Mixing a Little Personal With Business

My garden looks like a scene I saw in Costa Rica years ago, a jungle with oversized leaves. Or perhaps a scene from a sci-fi, like Jurassic Park where a prehistoric creature will peer out from behind the Collard Greens.  Mother Nature was busy this week. She must have known that I'd need a distraction when I returned from Boulder. Love her. She's always looking out for me.  I don't need a church to pray and express gratitude. I have my own sacred place.

One of the challenges with this time of year is what in the world to do with all the harvest? I am always looking for recipes that utilize a large amount of what I pick. A good bang for your buck recipe is Ratatouille. I was worried that the dish was too outdated to serve at a luncheon I had. Was it like walking downstairs in an old, frumpy dress? Nice, but been-there-done-that years ago? Lorin, who is an exceptionally good cook, counseled me that it was a classic and classics don't get frumpy.  I wasn't entirely convinced until she told me to top it off with some toasted pinenuts and a bit of goat cheese. Voila! That's what I needed... a little trendy to spice up my classic.  I serve this and people often tell me they don't know if they really like ratatouille and then I watch them go for more! I think some people are afraid of that many vegetables all together.

Ratatouille

4 large tomatoes (I used a variety)

8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1c chopped flat leaf parsley

1/2 c chopped basil leaves (I love basil, so I add more)

2 lb eggplant cut into cubes

2 large red onion, quartered and thinly sliced crosswise

3 assorted bell peppers (1-1/2 lbs) cut into 1 inch pieces

4 medium zucchini (2lb) quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into 3/4 inch thick pieces

salt and pepper

Blanch and peel the tomatoes. Coarsely chop them and transfer to a heavy pot with garlic, parsley, basil and some olive oil. Simmer partially covered, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens. About 30 minutes. By the way, this makes an excellent quick pasta sauce as well. 

While the sauce is simmering, toss the eggplant with 1/2t salt and let sit in a colander over the sink for half an hour at least. Pat them dry before cooking.

Once the eggplant has sweat out its needless liquid,  saute the onions, eggplant, bell peppers and zucchini over medium heat until they soften - about 10-15 minutes. Epicurious suggests cooking all these vegetables separately. I do not see the reason other than to add to your dirty dishes. Just make sure to stir occasionally. But, if you're a rule follower, you can saute them separately.

Lastly, add the softened vegetables to the tomato sauce, simmer covered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender, about an hour. Cool, uncovered and serve warm or at room temperature. 

I can also tell you that the flavor is unbelievable the second day! And don't forget to top it with the pinenuts and goat cheese. No frumpy ratatouille here.

AND THE VERDICT IS...

Yes, my Green Zebra Tomato, the very one from Love Apple Farm did have mites. I bought a 3x loop just like Love Apple suggested we do and sure enough, I could see them crawling on the leaves. Not too many per leaf, but enough to see that they had taken up residency and were not going away.  There are several remedies that you can find on the Love Apple site (see my most recent posting), but I decided that I have enough tomato plants and I just want it out of the box, like a broken toy. 

Who needs Sonoma?   If you're under the impression that you can't grow grapes in your own backyard and you have to go to the wine country to witness such a feat. Think again.

I grew these Champagne grapes and they were delicious and impressive on a cheese platter. I love when something really works in the garden! 

And, P.S. I still need Sonoma, honey. Don't worry.

And another first... I harvested beets!

personalpersonalpersonalpersonalpersonalpersonal

WANNA WALK? 

The annual Bonnie Addario Walk for Lung Cancer is coming up, September 12 at 5:00pm in Golden Gate Park. If you can join me and our Team Xhale, please sign up here. We had a fabulous and meaningful time last year with a team of over thirty people. This year, the race is in honor of Jill, a student at UC Berkeley who lost her life to lung cancer and never smoked a cigarette in her life. Please help me support the efforts being made to eradicate this disease that is affecting too many people. Three of my loved ones have died from lung cancer, my father, Liane and King. Please help me help Bonnie.

AND ... SOME RAW EMOTION... ALWAYS GOOD FOR THE SOUL TO SHARE...

No one can prepare you for the awe of your newborn laying on your belly breathing simultaneously with you, no one can prepare you for the seemingly endless sleepless nights that occur, no one can prepare you for the pride you feel in the nucleus of your cells numerous times throughout their childhood, no one can prepare you for the joy you feel when you hear them laugh from the belly... you know where I am going with this... no one can prepare you for the feeling you have when you walk back in the house after you return from taking your child to college and realize that their returns to home will be temporary forever more. It's a daunting feeling that you cannot prepare for. Don't get me wrong, the happiness I have knowing that Jeffrey has transitioned with ease into his new adventure gives me the required strength to carry on, I just wasn't prepared for the range of emotions that roll in and out like the perfect wave.

Life is Good