Are we still peeling the eggplant?

I'm not a fan of coconut (or eggplant, unless it's a good, smoky baba ganoush-- in which case, hide it from me if you want a chance of getting any!). I am a huge fan of comic art, though, so House and Garden's New Cook Book's (1967) recipe for Eggplant in Coconut Cream caught my eye.

You've got to love the visual of an eggplant-- potted like a houseplant, but made of nearly a dozen eggs. You've got to love the tiny smiling devil hanging out with the dried chili peppers. 

What do you think about that first image though? In case you're wondering whether your eyes are telling the truth, yes, "Peel" is illustrated by a woman taking off her clothes. Part of me kind of loves the freedom of the saucy '60s, and part of me is horrified that a woman is essentially being considered an object for consumption... but most of me is sighing that this fight seems so damn familiar fifty-some years later.