rataouille (csa week 7)

what happens when you come home to 2 weeks worth of csa vegetables? if you're me, you make a mishmash veggie stew and dub it ratatouille. after perusing multiple recipes--ok wait, what actually happened was this: i furiously chopped veggies while crying out in panic to becky crocker who was on the couch. she looked up recipes online as i chopped, then i threw things randomly in a pot just prior to freaking out, "wait! what goes in first?!" and becky crocker of course, agreeably accommodated my chaos happening only inches away from her.

so what ended up happening was something like this: i sauteed the eggplant, then set it aside. sauteed the peppers and set them aside. sauteed the garlic and onions for a little bit, then added the tomatoes, covered and let them stew a little bit. and of course, vehemently salted as i went. then i threw everything in the pot together, turned down the heat and let it simmer. while simmering, i cursed myself for not having any basil. we went to the roof to check my mini earthbox garden of cherry tomatoes, zucchini and basil (yes, yes, wait for it), and becky crocker yelled at me for my obvious mistake of not realizing that I HAD BASIL ON THE ROOF. soooo, we picked some basil, ran back downstairs, threw the basil in, and let it all cook a little bit more (until i was so hungry i couldn't take it anymore.)


go go zo's "ratatouille"

• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 2 red peppers, diced
  
• 1 eggplant, cubed (no, i do not salt my eggplant. i just don't. and i don't peel it either...)
  
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• handful of basil, chopped
  
• a few cloves of garlic, minced
• salt
  
• olive oil

• in a large saucepan or dutch oven, sautee eggplant in some olive oil and remove from pan (not too much oil; it will absorb whatever you throw in there)
• in the same pan, sautee peppers in some olive oil and remove.
  
• add more olive oil, the onions and garlic. sautee over low heat until the onions slightly soften. add tomatoes. cover and let simmer until the tomatoes start to break down and release their juices.
• add the other vegetables and basil back to the pan, add salt and pepper to taste, cover, turn down the heat, and let simmer for as long as you can wait (no longer than 40 minutes).
• serve over pasta, toast, rice, eggs, or eat plain. some parmesan is nice here.