Ratatouille

This is another reprint from my personal blog, from August 1, 2010


I followed Alice Waters recipe for Ratatouille tonight. I love her The Art of Simple Food. It is my first go-to cookbook and almost always has what I need.

It came out so tasty! Even my eleven-year-old daughter said it was yummy. At first she was really not into it. We talked a bit about that. I asked her, Is it the flavor or the texture? She took a bite with some buttered rosemary bread. A look of bliss came over her face. She said, hmmm, it’s actually quite good, it’s yummy! She said the favor was good, it was the texture that she didn’t care for.

We ended up having a very interesting discussion about the origin of food and how it’s cared for while growing and how fresh it is when brought to the table. Because we got the vegetables that were in our dinner tonight from the farm down the road, we were able to experience the amazing freshness of just picked vegetables. Because my daughter spends time at the farm helping the farmers pick and weed and wash pests away with onion water, she can appreciate what she’s eating even if she doesn’t like it.

I remember having a moment like that when I was a kid. I asked my mom if onions were good for me. Because she said yes I decided I would eat them without complaint because they were good for me.

I cannot say enough about the benefits of getting fresh produce from a nearby grower.