Ratatouille

I love that movie. Don't you? You can read the history of this dish via wikipedia. Several weeks ago, a friend of mine sent me a recipe for a "chick pea ratatouille." It was a sign that I had to make it. Unfortunately, I didn't have any chick peas. Grr...

But I did have most of the veggies for an almost traditional ratatouille. I cut the eggplants and zucchini into thin coins. Helps it cook faster rather than going for cubed. I also sautéed the vegetables to help speed up the process of baking in the oven. Topped it with some shredded parmesan and let it melt for the last 5-10 min of baking. It gave the top crust a nice crunch that paired great with the tender veggies. Also the juices from the tomato mix with the veggies making a nice little sauce underneath.

Really simple easy dish to make. No need for anything fancy. I served it with a couple of sausage slices. You can have it with some toasted bread or rice, too.

Here's my adaptation of the ratatouille.

Serves 2-3.







Ratatouille
adapted from recipe on Epicurious and from my friend's "Chick Pea Ratatouille."

1 can fire-roasted tomatoes (drained, but keep 1/3 of the liquid)
2 medium zucchini - sliced or cubed
2 medium Japanese eggplant - sliced or cubed
1/2 large onion - sliced
1 large garlic clove (minced)
1/3 c shredded cheese
1 Tbsp Dry Rosemary
1 Tbsp Dry Thyme
Olive Oil


Preheat oven 425˚F

Drain most, but not all of the juices from the fire-roasted tomato.

Heat a tiny drizzle of olive oil in a pan, sauté the garlic and onion. Remove from pan when onions are slightly tender. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Heat another drizzle of oil, sauté the bell peppers. Remove from pan when nearly tender.

Heat a third drizzle of oil, saute the eggplant and zucchini until slightly tender. Season with the dry rosemary and dry thyme.

Take a baking dish or 9-inch pie tin. Layer a portion of the eggplant and zucchini, followed by half the onions, bell peppers and fire-roasted tomato. Do this layering a second time topping it with a few eggplants and zucchini slices. Drizzle the tomato juice over the finished dish.

Place in the oven for 30 min. 5-10min before removing, sprinkle some shredded cheese and baked until melted.

French Bread

I made my first ever attempt at making french bread. I don't have a bread machine, so I had to do it the old-fashioned way. I've been researching various books and sites as to what were the proper ingredients and ways to make this. The ingredients were fairly simple. Some used eggs, some didn't. Some used 1 1/2 tsp yeast, some used only 1 tsp. Some added sugar, while some didn't. Some added butter, shortening or cornmeal. So I came to my own conclusion and this was the result. Not a perfectly shaped loaf, but it tasted really good. Fresh from the oven. Soft, warm and chewy. My little slash marks didn't come out though. I need to score it deeper next time.

I was nervous at trying to make my own bread as I though it would be a hard process and I've never done it before. I found it to be quite the opposite. Really easy to make. It's the waiting that gets tedious. But it'll be worth it once it's baked. I should have been doing this long ago. You know how much I could have saved from buying store bread?

I made three loaves. I may make them into wheat bread and in a demi-batard shape for easy one serving eats for the next time. (i.e. sandwiches)


French Bread
(adapted from French Baguette at AllRecipes.)

4 c All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Dry Active Yeast
2 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Sugar
2 c Warm Water (110-115˚F)

(to make wheat bread: replace with 3 c of wheat flour and 1 c of all-purpose)

In a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and sugar to the warm water. Let is stand for roughly 4 min. Then stir in the flour and salt until it become a dough blob.

On a well-floured flat surface. Knead the dough for a good 8 min until it feels elastic.

Lightly oil another bowl, place the dough in it and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap for roughly 2 hrs.

Once ready, punch down the dough lightly and form into loaf shapes. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and let it rest again for roughly 20-30min uncovered.

Preheat oven to 375˚F

Make the slash marks on the top and baste the top with some water. (Gives it a nice crust)

Bake for 30 min or until golden brown.