Ratatouille - From Garden to Table

This is the season for garden vegetables in New England. In the micro-climate that is our backyard, on the north side of Fall Mountain and about 700 feet above sea level means that our garden is about two to three weeks late in producing ripe veggies. But now the tomatoes are at their peak and the eggplant and zucchini and peppers have been coming strong for about three weeks now.

I've done ratatouille here before but here are some photos of my last batch:

Dice up the veggies: you can use a combination of yellow and green squash and more or fewer green peppers and hot peppers. Use what your garden gives you. Mushrooms are a nice addition, but I didn't have any on hand this day.

Eggplant, zucchini, green pepper,
hot pepper, onion, garlic,tomatoes,
parsley, basil, salt, pepper, olive oil

This was an extra large batch so I sauteed the garlic, onion and pepper first in about 1/4 cup of olive oil, then added only the eggplant.

Eggplant will soak up the oil like a sponge. But let it cook over high heat until it gets a bit tender,

I removed the eggplant, onion and peppers and added a little more oil to the skillet to make room for the squash

Then I added the zucchini, the tomatoes, the salt, parsley, basil and cooked everthing over high heat until the zucchini began to soften and the tomatoes cooked down some.

The tomatoes and zucchini release a lot of liquid. I wanted my ratatouille to be less soupy so I removed the veggies after they were cooked and let the tomato sauce cook down.

Then I returned the eggplant, pepper and onion to the skillet first because that had the flavors of onion and garlic that I wanted to impart to the sauce

And then the zucchini

And let the whole thing cook a bit more.

Served alone with crusty bread and some Italian sausages or serve over pasta without meat for a great vegetarian dish; I'd like to try it with a can of beans mixed in instead of sausage as we are trying to eat less animal protein in our overall diet.

My ratatouille is a bit chunky and not over cooked, you may like yours more cooked and with less of a bite.

I had enough to freeze a portion for another meal - probably a quick meal for when we are in our RV at PTown and have spent a day at the beach.

Vegetarian Onion Soup With Mushrooms - Gratinee

This vegetarian onion soup soup is delicious and filling and did I say vegetarian.  No beef or chicken broth. 

I used about 10 cups of sliced onions, 10 ounces of sliced white mushrooms, olive oil, butter, dry vermouth (or a dry white wine) parsley, salt, pepper and shredded cheese - muenster and extra sharp cheddar (or include some swiss or whatever cheese you have on hand.  American cheese is not cheese - avoid it).  And some crusts of French or Italian bread.

Brown the onions in 2 batches in a very large skillet (or in 3 or more batches depending on the size of your skillet) over high heat in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter, stirring often to get all the onions caramelized.  

Remove the onions and brown the mushrooms in the same pan, add a little more olive oil, if needed.

Combine the onions and mushrooms in the skillet and over high heat, add one teaspoon of salt and one cup of dry vermouth or other dry white wine.  (If your skillet is not large enough - do this in 2 batches, halving the wine and salt for each batch)

Add a few grinds of black pepper (optional).

Bring to a boil and simmer until the alcohol evaporates and the liquid takes on a nice golden brown color, about 6 or 7 minutes.

Transfer the whole mixture to a large (about 3 quart) sauce pan and add 8 cups of water.

Add 2 or 3 teaspoons of salt (to taste).

Bring the soup to a boil, add a handful of chopped parsley (optional) and simmer for 45-60 minutes.

Grate or shred about 3 ounces of cheese per serving.  I like a combo of very sharp cheddar, muenster and swiss.  But I've used Gouda, Fontina, Jarlsberg or other good cheeses as well.  You can make up to eight servings (more or fewer, depending on the size of your oven-proof soup bowls).

Put a few crusts of good bread on the bottom of each soup bowl.  If the bread you have is not crusty, you can toast it lightly.

Ladle on the soup, with a good serving of the onions and mushrooms, over the bread.  Top with the cheese and place the bowls on a cookie sheet(s) to prevent spillage in the oven.

