Ratatouille

Recent farmthisway distributions have been inspiring me to think of some interesting recipes.  Something that I had never tried until I saw the Disney Movie of the same name was "Ratatouille".  My kids instantly wanted to try this dish that the movie was named for.  So now, when the mood strikes, we will whip up the Disney version of this classic recipe .  Recently the vegetables provided by our CSA have been perfect to make a ratatouille without having to buy very many ingredients at all to complete the recipe. 

I was reminded of this ratatouille recipe when a customer came into the farmthisway tent at the Blasdell farmers market.  She was very friendly and outgoing, and clearly new her way around a veggie stand.  Once she started seeing some of the different fresh vegetables that were on offer this past week, her eyes glowed with excitement as she filled her bag and said "I'm going to make Ratatouille! This is perfect!" 

Seeing the joy brought to a fellow human being just by something so basic as selling her some fresh veggies was one of the highlights of my work day on Wednesday.  The way that people talk about their favorite recipes and the creative things that they do with the different produce is always fun. 

I also have the opposite end of the spectrum come through the market many days.  People who look at something like kale or eggplant and say, "I would love to try it, but I just have NO idea what to do with it!"  I am always happy to offer up suggestions on what I have done with it, and it often helps them to get the courage to try something new.  They will sometimes come back the next week and tell me that they tried it and loved it, like the man who has been adding kale to his morning smoothies all summer long, and sometimes tell me that they tried it but it just wasn't for them.  Hey, not everyone is going to love everything. 

But, if you are looking for a little inspiration, fire up some zucchinis, squash, onions, garlic, eggplant, peppers, and a few other ingredients, into a lovely Ratatouille, and maybe pop in the DVD of the Disney movie to have a special movie themed dinner night.  I always love seeing Remy and his passion for food.  Even if Remy is a rodent. 

On the side

Sometimes our veggies from our farmthisway CSA share are the STAR of our meal, like when we all decide to eat 3 ears of sweet corn then can't eat anything else, or when I make squash casserole, but sometimes, they play a supporting role. And that's OK too.  What would the leading actress be without the supporting cast. 

This week I discovered a new instant family favorite.  We all love quesadillas, but this time, I sauteed up some ground beef from Robbins Nest, with some of my farmthisway bell peppers, onions and tomatoes, and made Cheeseburger quesadillas.  The veggies were there and tasty, just not screaming out "LOOK AT ME!  I'M A STAR!" Another fun use was in a potato hash.  Diced up baby fingerling potatoes with the green peppers and onions again, and sauteed as a side for breakfast for dinner, along with our farm fresh brown eggs! 

Besides that, we've used the tomatoes, with the peppers and onions to make an individual batch of sauce for our lasagna this week.  And this week, most of our blueberries got frozen for later use (though my son managed to find a few before I sealed them in their freezer bags for future smoothie use!). 

The white corn this week was PHENOMENAL and shines as the star of any meal, even if it is "just" on the side...And our jalapeno peppers got their first run as an appetizer, stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon.  YUM!  One of my favorites, and so easy!  I like that the jalapenos are a perfect pair with the creamy cream cheese and yummy bacon.  Not too HOT but spicy enough.  Even the kids love them!

Another week and suddenly I am realizing that summer is ending soon.  The kids go back to school in a couple of weeks and that means pretty soon the leaves will start turning.  But fear not...I also no that along with that comes hardy winter squashes, mums, and pumpkins!  We love all of our seasons, especially the 24 weeks of CSA season!