U.S. behind potatoes. Most of these lettuces now have rather mild flavors. A new breed is gaining steam: the field or mesclun mix of baby lettuces from the Provencal mescla, “mixture”. This item has been springing up on menus in the U.S. for a couple of decades, but has been known to foragers for eons. For me, the more colors, textures and flavors the better: select a rainbow in sweet, salty, peppery, sour and bitter for a full bouquet salad! Varieties often include these lettuces: Red & Green Oak, a dark red lettuce shaped like an oak leaf cultivated since the early 1800s it is tender, sweet, never bitter; Leaf lettuces grow in loose heads, crisp, full-flavored, easy to grow and harvest. Romaine is a firm, crisp, crunchy, fibrous, flat and broad-leafed cos variety; “Cos” is often believed to signify the island of Kos as the place of origin for the variety, but the name originates from the Arabic word for lettuce. Lollo Rosa is a beautiful magenta, mild, lightly crisp lettuce with curly red edges, and frilly, tender leaves. Bibb is a butterhead variety, with a soft, buttery texture; bibb is also known as Boston lettuce. Many spring mixes include greens that aren’t lettuces: chards, radicchios, spinaches, chicories and many Asian greens are also included, but these are all for other discussions. So enjoy your greens until your hearts are content.

"Lettuce is like conversation: It must be fresh and crisp, and so sparkling that you scarcely notice the bitter in it." C.D. Warner

http://www.yumalettucedays.com/ Yuma, AZ
http://thehollytree.blogspot.com/2007/04/13th-annual-artas-lettuce-festival.html Bethlehem, West Bank

I love to spit Wallamelon seeds!

“When one has tasted watermelon he knows what the angels eat!” Mark Twain

Melons are a marvelous contradiction. They are gourds, cousins of squash and pumpkins, which are wonderfully sweet when ripe. While they grow on vines, they are not really true berries, but are false berries because they have inferior ovaries, meaning that the flower and fruit can ripen independently. Though they are sweet, they are low in calories due to their high water content. The genus cucumis is the family of true melons and includes cantaloupes, muskmelons, honeydew, kiwanos, and cucumber varieties. These melons have been cultivated in Africa and the Middle East for over 4000 years. The watermelon is a relative with a more developed rind and seeds throughout the flesh. Watermelons probably originated over 5000 years ago in the Kalahari Desert and traveled up the Nile and spread to the rest of the world. Their 92% water content makes them an excellent diuretic; they are sometimes “plugged” with liquor to add life to parties. Speaking of getting pickled, the rind can be pickled and as such is popular in Asia and the Southern U.S.

"Watermelon – it’s a good fruit. You eat, you drink, you wash your face." Enrico Caruso

Festivals:
http://www.wix.com/fjaycees/watermelonfestival Farmerville, LA
http://www.watermelonfest.com/ Winterville, NC
http://www.lionswatermelonfestival.com/ Sunland, CA

Eggplant d’amour

“When I was alone, I lived on eggplant, the stove top cook’s strongest ally…. “ 'Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant' Laurie Colwin


This is one of the great under-appreciated vegetables. Though there may be marginal real nutritive needs satisfied by the eggplant, the fact that the meat willingly absorbs liquids, makes it a wonderful host for great flavors of stocks and sauces. You can add the texture of eggplant to your recipe for only 25 calories per 8-ounce portion making your recipes light and more filling.
There are great recipes with fantastic names in many cultures that pay homage to the eggplant: Baba Ghanoush, Moussaka, Escalivada, Melanzane alla Parmigiana and my personal favorite, Ratatouille. These dishes have been devoured for eons from their native Sri Lanka, after the collapse of the Guptas, appearing in the west with the growth of the Byzantine Empire and the spread of Islam. The eggplant grows on plants blooming out into two shapes: ovals and elongated. The ovals are preferred in the American South; the colors range from white to indigo: dyes from the pigment have been made to color teeth in ancient civilizations. Elongated varieties, such as Italian or Chinese, are popular in many throughout the world; colors range from white to pale green to deep purple. Baby hybrids of these shapes are readily available. So call it what you like: aubergine, brinjal, Guinea squash, metazoan, or mad apple, when you plan to serve it, just don’t call me late for dinner.
"How can people say they don’t eat eggplant when God loves the color and the French love the name?" Jeff Smith

Festivals:

http://www.loomischamber.com/eggplantfestival.cfm Loomis, CA
http://en.agrotravel.gr/agro/site/AgroTravel/t_docpage?sparam=prefecture_of_arkadia&doc=/Documents/Agrotravel/event/arcadia/giortimelitzanas&sub_nav=Lodgings Leonidio Greece