Don’t you store all your tomatoes unrefrigerated ? - the few time we refrigerated them they all became unpleasantly mealy
Yes, unrefrigerated, but most of the time they start to rot after a few days. I usually buy only one or two at a time for that reason. These tomatoes lasted a good two weeks.
2 Likes
Does anyone like TJ anchovies? I’ve never tried, prefer in glass jars but I’m not going to pay $16 or Ortiz at WF.
1 Like
I do, but I admit I am usually fine with canned anchovies. They are currently less expensive at TJs than the chain stores.
2 Likes
aren’t they cento?
Nay for the Baingan bharta/frozen eggplant entree. Very oniony and kind of tart, but also bland. My husband was fine with it, so he got mine. I have not had this dish in restaurants or Indian home cooking so…maybe I don’t care for it generally, or maybe I just don’t like this rendition. I usually love eggplant dishes so likely the latter.
2 Likes
I love this dish if it’s made right. Maybe someone can suggest a better recipe. I’ve never made it; I make other Indian dishes and many different eggplant dishes. Did the recipe add minced serranos? I like them with about ½ the seeds removed.
Maybe they just overdid the tomato-onion base relative to the eggplant. You’d probably like the dish if you like babaghanoush, same smoky profile.
There are innumerable variations by region, though the Punjabi one is best known outside India. Standard onion-tomato-ginger-garlic-powdered spices masala base with charred, peeled eggplant mashed in (roasted stovetop or in the oven) – like this.
My mom prefers a western / Gujarati version with yogurt instead of tomato – like this or this, though you may want to lightly saute the ginger and garlic if you don’t like the sharpness of raw (which is intentional).
Only big eggplants are used for bharta. Smokiness from the skin charring is a big flavor component.
3 Likes
I don’t know what you use them for, but for melting into sauces etc I have been buying a tube. If you like eating them, Amazon or ebay have good bulk pricing for Ortiz and similar brands.
I forgot about a pack and only one had spoiled after weeks, a miracle.
That said, TJs seems expensive for them – I bought that pack for $1.50 somewhere else, and it was $4.99 or something like that at my local TJs.
They have also been bred to be sweeter, which I didn’t know when I used them for something and was left wondering why my sauce was sweet.
1 Like
Funnily enough, I’ve always been a fan of baingan bharta, but not so much of baba ghanoush (even though I love most other eggplant preps).
1 Like
Our house favorite eggplant dishes are bharta and baingan aloo – the latter made almost meat-like in savoriness. I am a no-eggplant person, but I learned to cook baingan aloo from (and for) my dad, and it converted a couple of non-eggplant eaters in the family, just not me 
2 Likes
I get it; there are both eggplant lovers and eggplant haters within my immediate family.
1 Like
Yea: Slow-Roasted Tomatoes. Picked up a jar of these recently, and while they’re not as flavorful as homemade from good cherry tomatoes, thrown into other dishes, they’re a good alternative while waiting for local tomatoes to come into season. They’re too slack for using in green salads, but work in bean of grain salads, on bruschetta, or in cooked dishes, especially if you’re spicing them up.
Yea: seeds and Grains Crispbread. Similar to Wasa rye crisp, so doubtless not to everyone’s taste, but I’ve always liked rye crisp.
Yea-ish; Sofrito seasoning blend. The general flavors are good, but it’s saltier than many TJ’s blends that include salt, so while I might prefer more of the rest of the components in a serving, best to hold back or things get too salty.
1 Like
Recently I made Moussaka and Pastitsio for the 1st time, loved both but Pastitsio is better for a few reasons:
No eggplant … some can’t stand it
Easier to boil the Greek bucatini than prepare the eggplant
Less expensive with bucatini
1 Like
Unsurprisingly, I’m on team dad, ba>bb but I’m happy to eat bb if it’s not too oily.
1 Like
Okra and eggplant are the two things that require a lot of skill and care, or a lot of oil in the absence of those
3 Likes
These and garden or FM tomatoes are the only ones I will eat. They are reliably great.
2 Likes
I love them both.
2 Likes
Not a great big fan of your standard globe eggplant, but I love Japanese/Chinese/Indian eggplants.
