Sunday, August 30, 2009

My Neighbor's Bounty


This is all just picked from my neighbors big garden. I just walk over any time I want and help myself. This is the raw material for a very good, fresh Ratatouille. I already have a pepper I picked a couple of days ago and a Vidalia onion I picked up at the grocery store. This will feed me for days and I'll share a little with friends. I can serve it over rice or pasta, but tonight, I'm just having a big bowl of just ratatouille.

The only thing I won't use is the little spaghetti squash. I'll cook the squash and have ratatouille on it like it was spaghetti.

First I'll make a tomato sauce. While its cooking I'll slice and salt the eggplant. Pat and wipe off moisture, turn and salt. Repeat.
Then cube big and gently brown in olive oil.

the rest is easy as pie. Oh next week I'll make eggplant pie.

20 comments:

Laura said...

Mmmmm that sounds so GOOD!!
I really miss my garden. We had a big one until about 6 years ago when we put a stinky pool in. (apparently the only spot it could go was where my veggies were growing!)

I'm going to have to go to the produce store today and pick up some stuff. That looks awesome. :)

((Hugs))
Laura

Blueberry said...

That is beautiful stuff! Our garden failed due to having one of the hottest, driest summers on record. Cacti are happy though. We need a winter crop...

Sherry Pasquarello said...

sounds fantastic!

Utah Savage said...

Sunshine, my yard is too shady for a garden. But like you, I'd rather have a veggie garden than a stinky pool. A nice clean lap pool would suit me fine.

Blueberry how nice to see you here. We had a very wet spring and a hot dry summer. But I live in a neighborhood in the middle of the city where we still have an irrigation day. So my neighbors get free water for 6 hours every Thursday. My mother was dumb enough to refuse the irrigation water. And like most things, if you turn it down, you can't change your mind. So no free water for me.

Sherry, it is fantastic. So delicious. A tomato sauce made from fresh garden grown tomatoes is so much sweeter than one made from store bought tomatoes. And food cooked the same day it's picked is the best.

Gail said...

Hi Utah-

the home grown veggies look so delicious AND your recipe plans for them will be delicious. I love ratatouille!! (I had no idea how to spell that until I checked back on your post)!! :-0

Love Gail
peace.....

Utah Savage said...

Hi Gail. I had to check the spelling too.

The Peach Tart said...

I love sauteed vegetables fresh from the garden.

themom said...

My neighbors have been generous with their bounty this year. Unfortunately, there was a blight with the tomatoes this year - and everyone's crop was shot.

FYI - ratatouille was the first word I taught my kids to spell in the first grade. I taught thegrandson also - then Disney comes out with the movie. Pshaw!

jmsjoin said...

That is excellent Utah but eat the spaghetti squash and eat it like spaghetti it is scrumptious and of course a veggie!

Commander Zaius said...

One of my best memories is seeing my grandfather putter in his garden. His tomatoes were always the best in the world.

susan said...

The vegies are magnificent specimens of their kind and your plans for them sound delicious.

Demeur said...

How much rat do you use?

Sorry I've been hanging out with Randal Graves again.

Spadoman said...

The veggie pic looks like a portrait. Love this time of the year and the harvest. I'll have to make some veggie stuff. Salsa, tomato and cuke salad, zuchinni, eggplant lasagna. You've inspired me.

Peace.

Jack Jodell said...

Wow---what a delectably beautiful shot! It looks like a classic still life masterpiece! Bon appetit!

Randal Graves said...

Those vegetables don't look very uniform. I think you need more pesticide.

Nan said...

Those vegetables look wonderful.

I lost my tomatoes to blight, too. Only had one plant in a container, and it didn't make it past June.

Utah Savage said...

Randal and Demeur, I was looking for rat to put in my ratatouille but I could not find either of you. Hiding out watching football not doubt.

zeppo said...

Very nice picture! Nice framing...

We had a very crappy spring here in the Pacific Northwest. Things just didn't get going very quickly. We're still waiting for the cherry tomatoes to ripen. Right now, we could probably use them as little green marbles.

Anonymous said...

what a gorgeous spread! that is a very generous neighbor.

Utah Savage said...

Dear Up and down the town, so glad to hear from you. Part of my neighbor's generosity is the trade off of my house-sitting for them and watching their dogs while they travel. So it's a nice symbiotic relationship. They leave town tomorrow.