After years of living in the Bay Area, the start of strawberry season still takes me by surprise. April just seems so early. But the berries in my local farmers' markets are the real deal; and they are plentiful.
This weekend I bought a three-basket set of organics, and enjoyed passing them out to neighbors on the way home. Then I ate some more, froze a bunch, and well - snacked on some more.
The frozen ones make great ice cubes, as well as smoothie and yogurt parfait ingredients.
Best of all? From now until the seasons wanes in early fall (really! it's that long), they just get sweeter. This year, I pledge to find even more ways to enjoy them.
Cannellini, also known as white kidney beans, are the star of any Tuscan bean dip. They provide the creamy base, to which just about anything complementary can be added for spice or texture.
They are also remarkably healthy. One 15-oz can has 0 grams of fat, 35 grams of fiber, 28 grams of protein, and only 3.5 grams sugar. They are also rich in calcium and iron.
You won't want to eat a whole batch yourself - it's too filling - but you could, without guilt.
Key Ingredients
1 15-oz can of cannellini beans, partially drained
2 cloves garlic (or two cubes frozen, or 2 Tbsp from a jar)
Cumin, to taste
Italian herbs (fresh, if possible; otherwise dried) to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil (unless you use an option, below, that has oil in it)
Salt, to taste
Optional Ingredients:
6 to 8 good black olives (such as kalamatas)
Roasted red peppers
Dried tomatoes
Parsley
Easy Prep Steps
Toss the key ingredients into a food processor, and blend til smooth.
Add any optional ingredients desired, and blend lightly to leave some small chunks for texture and color.
Taste and adjust.
Serving Tips
As a dip:
* Pretzel chips, pita chips and thin bread slices all work well.
As a sandwich spread:
* Toast slices of a good bread (an artisanal olive or rosemary, for instance)
* Spead a layer on, as thin or thick as you prefer
* Top with raw or roasted veggies, such as sweet red peppers
* Enjoy open-faced, or with a top.
Pixar's Brad Bird has outdone himself with Ratatouille, earning a well-deserved Oscar for best animated film.
The film's unlikely lead is a young rat named Remy, who is drawn to create taste sensations as he observes the late, great Chef Gusteau do on television. His dangerous attraction to the kitchen of the country home he and his extended rodent family inhabit leads to their discovery and flight down the river.
Remy finds himself in Paris, at Gusteau's restaurant. Much of the movie takes place here, where we learn how the back-of-house operations work. To save a pot of soup from awkward youth Linguini's unskilled additions, Remy risks life and limb, nearly ending up drowned in the Seine.
A highly unusual and hilarious collaboration between the two would-be cooks leads to Linguini's training by Collette, a beautiful and gifted cook.
While Linguini garners undeserved fame, unscrupulous Chef attempts to market frozen fast food with the late Gusteau's image and reputation.
The biggest challenge comes when Anton Ego visits to critique the resurrected restaurant. They serve him peasant dish ratatouille; and it has a revelatory effect on him.
This is a Disney film; so all ends well. But it is also a Brad Bird film; so how every one of the complexly interwoven story lines resolves is not so predictable.
Key Lessons from Ratatouille:
The importance of proper food handling.
The barriers to women in haute cuisine.
The many ways to create community.
What happens when differences within a family cause a split, and how love can overcome the divide.
The ability of even the humblest creatures to live a hand-crafted life.
And of course the film centers on the theme of cooking as a creative act. As Chef Gusteau says,
"Great cooking is not for the faint of heart. You must be imaginative, strong-hearted. You must try things that may not work. And you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul. What I say is true: anyone can cook - but only the fearless can be great."
The traditional French ratatouille recipe is a stew. Mine is adapted from Rachel Ray's recipe; and composed in a similar manner to Remy's version in the Disney Pixar movie Ratatouille.
This dish cooks well in a dark-colored casserole, in a solar oven (as seen in the video demo, at the end of this post).
INGREDIENTS
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 whole roasted red pepper, chopped (fresh, or from a jar)
• 1 small can tomato paste (8 ounces)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small yellow squash, sliced ¼ inch thick
• 1 small zucchini, sliced ¼ inch thick
• 2-3 small potatoes (baby Yukon Gold, or Red Bliss, or blue), sliced ¼ inch thick
• 1 small eggplant, sliced thicker than the other veggies
• 3-4 sprigs thyme, leaves removed
PREPARATION
Set up your oven and pre-heat to 425ºF.
Lay the eggplant on a baking sheet, and salt each side. Let it sit until the water is drawn out.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion, garlic and roasted peppers to the pan and cook until the onions begin to get tender, 4-5 minutes.
Set up a food processor or blender and add the contents of the pan to the machine. Add in the tomato sauce and puree everything together (it should be about the consistency of thin tomato sauce). Season with salt and pepper and pour the mixture out into the bottom of a casserole dish or an ovensafe sauté pan.
Swirl your dish around so that the bottom is evenly coated with the sauce; then arrange your veggies on top in a spiral pattern, alternating each veggie type, until you've filled the pan.
Sprinkle the thyme leaves over the top along with some salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Cover, and place the whole pan into the oven. Bake until the veggies are tender, about 45 minutes (may be as long as 2-3 hours in a solar oven).
Serve the ratatouille over polenta or rice, or with a nice, crusty artisan bread.
