Ratatouille

I just finished reading A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, which I loved! The author began writing about food on her blog: Orangette. Each chapter of the book includes a recipe and last night I tried her recipe for Roasted Eggplant Ratatouille.

1 lb. eggplant, sliced crosswise into 1-in thick rounds

Olive oil

1 lb. zucchini, halved, sliced into 1/2-in thick half moons

1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

4 large cloves of garlic, sliced thin

5 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped

3/4t salt

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1/4C finely chopped fresh basil

To begin she suggests roasting the eggplant in the oven rather

than cooking it in a pan. Take note that these are thick slices of eggplant; I got 6 out of a regular size eggplant. I lightly salted the slices and let them release some moisture on paper towels for about 10 minutes. Then brush or spray them with oil on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes (flipping once) at 400. Remove from oven and allow them to cool. Cut the slices into 1-in cubes.

Meanwhile, cook the zucchini (I used yellow squash) in ~2T olive oil for 10-12 minutes at med-high until the pieces are browning but not soggy. Remove these from the pan leaving any remaining oil and set aside. If no oil, add 1T to the pan, reduce heat to medium, and cook the onion for ~5 minutes.

Add the garlic (sliced not minced) and red pepper and cook for another ~5 minutes but don't let the garlic brown. Add the tomatoes, salt (I used less than called for because I had salted the eggplant), thyme, and bay leaf. Reduce the heat to low (I had to use med-low to get any action), cover, and cook for ~5 minutes. Add the eggplant and zucchini, stir, cover, and cook over low (med-low) for 15-20 minutes until everything is tender. Turn off heat and stir in basil.

Pimento Cheese!

I have been trying to do a little bit of cooking in the morning before I leave the house for school. I usually make a side dish to go along with dinner or something we can each for lunch the following day. This morning my project was pimento cheese. Last week red and yellow bell peppers were as good a price as I have seen them for awhile: $1.99/lb. I bought one of each color and roasted them when we had the grill going for sausages. After they were nicely blackened, I put them in a brown paper bag to steam. Once they had cooled enough to handle I peeled them and took out the seeds. I put them in a jar in the fridge.
This morning I took out the roasted red pepper and sliced it up in to about 10 strips. I sliced an 8-oz. block of sharp cheddar cheese into chunks that could easily fit into the chute of my food processor. I started with the shredder attachment and alternated between adding cheese and peppers. Once I had shredded everything I moved everything to the side of the bowl in the food processor so I could put the regular chopping attachment in the bowl. I pulsed a few times so that the cheese and roasted peppers were mixed but I didn't want to turn it to mush. (This process is really best done using a meat grinder, but I don't have one.) I decided to store the cheese and roasted pepper mix without adding mayo but I'll add the mayo in batches as I use it for crackers or a sandwich.