[01 Jan 2010|03:49am] egl_cooking [faerydragonet] Ratatouille's Ratatouille Ratatouille's Ratatouille This is the ratatouille that appeared in the movie, Ratatouille. As envisioned by Smitten Kitchen. ½ onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced 1 cup tomato puree (such as Pomi) 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 small eggplant (my store sells these “Italian Eggplant” that are less than half the size of regular ones; it worked perfectly) 1 smallish zucchini 1 smallish yellow squash 1 longish red bell pepper Few sprigs fresh thyme Salt and pepper Few tablespoons soft goat cheese, for serving Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour tomato puree into bottom of an oval baking dish, approximately 10 inches across the long way. Drop the sliced garlic cloves and chopped onion into the sauce, stir in one tablespoon of the olive oil and season the sauce generously with salt and pepper. Trim the ends off the eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash. As carefully as you can, trim the ends off the red pepper and remove the core, leaving the edges intact, like a tube. On a mandoline, adjustable-blade slicer or with a very sharp knife, cut the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and red pepper into very thin slices, approximately 1/16-inch thick. Atop the tomato sauce, arrange slices of prepared vegetables concentrically from the outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, overlapping so just a smidgen of each flat surface is visible, alternating vegetables. You may have a handful leftover that do not fit. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon olive oil over the vegetables and season them generously with salt and pepper. Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs with your fingertips, running them down the stem. Sprinkle the fresh thyme over the dish. Cover dish with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside. (Tricky, I know, but the hardest thing about this.) Bake for approximately 45 to 55 minutes, until vegetables have released their liquid and are clearly cooked, but with some structure left so they are not totally limp. They should not be brown at the edges, and you should see that the tomato sauce is bubbling up around them. Serve with a dab of soft goat cheese on top, alone, or with some crusty French bread, atop polenta, couscous, or your choice of grain. post comment

[01 Jan 2010|03:38am] egl_cooking [faerydragonet] Watermelon Aqua Fresca  1 med Sun Moons & Stars (or other Seeded Watermelon), cut into chunks, rind removed     1 tbsp simple syrup or Sugar Shots Organic Turbinado Syrup (optional)     4 Kaffir lime leaves chiffonaded (optional)     1 pinch of salt (optional) Essential Equipment: A food mill with a fine mesh strainer. Position the food mill fitted with the fine mesh strainer over a bowl. (I use a 8c Pyrex measuring cup) Mill chunks of watermelon and pinches of the kaffir lime until all is pureed. Discard solids. Add sugar and salt to juice and stir (if using). Chill for at least 30 mins and up to a few hours. Stir well before serving as there are still some solids left and they will tend to settle. If you want to avoid the tiny white and black flecks (seed particles) you can seed the watermelon before adding it to the food mill. Using a watermelon with seeds will usually result in better flavored juice. Try to consume the day it’s made – but it probably won’t last long anyways. Makes approximately 8 cups. post comment

[29 Dec 2009|04:48pm] fruitsyauctions [neon_kats] Handmade Goodies up for grabs!! FREE Worldwide Shipping!! http://neon-kats.livejournal.com/ post comment

entry [26 Dec 2009|10:27pm] egl_cooking [airamy_chan] Hello!I'm from Italy, and I'm just sweet-aholic!!!I'm happy Ifound a community like this, because I'm planning a Lolita meeting and I need good recipes!!!I hope I'll meet new friends!!! post comment

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