Ratatouille

Last night it was a stormy summer evening at our house. The storms just seemed to roll over, one after another.

On a night like that, my favorite summer comfort food is Ratatouille. It is a french word that means vegetable stew. From what I have read there are many, many Ratatouille recipes out there and I am sure I would be fond of most of them because I just love the ingredients. It is comforting for me, especially on a rainy summer evening. I especially like it when the ingredients came out of my garden as these did. I also love that it is quick and easy to fix.

Here is a photo of my finished stew -- rich and delicious.

My recipe is not fancy, just plain ingredients, salt and pepper. The ingredients can change for me depending on what is growing in the garden when I make it. This is my yesterday's recipe.

Ratatouille

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 large onion chopped
2 zucchini, chopped into large pieces,
2 small or one large eggplant, cut into large pieces
6 tomatoes, diced
Green peppers, optional
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil in large pan. Add garlic and onion and brown on medium high. Add remaining ingredients, except tomatoes. Turn down and simmer until browned. Add tomatoes and simmer. Turn on medium high and reduce the tomatoes. Add salt and pepper and cook until zucchini and eggplant are soft and tomatoes form a thick, rich sauce.