Late Summer is Nightshade Time

Here's a great article from Cheverly Community Market's very own herbalist/nutritionist Bevin Clare: The nightshade vegetables: tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers, and chili peppers, are abundant and tasty in Maryland this time of the year. All members of the family Solanaceae family are native to the New World—that’s right—there were no chilies in India, no tomatoes in Italy and no potatoes in Ireland before the plants of the new world were spread around the globe. In addition to the vegetables, this plant family has a number of interesting and occasionally poisonous or hallucinogenic plants, including tobacco, datura, and mandrake. I hardly need to expand on the delight of summer fresh heirloom tomatoes, ripe purple eggplants, and crisp peppers (see suggestions below for eating!). One of the nutritional principles I often share with clients is to make sure you are eating a rainbow each week (of fruits and vegetables). If you look down at your basket or cart and see a rainbow of every color you will know you are getting the full array of vitamins and micronutrients you can get from your plant foods. A meal of grilled purple eggplant with fresh heirloom tomatoes of yellow and red and green, along with some orange peppers and green basil spread over the top is beautiful on the plate and inside of your body. This is an excellent time of the year to practice this, so try to gather your own rainbow (maybe in the rain!) at the market this weekend. The nightshades weren’t always as loved as they are now. When they first moved to Europe they were considered poisonous and raised only to feed the livestock. Many of the nightshade family are still used for stronger purposes. Alkaloids found in this plant family are used to create motion-sickness patches, treat pesticide and chemical warfare poisonings, and to prevent allergic reactions. Tobacco, a sacred Native American plant traditionally used in ceremony, is also used widely as a drug around the world. What to do with your rainbow of vegetables? Let them shine as themselves. A simple dressing of olive oil, salt and lemon can be enough for many of these vegetables to be fabulous. Add a sprinkle of whatever fresh herbs are available. Nightshade vegetables this time of the year are fresh and strong enough to stand on their own, you don’t need to do anything fancy. Heirloom tomatoes should be stored out of the fridge until they begin to get too soft as they loose their delicate flavor in the fridge-- place them on a kitchen towel out of sunlight and in a cooler area. Add to salads, salsas, or slices and serve, or eat like an apple and get messy for fun! Eggplants can be roasted, entirely whole on the grill or in the oven until soft with a charred outside. Carefully transfer it to a bowl, pick off some of the skin and the top and puree with olive oil, lemon, tahini, salt and garlic for a warm and dreamy baba ganoush. Make a salsa with everything else you have, multi-colored peppers, tomatoes, green onions, cherry tomatoes, and some chilies and you can eat this with beans or meat for a healthy and lovely dinner. Be sure to stop by the (indoor) market this weekend to grab your rainbow of nightshades!