Monsieur Poulet at the Nice farmers market. The colors of the feathers were the most vibrant I'd even seen. I never thought of a chicken as beautiful until I saw this one. And some shiny purple-striped eggplant at the Maubert-Mutualite farmers market just down the street.
Who knew this beautiful purple globe could be the cause of so much controversy? Male or female? Innie or outie? Since eggplant is feminine in French, as in la jolie aubergine, I assumed it was female however I was mistaken. Dismissed as folk lore and old wives tales, the eggplant is neither male nor female but is actually a member of the nightshade family which includes tomatoes, sweet peppers and potatoes and grows like tomatoes, hanging from the vines. It is often confused as a vegetable but it is actually a fruit - specifically a berry. Once again, who knew? Not this little cook, that's for sure.
The eggplant, aubergine in French and melanzane in Italian, grew wild in India and Sri Lanka and migrated to Africa then into Italy in the early Middle Ages where it became a staple of the Italian diet. Thomas Jefferson is credited with introducing eggplants to North America having experimented with many varieties in his Monticello gardens.
