Ratatouille

Show of hands, who thought of the Pixar movie of the rat who cooks haute cuisine when you saw the word ratatouille? I had heard of ratatouille (the dish) but it wasn't until I saw Ratatouille (the movie) that I decided I wanted to try cooking it. I love the scene *spoiler alert* where Rémi (the rat) cooks simple ratatouille for the picky food critic who has it out for the restaurant, wins him over and saves everything. Except the restaurant. But don't worry it ends well... you'll just have to watch it if you haven't yet. 

Anyway, ratatouille (the dish) is the focus of this post because I've discovered a new staple in our menu rotation. It is a traditional dish from Provence in the south of France, meant to be made with the bounty of the summer garden. I've made it a couple times recently and it such a good dish, healthy because it's full of vegetables and delicious because it's full of vegetables... and olive oil. And garlic. It's simple, slow-cooked so all the flavours meld into a summery stew of deliciousness. I found a ratatouille recipe in my trusty Joy of Cooking cookbook, and adapted it a bit. Everyone should have a Joy of Cooking. I found mine at Value Village 10 years ago when I was moving away from home, and I still use it regularly. It's covered in duct tape and stains and is definitely well-loved. Let's move on...

Ratatouille

For this recipe the quality of the dish is directly related to the freshness and flavour of the ingredients - no hothouse hydrotomatoes here! Get them vine-ripened, or as close to the garden as you can get. 

Ingredients: 

1 large eggplant (aubergine in French - such a nicer word!)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

3-4 large ripe tomatoes, diced

2 bell peppers (colour of your choice), diced

2-3 small zucchinis, diced

1/2 tsp dried oregano or small handful of fresh basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Prep and cooking time - 1 hr 15 minutes

First, slice the eggplant into 1/4-inch thick slices and lay on a cloth or paper towel. Salt them well and let them sit 5-10 minutes to get rid of the excess moisture. 

While they are sitting there waiting to be dabbed, heat the olive oil in a heavy pot and sauté the onions and garlic until golden. I always throw in the onions first and wait until they soften before adding the garlic - that way the garlic doesn't burn.

Look at these beauties. The last of my garden tomatoes. I have enjoyed them so much this summer. My dears, you will be missed this winter as I navigate the murky waters of hydroponically grown tomatoes from Mexico...

Dice everything up nice and dicey. When the garlic and onions are golden brown, add the rest of the ingredients (including drained and diced eggplant) to the pot and stir well, adding another glug of olive oil for good measure.

Cook covered over low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid and continue cooking for 15 minutes to evaporate some of the liquid. Salt and pepper to taste.

It makes a delicious/super healthy meal with quinoa (or rice) topped with grilled salmon. *Drool*

Home fries and black bean burgers

I was craving a big juicy burger and greasy, salty fries - definitely not allowed on our current 6-week no-red-meat-no-sugar-no-flour-no-fun-no-nothing diet.  Lately I've been trying to make some interesting new meals to make this healthy diet extra enjoyable for my husband.  Because I love him.  And I want him to like things like black bean burgers so he'll live a long, healthy, bean-loving life. 

Black bean burgers

I found the recipe for these black bean burgers on Pinterest.  I pretty much followed her recipe, with a few tweaks.  

Funny story... in the recipe she calls for 6 T of oats, which any English speaking person would know means 6 tablespoons.  In my Franco-tired-from-baby brain I wrote it down as 6 tasses (French word for cup).  As I was adding the 3rd cup to my bowl, I was thinking to myself, "this seems like way too many oats... maybe I should double-check the recipe..."  I managed to scoop out most of it, but I think there was more than twice the required amount in there.  I added an egg white to compensate, and the flavour didn't suffer thankfully.  Be ye not deceived! It is 6 tablespoons of oats, NOT 6 cups. 

They were pretty easy to make, squashed black beans, quinoa, mashed sweet potato, oats and some spices.  You just form into patties and bake in the oven.  

                       

Topped with spicy homemade mayo (recipe to come), avocado slices, tomato and roasted red pepper, it was a hit!  Hubby even exclaimed, "It's like a real burger!"  I've got leftover mixture in the freezer and three extra patties in the fridge for later this week.  (He also said "they look like big chocolate chip cookies" while they were still on the pan...)

Home fries

Who doesn't like a pile of crispy, salty fries?  Fries are a comfort food for me.  They complement any meal, barbecue, soup, sandwich, whatever.  I make them all the time.  With just a drizzle of olive oil, some spices and baked in the oven, they come out crispy on the outside and smooth as mashed potatoes on the inside.  Honestly, they are healthy! 

Ingredients:

Potatoes (2 good-sized per person)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400°.

Chop up your potatoes into lengths.  I leave the skin on, but peel them if you want. 

Place in a bowl that has a lid.  Drizzle on the olive oil and sprinkle on the spices.

Put the lid on and shake it around until well coated.  Do a little dance if you like.

Spread onto a cookie sheet.  Give them some room, those fries like their personal space.  After 30 mins, flip them over and toss them around a little then pop back in for another 20-30 mins.  

Enjoy with a black bean burger and spinach salad, or other delicious meal of your choice!

Delish.

Sweet Potato and Pear Soup

Jamie and I are on a 6 week liver cleanse-Daniel fast-health kick. We aren't eating red meat, sugar, white flour or processed foods, and eating as many raw fruits and veggies as we can.So essentially, we're eating healthily. We do have to drink 2 big glasses of water with lemon juice in the morning, which apparently helps to cleanse your liver. It must be working because I always have to pee the whole rest of the morning...

I didn't think we ate that much of the "forbidden foods", red meat, white flour and the like, but it turns out our go-to types of meals like pasta and tex-mex tend to have that stuff in them.

So I've been trying to plan our meals better, and have been looking for new recipes to try. I've been having fun making raw juices, my own mayonnaise, cream cheese and today it was whole wheat tortillas! But, snacking is harder and I reeeeallly am missing sweets - brownies, ice cream, cookies, Easter chocolate... *drool* Anyway!

Here is a great vegetarian recipe that my best friend Naphtali introduced me to, it's deceptively simple yet the flavours of the sweet potato and pear pair nicely. (pear pair... hi hi)

Sweet Potato and Pear Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

1 small white onion

2 large pears

3 big sweet potatoes

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock (I use a homemade bouillon paste - recipe coming soon!)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup cream (optional)

Directions:

Chop the onion finely, peel and cube the sweet potatoes and peel, core and cube the pears. My pears were a little small so I threw in an extra one.

Check out my albino sweet potato...

Melt butter in a pot, and sauté onions until soft and translucent.

Add the sweet potato and pear, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add stock to the pot and bring to a boil, cooking the sweet potato and pear until soft, about 20 minutes.

Blend using either a food processor, blender or hand-held blender (my preferred method).

Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.

Top with a dollop of homemade yogurt and a dash of celery salt!