Eplucher les Aubergines!

This weekend, I learned a new verb "éplucher", which means "to slice". Aubergines are eggplants. But aubergine sounds so much more beautiful than eggplants… I've been using my new verb often. For one thing, I like the way it sounds: eh plu cher. It sounds like a splash of sound. Pluch. It's difficult to convey the sound to you, my fellow Americans, but I guarantee you, this is a nice sounding verb. My neighbors kids are both sick with colds, so I gave them my famous recipe with onions (oignons) and brown sugar/honey (sucre rouge/miel) to help them feel better. I told the youngest to "Eplucher un oignon" and let it rest covered by some sugar or honey in a container in the fridge and to drink the resulting syrup. One of my favorite and best tasting recipes to help get rid of colds and sore throats. (It's best with honey.) Well then, my fellow Americans, being as how it's back to school season and you've probably caught cold from your fellow sickly classmates, Allez eplucher des oignons! (Go slice oignons!) and try that recipe and I hope you all will feel better. As for les aubergines, let me know how you like them best. I prefer them thinly epluchée (sliced) and baked, so I can enjoy their slight sweetness. Did you know that aubergines are actually REALLY big berries? 9/18/12 Corrections: 9/19/12 "Eplucher" does not in fact mean "to slice", but it does mean "to peel". "To slice", one would say "couper", or "trancher". My bad!