Eggplant Extravaganza

Eggplant, in all of its oblong, amethyst glory, can be an enigma to home cooks. At least, that’s the takeaway from emails I’ve received from readers, especially now that it’s everywhere: stores, markets, gardens, C.S.A. boxes. You have eggplants galore (and varying tastes for them), I have dinner ideas. Welcome to Recipe Matchmaker: Eggplant Edition.…

Would You Buy Diamonds Grown on Demand?

It’s a humid summer morning in New York, and Mona Akhavi, CEO of Vrai, the lab-grown jewelry line backed by Leonardo DiCaprio and other high-profile investors, is recounting the company’s recent orders via Zoom. “It’s insane,” she says, matter-of-factly. “We’re getting orders for 10-carat diamonds once a week. We just had a 10-carat gradient diamond…