Just like the rat made

Ratatouille!

I had this back in the spring at Disney (get it... the movie ratatouille and they MADE ratatouille?!) I had it at the Crystal Palace which had excellent food. My husband had it and didn't even believe me that eggplant was in it - it was that good. I wanted to find the Disney recipe, but never did. Since all the ingredients are in season, I decided it was time to make it.

I selected a fairly easy recipe - Rachael Rays. You can find it here - Ratatouille. It's actually very, very easy to make - even without a chefs hat and a rat hidden underneath. The only think I would do different is to make more sauce and perhaps a little thinner - perhaps adding more EVOO to the sauce.

Theorietically my garden should be able to produce all these veggies, with the exception of garlic. So, this really could be a home grown dish. Sadly, my garden has been somewhat angry at me and hasn't given me squash yet. Perhaps soon though... perhaps soon.

In the meantime, eat your veggies and make some ratatouille!

Eggplant, the other white-fleshy meat

Rob finally admitted to me the other night that he really doesn't like eggplant. I was holding two beautiful shiny purple globes in my hand, ready to be sliced, when he announced it. "In fact," he said, "I kind of hate it. Sorry." It was heartbreaking to hear from the person that I cook for the most.

Eggplant is one of those vegetables that people tend to love or hate -- that firm consistency and it's an unusual looking veg, that's for sure. But I think that's why I adore it -- it's like the underdog of vegs. I feel like I cook with it just to introduce it's 'other yummy side' to people who are initially turned off by it.

The good news is that I think I've figured out how to include it in meals so that Rob (and others, and you know who you are) might eat them. I hide them with other deliciousness. Pasta Salad with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Basil from Cooks Illustrated Guide to Grilling and BBQ is one way to do this. The eggplant was grilled, fresh tomatoes and basil added to a large warm pot of pasta and sauce. Rob loved it (really). He even scarfed down the leftovers for lunch the next day. My heart has healed. I realize that Cooks online recipes are subscription-only, so I also found a free pirated version (tsk tsk).

Everyone Loves Eggplant

Or everyone should love eggplant. I certainly have an odd fondness for it, much to the dislike of my family and friends (some of them). I love the texture and how it feels between my teeth (like I said, an odd fondness).



At some point I taught myself how to cook stir-fries. This type of dish is a whole lot of fun to make, as long as you're prepared before the first items hit the pan. Once a stir-fry begins its course, it's cooking in fast-forward high-speed until it's all over. I learned this the hard way -- burning a few in the process. The reason it's so quick is that you cook over high heat. Using peanut oil (THE stir-fry oil of choice, as it has a higher smoking point - meaning that you cook at high heat without it smoking/burning as quickly) makes it uber flavorful.

Tonight I tried a Cooks Illustrated recipe: Stir-fried Eggplant with Garlic and Basil Sauce - very Thai-inspired. It, like many stir-fries, calls for Fish Sauce. Now, in my house I have to hide the fish sauce when I use it. Rob nearly has a gag-reflex every time he thinks that 'vile nastiness' is in the vicinity. So I tend to use it quickly and slyly put it away without his knowledge. Ironically, he usually hasn't a clue that it's in my dishes. He senses something when I start frying with it (it's very odorific), but I just tell him it's vinegar. He believes me. We agreed that this recipe was pretty good - I added some jasmine rice as well.