Place into a 450 degree oven until the cheese is melted and starts to brown and bubble.  Remove from oven and serve.

CAUTION: Contents are HOT.  Do not burn your mouth - let the soup cool a bit, and be careful!

Simple ingredients

Saute the onions in Olive oil and butter

Saute the mushrooms in olive oil and butter

Get the onions nicely caramelized
- a little more than above example

Combine the onions and mushrooms

Add the wine, 1 tsp salt and simmer

Transfer to a pot, add water, salt, parsley, simmer

Individual bowls of soup with melted cheese

Serve with a nice glass of wine. 

This soup, alone or with a salad, is a great meal.

Dinner's ready!

Potato, Leek, Swiss Chard and Feta Frittata

There's not much left in the garden at this time of year.  There are some leeks, which I grew for the first time ever, and some swiss chard that withstood some light frost.

Sunday breakfast called for something more than cereal so we had a nice frittata with potato, leek, Swiss chard and feta. (Of course, mushrooms and other good things can be added as well).

I had Leon dice up a potato while ran out in my bathrobe to dig up a few leeks and pick a handful of chard.

Get the potatoes going in a skillet with a bit of olive oil.  Add some salt and pepper.  Wash and chop the white and light green part of the leeks and add to the skillet.  Let saute until the potatoes are tender.  Wash and drain the chard thoroughly, then squeeze to get most of the water out of the handful of chard, then chop into rather fine strands.  Add to the skillet and cook until wilted.

Pour five or six beaten eggs over the veggies, add salt and pepper and some crumbled feta cheese (or any other cheese you like) and cook until eggs are almost set.  Fold over and let the set.  Serve with toast or crusty bread.

Vegetarian "Meatballs" or "Meatloaf"

Veggie "Meatballs"

Did not have the camera handy for the prep and cooking, but if I make these again, I'll take photos.

I am interested in vegetarian dishes, but for the most part find vegetarian is nice as a side dish, not so great as a main course.

I thought I'd make some "meatballs" and be sure they had as much flavor as my ground beef meatballs. I think they are as tasty, but I need to work on the consistency.

Here is what I did:

BROWN RICE:
Saute a finely diced clove of garlic with a finely diced onion and some finely diced celery - about 1/4 cup each of onion and celery, in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  Add 1 cup of uncooked brown rice.  Stir to coat rice.  Add 1 and 1/3 cup water and a teaspoon of salt.  Cook about 30 minutes or until all water is absorbed.  Set aside.

EGGPLANT and BABY BELLAS:
Finely dice a clove of garlic or two, an onion and a small green Italian frying pepper.  Peel and slice a medium size eggplant, salt the slices and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Dab off the moisture that is exuded. Finely dice the eggplant.  Process about 8 oz. Baby Bella Mushrooms in a food processor.  Saute the garlic, onion and green pepper in four tablespoons of olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of a large skillet).  After the onion is cooked through, add the eggplant and the mushrooms.  Saute the mixture until the eggplant is tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Add a little Marsala wine and a little salt and pepper.  Cook off the wine. Remove from heat.

CHICK PEAS (GARBANZO BEANS):
Open a can of garbanzo beans and process them in a food processor.

Put all of the above prepared ingredients into a large bowl.

Add: A small handful of fresh parsley chopped and a four or five leaves of fresh basil, chopped.  Add 3/4 cup prepared Italian breadcrumbs, one half cup grated parmesan or Romano cheese, two eggs. (I used 4 eggs and my mixture was too soft and the meatballs did not stay round- they're more like triangles.  I think 2 or 3 eggs at most should do). Mix everything together.

Heat several tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet.  Form the mixture into balls and fry in the oil, turning when brown on one side, until more or less evenly browned on all sides.  Makes about 32 meatballs.

Not Pretty - but Tasty

I was eating these as they came out of the frying pan.  I guess you can serve them with spaghetti, but I would not cook them in the tomato sauce because they will probably fall apart.

I think this would also make a nice "Meatloaf".