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Who ever knew that I’d have a lot in common with a rat? Well, aside from having the nickname Ty-Rat as a child, I am a lot like Remy. Remy, a rat and the lead character in the children’s animated film Ratatouille and I both have highly developed senses of taste and smell. This enables us to taste something and recreate it. It also aids us in creating delicacies in the kitchen. Remy and I both spend hours pouring our hearts out into our pots. We both have a passion for food and enjoy blessing people by tantalizing the taste buds.

 

So here I pay homage to Remy. Thanks for the inspiration. I needed to do something with this eggplant and this spin on a classic came out just perfect.

And the kids love it too.

 

Ratatouille

 

1 large vidalia onion diced

1 medium eggplant diced

1 red bell pepper chopped

1 medium zucchini diced

3 medium tomatoes diced, separated

1 chipotle pepper in adobo

4 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp Himalayan salt

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cup vegetable broth.

Blend garlic, chipotle pepper and 2/3 of the diced tomato in blender. Heat stockpot on medium. Add olive oil. When hot add onion and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add tomato mixture, all seasonings and cook additional 2 minutes. Add eggplant, peppers, broth and cook additional 5-7 minutes. Lastly, add zucchini and tomato and cook an additional 5-7 minutes or until zucchini is fork tender.

ratatouille close up 2

Can’t you almost taste it? Go ahead and get to cooking. Enjoy!

ratatouille full

 

ratatouille angle

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

In as much as I am a foodie, I don’t do squishy, seedy vegetables.  

Whole tomatoes…no.
Okra…no.  
Eggplant…no.  

Until this recipe.  A similar recipe was made for me by a sweet teenage friend after the birth of my 4th child.  Hers were delicious but fried.  So I’ve recreated the recipe to bake instead of fry.

Baked Eggplant Fries

1 large eggplant, cut into 1/4 inch wide wedge fries

3 tbsp warm water

1 tbsp ground flax seed

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp italian seasoning

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup flour

olive oil mister or cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Whisk together the warm water and flax seeds (flax egg) in a shallow bowl; set aside. Cut off ends of eggplant, then cut them into 1/4 inch wide wedges. Mix the panko bread crumbs, salt, pepper, italian seasoning, and garlic powder on a plate. Toss the fries in the flour.  Dip the fries in the flax egg then move the fries to the panko on the plate and roll them until completely coated. Repeat for all fries. Place fries on wire rack on a baking sheet and spray generously. Bake for about 25 minutes, until fries are golden brown on the outside.