Ratatouille, a beret and a new beginning

During my first few days in my new apartment, devoid of the Internet, I reread some of Molly's "Homemade Life". There, a simple little recipe for ratatouille caught my eye. The next time I was at the market I picked out tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, garlic, onion and some fresh herbs. When the right time came, I sliced up my zucchini into thick rounds, covered them with olive oil and slid the pan into a 400 degree oven. I sauteed the zucchini until it was just slightly undercooked. I fried the onion until golden, added the garlic and then the chopped tomatoes. I added the cooked zucchini, the eggplant that I chopped up when it came out of the oven, and fresh thyme and oregano (but I could have added a bay leaf and some basil). I simmered my pot of Provencal delicacy for 15 minutes while cooking some quinoa. I fried an egg. I spooned the quinoa into a bowl. I spooned ratatouille on top. I slid my fried egg and broke the yoke with my fork. I ate the comforting dish with lip-licking relish.


I ate ratatouille for four days. It was spectacularly satisfing each time, and super easy. Just cook the veggies separately and then you won't end up with one huge mushy combination for a meal at the end.
Who knows what I'll eat for dinner tomorrow? Or lunch for that matter. Breakfast? There's
painting to be done, furniture to buy, an oven element to fix; I have no silverware, no chest of drawers; there are papers strewn all over the counters, I feel a little fuzzy-eyed; but, I'm home.

- murph

PS Tonight, the night of the last meal, I had toast under the ratatouille, with a bit of left-over broccoli sauteed in olive and balsamic vinegar on top.