BECAUSE I LOVE PATTON OSWALT!

Yes I said it. I love Mister Oswalt. And what is Mister Oswalt most famously known for?

Um.... being from Virginia?

what? NO!

Say! Wasn't he Spence on King of Queens?

Why yes he was, but still NO!

Being the voice of Remy in Ratatouille? 

DING DING DING! We have a winner! I also follow him on Twitter and he is incredibly funny. Now when I say I love him it is more like I really appreciate him making me laugh.

Moving along. As said yesterday. After two LONG weeks, my produce box came. So I looked at the contents along with my Simply in Season  NEW book and decided I should make ratatouille. According to Wikipedia, ratatouille is a traditional French Provencal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice (which I have been to and it is.... nice!). Hey-oh! Apparently there is some dispute about which is better: layering or simmering everything together. Miss JC (That's Julia Child to all you who aren't her close and personal BFF) like to layer and if it is good enough for JC then it is good enough for me!

Grab a large saute pan. Cut two onions and mince 4 gloves of garlic. Grab some goggles because this gets intense.

Put both in your pan with a bay leaf and some EVOO. Saute until translucent. While this is cooking, chop a medium eggplant.

Add to dish along with 1.5 tsps each of basil, rosemary, salt and marjoram. Cook for 10-15 minutes WITH the lid on.While this is cooking cut 2 summer squash, 2 peppers (red green or yellow it doesn't matter) and 2 tomatoes. 

Cook for 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally. 

Serve on some type of carb (I chose Kashi's 7 whole grain blend) or as a side dish. Top with fresh parsley and/or grated Parmesan cheese!

Another artsy closeup:

When I presented it to Todd, he looked dubious, but he went back for seconds and he said that his silence said it all. I hate to tell him, but him not saying anything does NOT tell me YES! I love this! It COULD mean quite the opposite. Either way! I killed the contents of my box using up one of the eggplants I got, both peppers and summer squash and the onions and tomatoes I still had in my fridge from the box I received two weeks ago. That's right my friends, when the produce you get is fresh, it lasts forever in your fridge. I am constantly amazed!