Ratatouille!

Aren't we all fairly familiar with this scene from "Ratatouille"? Food critic Anton Ego enters the restaurant, bent on ruining its reputation, and is instead taken back to a touching scene from his childhood by the amazing taste of the ratatouille, which was chosen, baked and prepared in the kitchen by our little rat friend Remy...


Well, rewind two scenes to my entry on the Carrboro Farmer's Market. Imagine me taking the fresh bounty home, putting away the vegetables, and then pausing each day as I pass the colorful display of Italian sweet bell peppers, zucchini and yellow squash that are sitting in my kitchen, wondering what I should make with them. Then one day it hit me: doesn't ratatouille require these ingredients? Yes! So I sliced...

...and arranged...



...and baked...


...and ate one of the best meals I have ever prepared. Of course, I wiggled with the recipe quite a bit as my nature almost requires it, but I'm confident that even adherence to the recipe will result in a really great meal. Ratatouille is traditionally a rustic, country peasant's fare, usually presented almost like a vegetable stew, so this version may be a different way of presenting the dish, but it is surely not lacking in deliciousness!