The eggplant in my garden had been pulled up from the roots and was about to collapse on top of the lettuce, so I rescued the last fruit, an eggplant the size of a shoe. (A book published in 1597, The Herball, or, Generall Historie of Plantes, spoke of an eggplant that “came to bear fruit the size of a goose egg.”) I used an abbreviated version of a recipe from Ottolenghi, cutting slits in the skin of each half of the eggplant and rubbing them with lemon, cumin, and olive oil, then roasting in the oven. We had them with leftovers.

(Photo: Brookside gardens, autumn.)

>> October 27

<< October 25