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.

Calabacitas

Calabacitas: squash, onions, corn, and chiles; yummy side dish or taco filling.

4-5 squash (any combination of yellow squash and zucchini will work), sliced into 1/4 inch thick medallions

1 sweet onion, halved and sliced

Corn (1 can or 3 ears)

1 can green chiles (I often get Ortega or Casa Fiesta, but don't use canned jalapenos unless you want SPICY)

4-5 strips of bacon, chopped into 1 inch pieces

In a cast iron or large non-stick skillet, cook bacon over med-high heat until done but not crispy. Add onions to pan and cook until translucent or even lightly browned (6-8 minutes). Reduce heat to medium and add squash in batches, about 1/3 at a time, to make sure it gets its fair share of bacon grease and direct exposure to the hot pan. Add corn and chiles and cook over med-low heat until everything is warm through. This dish can be prepared first and sit while the rest of the meal is cooking.

At the beach last week we used canned corn and only a few chiles because I accidently picked up canned jalapenos and we didn't want to make everyone wince and cry in pain from the heat. On Monday night when we made calabacitas to go with our tacos, we used leftover grilled corn from the night before. We had about 2 1/2 ears left and I scraped the kernels right off the cobs and tossed it in instead of canned corn. Delicious if you have the corn left over but not necessary.

Tortes and Pies, yum yum!

This week in our farm share we got something that wasn't green: yellow squash! It is still early in the season here for yellow squash so we were asked to only take 2. I used one in a delicious torte based on a recipe from smitten kitchen: herbed summer squash and potato torte. Without any careful measurements, I halved the recipe to make one torte. I used 1 yellow squash and 3 red potatoes (the recipe calls for yukon golds), each about the size of a baseball. This worked about to be about two layers of each potatoes and squash and the top layer was a mix of the two. After each layer of squash and potatoes I drizzled olive oil and added the cheese mixture from the recipe (parmesan, flour, fresh thyme, black pepper, salt, and fresh green onions also from the farm share). I baked this covered at only 350 (because my pie was in the oven too) for about 20 minutes and then upped the temperature to the called for 375 for another 20 minutes and then let it cook uncovered for about 15 additional minutes. I also added a touch more cheese before that final 15 minutes: it was looking a little bare on top. What a tasty treat, especially with the farm fresh squash and scallions! (And as a side note, the piece I just ate reheated for breakfast was good too!)

And on to the pie. I hope you weren't getting too excited about another desert. We still have blackberry cake left from the other night.

This pie was a savory pie. I used a spinach and ricotta recipe, but I substituted swiss chard for the spinach.

I use a store brand refrigerated pie shell, though obviously this would be all the tastier if you made a homemade shell.

Cook 10 oz. frozen spinach, cool, and drain.

Mix with 1 lb. ricotta cheese (I use skim, low fat ricotta.)

Add 1 large egg

1/4C parmesan, grated (powdery works better than strands)

1/3C flour

1/2t nutmeg

Fill the pie shell with the mixture and top with an additional 1/4C parmesan and dot with about 2T butter.

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes until the top is starting to brown. (If you use swiss chard and put a torte in the oven halfway through, it'll take an extra 10 minutes at 375 to brown!)

Instead of spinach, I used the fresh swiss chard from our farm share. The taste of the chard in the pie was richer and more interesting that the spinach usually is; however, the chard must retain so much more moisture than the spinach because it altered the texture of the pie. I steamed the swiss chard nearly to death, or so it seemed, and yet, it was still moist enough to make the pie less dense than usual. The taste was worth it, though, and as the pie cooled it solidified nicely. So maybe swiss chard and ricotta pie is really designed to be eaten for lunch for the next two days, which is exactly what my husband has done. 1/4 of a swiss chard and ricotta pie + 1 piece of blackberry cake = lunch!