Traveling around Chesterfield, Town and Country, and other West County areas testing dishes for Patch Food Fight! articles, I learned a few things. Gianfabio's Italian Cafe, The Pasta House and Candicci's each presented different ingredients and techniques to make a great eggplant parmigiana.In order to develop the sweet, nutty and complex flavor of eggplant, it needs to be cooked. There are several varieties of eggplant—from the pear-shaped, deep purplelish-black to the lavender colored, long cucumber-shaped variety. Eggplant is a fruit, botanically classified as a berry. The soft seeds in …

Saturday begins Banned Books Week. In celebration of fighting literary censorship, I’m digging out some dusty "banned" books and re-reading them. I also plan to seek out a few titles that aren’t already in my possession. I’m encouraging everyone to help fight literary censorship by reading a “banned" or challenged book next week. If you don’t know what books are currently banned, you can visit the American Library Association (ALA) website. The ALA reports parents most frequently call for banning books. The most infamously challenged children’s novelist is Judy Blume. Her novel Forever is …