Ratatouille and Polenta

Hello all, the Fresh Pioneer is back with something fresh and tasty! Ready? Wonderful!

But before we start, I suppose this post might need a small subtitle. Or a caveat. Or a warning sign.

 

(I think this means "picky eaters run for your lives". Pretty sure. Or maybe "parents will have to chase down their kids and force feed them this dish".)

 

Some people need their food to be picture perfect. Nothing wrong with that! As my mother said to me once, " If it doesn't look good, no one will eat it." (Of course, this doesn't apply to teenage boys, hungry men, or myself past the midnight hour.)
This post is for those times that you want to cook something wonderfully tasty that looks a bit... ugly. Some dishes are just not going to be on the cover of Gourmet magazine any time soon. Now that you're ready to get down and dirty (or ugly), let's start!

 

I hear you screaming already! Take a deep breath. I'm not cooking anything with tails. Today. But if anyone remembers this movie, the little dude's name was Ratatouille. Which is a delicious, fresh veggie saute, usually over rice, couscous or polenta. It USUALLY looks like this:

 

But who ever gets it to turn out that way? Not me. So, let's ignore the unreal expectations and cook something a little less perfect-looking!

Ah, a sideways pan filled with one chopped sweet onion and minced garlic, along with a few TBS of olive oil. While that heats up, let's go looking for veggies.

   These are fom the garden of my beautiful friend Barbara. Her husband, Larry, can grow just about anything, including GIANT PUMPKINS. I stopped by one day and was the happy recipient of a trunk full of produce.
    Love gardeners. Super love generous gardeners! My dad and his wife keep me supplied with cucumbers from June until the end of August. I haven't seen our grocery produce section in MONTHS.

Wash and choppity, choppity,  choppity.

Assorted sweet bell peppers join the party.

With a few big tomatoes, into the pan they go.

I took 3 cups of chicken broth left over from trying out Missy Tippens' dumpling recipe and added that to the group. If you don't have broth, you can dissolve two cubes of boullion into 3 cps of water. You can add more salt later, if needed. Turn the burner to medium high. This should get simmering pretty quickly. ( I like a lot of tomatoes so at this point I added one can of diced tomatoes.)

Now, you can definitely eat your ratatouille (the dish, not the chef rat!) plain, but it's usually over the top of a grain or pasta. I love polenta (cooked cornmeal). It's so... filling. And possibly caloric. I refuse to check.

Slice and lay in a skillet over 2 TBS of olive oil. (We're trying to be healthy! I've heard it's best with real butter and browns beautifully but I'm pretending I don't know about all that.) Sprinkle on some salt and pepper and parsley flakes. It doesn't take long to warm up/cook. About five minutes, and flip.

I know you're thinking none of this is particularly UGLY. But remember our veggies simmering away? We've been stirring them carefully, and waiting for the broth to reduce so it's nice and savory. No matter how careful we are, zucchini just doesn't like to be simmered and stirred.

 Prepare yourselves.

Ta-DAH!

 Mmmmmm.... goodness. All garden fresh, with polenta on the side! It's just not quite 'picture perfect' so don't surprise any picky five year olds with this dish. Just make them a PB&J sandwich. That leaves more for you anyway.


  What's your favorite 'ugly' dish? Have you ever made anything delicious that looked... inedible? We're all friends here. I promise I won't laugh. Much.

 

Orange Basil Baked Trout

Hello, everybody! It's has been SO hot here. That's the bad news. The good news is that our garden is in full swing!

 Mmm, love these heirloom pear tomatoes!
                                              
And this black Thai basil went to seed, but I found you can still use the buds in pesto and sauces.
                                           
Upside garden deliciousness!
                                    
We always share our pears and plums...
                                             
Because it helps our elderly neighbors remember why they love this family with the six loud kids! Lol

                                          
I could eat this all day. *sigh* Why can't we have fruit in the garden year-round? I definitely live in the wrong climate for my tastes.
                                        
We did go blackberry picking and got a few gallons, but they were small and scraggly because a heat wave had hit just as they came ripe. :(

This zucchini blackberry bread was so good! I may have neglected to mention the zucchini part to our picky eater, although I think the sugar balances out any nutritional benefits.

So, one of the neighbors we share fruit and baked good with likes to fish. But he fishes more than he can possibly eat. SO he likes to give the fish to us. I don't crave baked fish but when we do have it, I remember how wonderful fresh baked trout can be.

                                                             
We sliced oranges, lemons, and basil.
                                                  
Spreading a little olive oil on the foil, lay out the fish, salt on one side. Flip the fish. Rub the top with garlic. Stuff the insides with orange slices, some basil, and sprinkle with sea salt. Lay lemon slices on top.

 We have a fun spice grinder that has rosemary and black pepper. Great combo!

 Right before it goes into the preheated over at 425F!

 Ta-dah! They look like baked fish but they taste like the most amazingly fresh bit of fishy foodie heaven. YUMMMM. We paired them with a sparkling lemon water, watermelon mint chilled salad, and couscous.

 Until next time!

Squid Ink Spaghetti with Heirloom Tomatoes

Hello, everybody! It's been a crazy week at Casa Munoz and I'm shocked that after all the cooking we've done, I don't have much to show for it. Why do I not take pictures?? We had a delicious grilled tuna a few days ago, then roasted stuffed peppers, then a layered tomato salad. But do I have photos? NO. Well, I have a few.
                                              
I'm in love with our garden right now! SO much deliciousness happening out there. Our peaches are all gone and I only managed to can about six or seven quarts of vanilla peaches (sliced peaches with a bit of vanilla bean). Of course, we've also eaten half of those quarts already but I hid one in the back of the pantry for January when we're all sick to death of store bought food.

These bright little peppers make me so happy! I don't eat them plain, like my husband does, but I like them in pico de gallo and stirred into home made Italian sauce. Gives everything just a little kick.

And here is tonight's dinner, squid ink spaghetti. How cool is that? I think someone already posted about black pasta, though. I can't remember who it was but I remember thinking, "Oooo, new and shiny! The kids might love it!" So, here's out take on it. I didn't notice much difference, but that may be because I put a lot of basil in my sauce. (And this is my husband's dish. I don't do peppers.)

 

Until next time!