Winding Down and Winding Up

So...it's been a bit over a year and a half in this house, and I'm kind of ashamed to admit that I found a bottle of rice vinegar and a bottle of red wine vinegar in the back of my pantry that I am relatively certain moved in with me. Oops. I'm nearly done with everything--packing, consuming the last bits of my pantry and fridgestuffs and to be honest, I'm about done with things leftover or made from non-perishable goods. This morning I reached the end of my patience with that, so I made a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up some fresh veggies and a little fruit to make the last few days a little easier. Not that the huge batch of mujadara I made has gone over badly, but sometimes you just need something that hasn't been processed, dried, stored or in any other way preserved. As I've also been craving ratatouille for about two weeks now, I opted to make a quick-ish version of that to have for lunch today while finishing up my packing. It doesn't require much, just a little forethought in gathering ingredients, and I'm in no way claiming this is totally true to the provencal dish, but it is good, it's not bad for you in any way, it can be eaten at just about any temperature and for those of you that can eat bread, it goes very well with some good baguette or toast. I've also heard of it used for an omelet filling, topped with a poached egg for breakfast, stuffed into crepes, topping rice, couscous and pasta and my personal favorite, topped with a little goat cheese, which really sets it off. Today I lack the goat cheese, having used the last of it at my last dinner party, but it's perfectly serviceable served simply in a bowl with a spoon. I like it a little brothy, even though I can't dip bread in it, so if you are planning on using it as a stuffing, just reduce the liquid and make it a bit drier so it doesn't make your omelet or crepes or whatever soggy. If you're going to couscous/rice route, this version will work just fine.

Ratatouille

Ingredients:
-3 Tbsp olive oil
-1 small/medium onion, diced
-1 Tbsp chopped garlic, or 3-4 cloves chopped (feel free to add more if you like a lot of garlic)
-1 red or green pepper, diced
-1 Tbsp tomato paste
-3/4 cup broth, stock or tomato juice
-1 italian eggplant, quartered and cut into 1/2 inch or so chunks OR about 2 cups eggplant chunks
-1 medium zucchini, quartered and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
-1 medium yellow squash, quartered and chunked
-1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained (regular fine too, just no seasoned ones--get the plain kind) OR 2-3 good sized ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
-2/3 to 1 Tbsp dried herbes de provence OR italian seasoning mix OR 2 Tbsp of a mix of chopped fresh basil, thyme and parsley

Directions:
Heat the onion, garlic and pepper in the oil in a medium or large saucepan until soft and starting to brown. Stir in the tomato paste, working it in with a spoon or spatula until the veggies are coated. Add the broth or juice and stir to lift any browned bits of paste or onion that remain on the bottom of the pan. Stir in the eggplant and simmer for a few minutes to allow it to start to release it's liquid into the pan. After five or ten minutes, add the zucchini and yellow squash and stir to coat thoroughly. Simmer for another five minutes or so and add the tomatoes and whatever herbs you've chosen if they are dried. Put a lid on the pan and allow to simmer for a few minutes more, until zucchini and squash are tender but not disintegrating (eggplant falling apart is ok). If using fresh herbs, stir in for the last two or three minutes of cooking to keep them from completely melting into the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Ratatouille should resemble stew when you're done, serve warm or allow to cool as you please. As with many stew-ish recipes, this will improve overnight in the fridge, so don't worry about not finishing it all in one meal. This quantity makes about enough for three or so dinner servings, and four to six as a side depending on whether or not anyone wants to stop at one serving.

Notes:
-Alter components as needed. As long as you have eggplant of some kind and some tomatoes and squash (yellow or zucchini) you're pretty much set. Peppers can be any color depending on your taste or available stock. As for liquid, just about anything up to and possibly including water can be used, though I wouldn't use as much water if you go that route.
-Goat cheese, feta, parmesan--try topping it with one of these at least once. Mmmm...
-This is best in summer when all of these veggies are in season. Technically, it's a bit early for this, but if you happen to grow zucchini and just can't stand another batch of zucchini bread at the end of the season, this is one way to do something different with the excesses.
-Bonus--This one is vegan, gluten free, and lowfat/good fat as long as you don't overdo the additional cheese at the end. Therefore, enjoy as often as you like :)