I'm desperately trying to find new things to cook for dinner. All of my reliables are more winter dishes and don't seem appetizing when it's 90 degrees outside. So, I've been hunting around and trying some new things. Tonight, I made grilled chicken with cous cous - not out of the ordinary for us, but, I also made ratatouille. I have to say was a little intimidated since I don't cook eggplant often - okay, never, but I figured it was worth a shot. The kids were really excited about it. Jacob was thrilled, until he saw that it was all veggies. I have to give him credit, though. He tried every vegetable that went into it and almost liked the yellow pepper. He did say that he loved the seasoning.
The house smelled fantastic from it. Daniel and Hannah loved it. Daniel wouldn't eat anything else until he'd eaten it all. He kept saying, "I love ratatouille!" I guess this is one that I'll have to make often. It leaves such a good taste in your mouth. Yum.
Tomorrow, I'm making meatloaf, rice and okra with tomatoes. That just sounded so fresh and summery. Wednesday, I'm trying a slightly different pulled pork recipe with homemade coleslaw. I'm not a real fan of coleslaw but maybe if I'm in control of what goes in it, I'll like it better. The funny thing is, I like almost everything that goes into coleslaw. I love cabbage and carrots and I'm a fan of all things mayo. Hmm. I'll keep you posted.
And just in case you're feeling like something new, here's the Ratatouille recipe
1/3 cup olive oil
5 cloves garlic, smashed (I used a lot more because we love garlic)
1 onion, sliced
1 dried bay leaf
1/4 tsp dry oregano
1/4 tsp dry tarragon
1/4 tsp dry thyme
1/4 tsp dry savory (I didn't have this so I omitted it)
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/8 tsp ground corriander seeds
3 cups eggplant, diced into bite size pieces
1 small zucchini, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
one pint cherry tomatoes (I actually used grape and cut them in half)
(I also used one yellow squash because I love them, but the recipe doesn't call for one)
Heat the oil in a large pan (I used a large skillet) over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, bay leaf, oregano, tarragon, thyme, savory, fennel seeds and ground coriander and cook until onion is soft.
Add the eggplant and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 7-8 minutes. Add zucchini, pepper and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, about 7 more minutes. Cooking times depend mostly on how you like your veggies. If you like them crunchier, cook less. If you like them softer, cook longer. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately (or you can do this ahead and reheat)
6 comments:
Thanks for the recipe, I'll have to try it when my tomatoes and eggplant come on. I have all that stuff in my garden.
We're having stew tonight. I don't normally make much stuff like that in the summertime but I had to run around a bit and something in the crockpot sounded easy. We had spaghetti last night. I forgot how much that can heat up a kitchen.
We like thick slices of ham on the grill too. It tastes a bit different when it's grilled. I'm really looking forward to the garden tomatoes and my hot standby, BLTs.
Oh, and I forgot to say that I added a tablespoon of chicken base (not the cubes) to the oil and spices before adding the veggies. I don't know why I did it, but it tasted good.
I got daring last night and chopped up a fresh jalapino into the rice pot. Just the thing. I'm doing the rest of the rice tonight in fried rice.
So it wasn't too hot?
Deb, we had spaghetti last night, too! We did a pot roast in the crockpot on Sunday. Was yummy! Cooking in the summer just isn't my thing, I guess.
I'm thinking of pot roast this Sunday. Last Sunday, we did hot dogs. Kind of a last minute party since Mark and Dana came over to tell us their news!
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