I sure like Bob's suggestions! The others were good too. Mesquite wood is a great for smoking, but a little really, really goes a long way. Pecan wood from Texas is my favorite. Pellets (not the Traeger brand) can take a lot of the guess work out of smoking. There are quite a few different woods available. I use lump charcoal for the initial fire and dump either pellets or wood chunks on top for the smoke. No petrol flavored briquettes allowed in my grills or smokers. (such as Kingsford) Lemon Drop (C. baccatum) has gotten more favorable responses than any of my other powders. There are similar C. chinense varieties that are just as lemon flavored. Red ripe jalapeño powders are one of my personal favs. Any C. pubescens (rocotos/manzanos etc) make great powders. jt

In my Region being 5 (Ohio) Sweet Italian "Marconni" they come in different colors, The green, (normal)from *almart were just as delicious as my "Ordered" Golds from Specialty shops, And they grow quite large in length compared to the regular Bell's. They also have a more flavorful "Smokie" blend of Flavor, They work great for Outdoor grilling, I might add that I had several more of these Pepper's on my plants last year (abt. 20 per plant) growing at the same time compared to 5-10 Regular Bell's. These Marconni pepper will "Compete" and "Win" in the garden ! I started most of the peppers (Sweet & Hot) from seed this year and found that they are also avid grower's from seed. The Marconni's displayed a 2:1 ratio compared to the Bells at start-up ! With the flavor and growth of these plants I will stay with them, RJ

I usually do it in the oven, but I do the same thing for outdoors. I used to salt the eggplant, since I was taught that way, but I find that if you have a good firm eggplant that sounds hollow when you thump it, but still has a nice dark skin, you don't get enough joy from salting and squeezing and draining and all of that to make it worthwhile. If it's softer, I'll just flame or broil the heck out of it (fork the skin all over first to vent the steam, until it's all charry and sunken floppy and roasty toasty goodness. For grilling, I think firm eggplant works a lot better, but it takes a long time to cook and you have to be patient. I slice 1/2-3/4", and put my seasoning (sometimes with dried herbs) into a little oil in a bowl or pie plate and coat. You can just brush or spray. I find my way easier, if messier, but it's important to have enough oil that it doesn't stick, but don't leave it sit in oil or it'll soak it up. I guess what I do is more like the motion of dregging. Just kind of swing it through and make sure it's coated. It's also important to leave it on long enough, like meat, so that the bits that touch are caramelized and it releases. Anyway, once coated, onto the grill or grill pan. I know there's a new school of thought for eating eggplant firm. If you're in that camp, salting might help you. It's at its yummiest, however, when it's mushy and looks like snot. The slices should evaporate well on the grill (which is so much easier than trying to get them to weep!!), and shrink. If you want them to remain slices, however, it's important to get them off before they turn into goo and fall into the fire. Cooked through, but still with some internal integrity. Otherwise, you could have just roasted them whole. For skinny Japanese or Italian eggplants, I also cut them into spears--they do have to be skinny though, because you want skin on each spear. Then oiled the same way but with stronger seasonings (not essential, just what I do), and a little lighter on the oil, though maybe a little extra on the skin side. Seasoning may be garlic pepper, or herbs and citrus, or sumac (or zataar which has a lot of sumac in it). Grill/roast the spears skin side down until the flesh is all shrivelled up. OMG!! Most yummiest ever. You need to do a lot of them, though, because they tend to disappear. They're also good cold, so don't count on any left for another purpose. :) Have fun! The only wrong way to do eggplant, really, is undercooked. Then it's disgusting.

Maybe this is too close to what you usually do but it's my favourite roast pork recipe. Pork With Herb Crust Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 2 (3- to 4-pound) racks of -pork 3 -tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 7 garlic cloves -- minced 1/3 cup fresh basil -- Chopped 1/3 cup fresh thyme -- Chopped 1/3 cup fresh parsley -- Chopped 2 tablespoon pepper -- Coarsely Ground 1 1/4 cup butter (or margarine) -- cut up -1/3 cup all-purpose flour 2 can chicken broth 1 tablespoon tomato paste 2 tablespoon fresh sage -- Chopped 1/4 teaspoon pepper Rub pork with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Stir together garlic and next 4 ingredients; press onto pork. Place pork on a rack in a lightly greased broiler pan; cover bone tips with aluminum foil to prevent burning. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 150max, I prefer 140-145 ! Transfer pork to a serving tray.Cover and let rest while making sauce (even if you don't make the sauce let the pork rest for at least 10 minutes to redistribute juices and let the internal temp climb a bit more) Pour pan drippings into a skillet.Add butter to drippings; cook over medium heat until butter melts. Whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, until caramel colored. Gradually whisk in broth and next 3 ingredients; cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Serve with 'pork. Garnish, if desired. Yield: 8 serving