Simple Ratatouille

Hello!  Summertime and hotter weather call for effortless dishes that have little prep time, and go easy on your waistline too!  A simple, delicious rustic Ratatouille is the perfect dish for days when your palate craves something fresh and light.  This is a straight-forward interpretation of the classic French Provençal dish.

Let's gather our ingredients.

For this recipe, you will need:

8-10 Roma tomatoes

2-3 Summer (or yellow) squash

2-3 Italian squash

1 small or 1/2 a large white onion

4-5 cloves garlic

A handful of fresh basil

Extra virgin olive oil

Garlic salt to taste

I begin by drizzling olive oil in the bottom of a large casserole dish.  Sprinkle with garlic salt.  Set aside.

Thoroughly rinse your basil, and trim off any long stems.

Mince your basil.  You may also cut into thin strips if you prefer.

    

Peel your garlic.

Mince.

Peel and mince your onion.

Combine the minced herb, garlic, and onion.  Set aside.

After rinsing, slice your Roma tomatoes, squashes and eggplant.  If your eggplant is very large, halve or quarter it first, then slice into pieces. You want all of the elements to be approximately the same size, so cut according to need.  

Arrange the sliced pieces of fruit in your casserole dish in a pattern following in a circle:  eggplant, tomato, squash, repeating this pattern until your dish is full.    

You may vary however you like.  Here, I have prepared one dish with only the Italian squash and eggplant, and a smaller dish with all three.  When you have finished the pattern, sprinkle with the herb-garlic/onion mixture.  Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle once more with garlic salt.

Time to bake.  You may cover as I have done here, or bake with no cover.  Bake at 350 degrees until the squash and eggplant are fork-tender.

Serve.  C'est fantastique!! 

The onion, tomatoes, eggplant, and basil used in this recipe were gathered fresh from my garden.  If you would like to read about the build of my raised garden beds, please click here.

If you would like to read how I began the planting process, click here.

If you are interested in how my first foray into edible gardening turned out, you may read that post here.

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

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Thank you for stopping by! ❤

Easy, Delicious Salsa

If one is blessed with an abundance of tomatoes, one of the easiest and most delicious recipes to make is salsa fresca!  My garden was absolutely teeming last summer!

You will need:

5-6 Roma tomatoes

A handful of fresh cilantro

4-5 garlic cloves

1 small or 1/2 1 large white onion

1 small jalapeno pepper

Lemon juice.  You may opt to use lime, but I had lemon on hand and it worked fine for this recipe.

Salt to taste

Peel your garlic.

Mince.

 

Peel and mince your onion.

Remove top of pepper.  Remove seeds and white pulpy innards.  Discard.

Chop your pepper.

Chop your cilantro, removing any extra long stems.

Roughly cut up your tomatoes, small enough to fit into a food processor.

Add the chopped fruits, herbs, onion, and garlic to a food processor.  Blend in the processor.  Add lemon juice and salt to taste.  

Enjoy!

 

This salsa pairs perfectly with chips, a staple!!  Muy Delicioso!!

The tomatoes, cilantro, and onion were gathered fresh from my garden.  If you would like to read about the building of my raised garden beds, you may do so here.

If you are interested in reading about how I began my planting, click here.

If you would like to know how I fared in this, my first foray into edible gardening, you may read that post here.

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤

Hearty Rosemary Potatoes, Tomatoes, and Sausage

Hello!  Does your palate crave a heavier menu during the winter season?  I know mine does!  The following recipe is perfect stick-to-your ribs fare that will sustain you when the weather outside is frightful.  I hope you enjoy!

For this recipe, you will need:

4-5 small to medium red potatoes, scrubbed, (or you may opt to peel) rinsed, and thinly sliced

4-5 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 small or 1/2 large white onion

4-5 garlic cloves

1 sprig rosemary

Sausage of your choice (this recipe calls for a pre-cooked variety)

Extra virgin olive oil

Begin by peeling your garlic.

Chop.

Peel and mince your onion.

Add approximately 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil to a skillet and add the rosemary sprig.  Sauté until the onion and garlic smell fragrant, approximately 3-5 minutes.  Remove and discard the rosemary.  

Add potatoes after thoroughly scrubbing and thinly slicing them.  You may opt to peel your potatoes, however, I love red potato skin!  Red potato skin is much softer than other varieties such as Russet, so I enjoy them, but use your discretion.  Add more oil if needed.

  

Season to taste with garlic salt.  I personally use an obscene amount, lol.  Sauté altogether until the potatoes are almost fork-tender.

Add in the fully-cooked sausage that has been cut into small slices.  Sauté.   I used a cheddar-infused sausage for this dish, but you may use whatever you prefer.  Just be sure it is a fully-cooked variety.

When the potatoes are completely fork-tender, add the chopped tomatoes and sauté for approximately 5 minutes.  Season with garlic salt again to compensate for the addition of the fruit if needed.  

Serve.  You may garnish your dish with a fresh sprig of Rosemary if you like.  Enjoy!

The tomatoes, onion, and potatoes all were harvested fresh from my garden.  If you would like to read about the completion of my hand-build raised garden beds, you may click here.

I you would like to read about my initial planting, you can read the post here.

I you would like to read about the outcome of my first foray into edible gardening, you may read the post here.

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