RATATOUILLE

No, this is not the movie! However, it is the dish that was cooked in the movie. I have the cutest friend named Gini who is from France. She has been teaching some French cooking classes and last week I finally got to attend. She cooks with lots of healthy vegetables and uses butter and cream and all the other things that make food delicious. Those French really have cornered the cooking art.  It's all about portion control and using good healthy ingredients. I was surprised when she told us this is what she was making. I'm from Mexico and a while back I posted a really similar recipe from there called "Calabacitas".  The French use almost the same ingredients, with a few small changes and call it Ratatouille.  Kind of like the Chinese have egg rolls and the Mexicans have burritos. Ratatouille was originally thought to be "poor man's food" but is really so flavorful and a good way to use the summer's bounty of zucchini squash. Of course the picky eater in my house won't eat it-- but I love it and it goes great if you are on a low carb diet. Try it and let me know.

Ratatouille
1 onion (chopped)
4-6 zucchini (or combination of zucchini and yellow summer squash)
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1-2 clove of chopped garlic
Olive oil
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
2 bay leaves
2-3 fresh tomatoes or 1 can (14 iz.) diced tomatoes (or crushed)
2 8oz tomato sauce
1 Tbsp sugar or honey
Salt and pepper to taste

Chop all the vegetable to bite size.  Keep them in separate bowl.  Saute each kind of vegetable individually in olive oil just a few minutes.  Make sure you season the veggies with salt and pepper each time.  Do the tomatoes last, then put all the vegetables back in the pan.  Add the tomato sauce and the spices.  I added an 8 oz. can of water for more liquid. Simmer for at least 30 minutes (but the longer the better).  Serve over rice or pasta. My son ate it on pasta and LOVED it!