Different varieties have differing degrees of bitterness. Of those that I have grown, the larger, thicker varieties (with smooth warts) were the least bitter, and are the type that I prefer. These were mostly Chinese varieties, such as "Taiwan Large". The Japanese variety "Abashi" is also smooth warted & mild. Those with pointed warts & thinner flesh were more bitter; a friend uses them for pickling. "Taiwan" and "Ant" were two of them, both small-fruited. You can reduce the bitterness by cutting into pieces after cleaning, and salting the pieces (this leeches out some of the bitterness) and/or by par-boiling the pieces before using them. Keeping the vines well watered also reduces the bitterness somewhat. Bitter melon should be used immature, before the fruit begins to ripen. Once ripe, the red jelly-like flesh that surrounds the seeds is sweet & edible; if dried, it can be added to rice to color it during cooking. The seeds themselves should not be eaten. Some of our Filipino friends eat the vine tips & young leaves as a vegetable, but they are far too bitter for my taste. The wife likes bitter melon, and as mentioned above, it helps to lower blood sugar. I've tried to grow enough to parboil & freeze for winter use, but she generally gives most of it away to friends (it surprises me that so many are interested!) She generally uses bitter melon in soups; our favorite is an egg soup with bitter melon, tomato, and chicken. Some of our Filipino friends add it to "pinakbet", a thick stew with eggplant, winter squash, lima beans, chayote squash, and pretty much whatever fresh vegetable is on hand. Even with the best variety & treatment to reduce bitterness, however, the taste is not for everyone.

I have been growing eggplants for three years in east central Wisconsin. Ichiban Imp.- wonderful, prolific, tasty Snowy - delicious, prolific, white and lavender Rosa Bianca - only got two, tasty Millionaire - heavy cropping, delicious purple I had the most success growing them in very large plastic and wood pots on my cement patio, which gets quite hot with a lot of reflected sun. I planted petunias in front and eggplant in back of the pots, fertilized them with bloom booster every other week, usually watered daily, depending on the weather. My favorite recipe is to slice them diagonally, add red sweet pepper strips, sometimes zucchini, onion, garlic, then lightly drizzle with a mixture of balsamic vinegar & olive oil. Toss. Spread in foil lined pan, sprinkle with "Mayo Clinic Everyday Seasoning" and roast at 400 degrees for about 25 min. Spread basil pesto on both sides of a split french bread loaf. Layer on veggies, sometimes shrimp or thin sliced smoked ham. Top with cheese. Bake till bubbly & golden. Eat open faced or closed.

Linda your fast dinner looks good and I'd love some of your sweet potatoes! Teresa I haven't had a BLT for ages but I do love them as well as tomato sandwiches. One anecdote...some years ago we met a German baker online when Wolf ordered a Christmas stollen from his online bakery in east Germany. He came to visit us when he came for a holiday in Tenerife. After he'd heard how beautiful it was on Vancouver Island, he made his first trip there at the same time as we were having our Canadian holiday. He travelled all around the island by car and when he discovered BLT's he thought they were the best thing since the invention of bread. I think he ate them every day while he was there. He went back to Germany and now sells them successfully in his little cafeteria adjoining his bakery. He also took a recipe for bagels and made them but they didn't go over well and so he had to discontinue the production. Ann that looks like one beautiful tomato and I would also have one for breakfast just the way you've prepared it. Yesterday I made baked salmon and asparagus but didn't bother making another baked salmon photo, (since it looked just like the last one) lol. We dined outside on the patio although it's very humid still. Today our favourite little Austrian restaurant reopened after 2 months holiday. So we went over there and Wolf had breaded fish fillet with German potato salad and I had a small fillet steak with a green salad, which I forgot to photograph. Water instead of wine while Wolf had a beer and two little espressos afterwards. The scales continue to go down every day without my feeling hungry. Glad it's working so well and worth the sacrifice. I do miss pasta though. SharonCb

If you like shrimp fried rice, here's an easy and healthy way of preparing it. It does require to have a rice cooker. But first, I apologize for not giving measurements. I'm a typical asian cook that don't really use measurement much when cooking. In a rice cooker, add the quantity of rice that you'd usually make. Substitute the water content with 1/2 chicken stock and 1/2 water. Add a tablespoon or so of chopped garlic and some fried onions, stir to mix evenly. Press down the button and let it cook. I normally use the low fat low salt, no MSG chicken stock in the box. You can find fried onions in packages at an asian supermarket or Indian section of the grocery store. While that is cooking, thaw out a package of frozen mixed vegetable such as a mixture of cut green beans, corn and chopped carrots. Also, thaw out frozen cocktail shrimps or frozen salad size shrimps (these are pre-cooked). If use medium or large cocktail shrimps cut each in 3 pieces. Small size shrimps blend into the rice better and when eating, gives you more bites of shrimp. When the rice is done and is still hot, mix in soy sauce to taste. Then add the vegetables and shrimps, mix them all in well. Serve. Without the soy sauce, veggies and shrimps, you can serve the rice as is with asian style roasted chicken. This is one of the version of our Chicken 'n Rice dishes. For the chicken, you can marinate it with a mixture of soy sauce, a little of salt, ground pepper, chopped garlic or garlic powder, worseshire sauce and if you have any fruit juice such as orange or pineapple juice, add some to the mixture. Once marinated well, you can either roast it in the oven or cook it in a fried pan. In the oven, roast the chicken as indicated by the pound. Baste the chicken from time to time to avoid the chicken from drying out. Brush some honey all over the chicken before the last 10 minutes is over to avoid from burning. To cook in a deep fried pan, add a little oil into the pan, brown the chicken and then put a lid on it and cook for another 15-20 minutes in medium low heat. Again, to avoid from burning, brush the honey all over the chicken before the last 5 minutes is over.