Just make it simple: Ratatouille

After my meat laden last post, I decided it would be nice to go just vegetables for this one. Fine, for the ongoing reason of the Bloggers Around the World World Cup challenge, I also wanted to have something French for today. Now we just make it simple and have a typical French vegetable stew, which we know as Ratatouille. I tried this recipe from The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo. I only made minimal adjustments according to what I could do with. Really, the only problem with that book is, the index isn't working properly.

What we need:

Olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1-2 cloves of garlic, finely mashed

Some thyme (and time as well, of course)

1 aubergine, finely sliced

1 courgette, finely sliced

1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper, cut in stripes

6 tomatoes, quartered

A bit of sugar

Salt

Just do it:

First we start in a pan and heat up a splash of olive oil. Then we add the onion, garlic and thyme and let it go until the onion is translucent. After that comes the aubergine and we cook it soft in a few minutes.

Now we concentrate on the oven, which we like to heat up to 180 °C. We have a baking try ready. In there we toss the courgette, peppers, tomatoes and the content of the pan.

Off it all goes to the oven ... but wait, don't forget to cover the tray with aluminium foil.

Hm ... eh ... about one hour should be enough for the vegetables in the oven. Then remove it, sprinkle a bit sugar on it, add salt to taste, mix it through and transfer it back to the oven in the top section for about 4 minutes.

You can now go and eat it just like this, maybe with a bit of extra olive oil on top, maybe with some lovely bread or maybe you eat it cold the next day ... maybe if you have leftovers.

Whatever you do, I hope you enjoy it. I'm going to enjoy the res of my day whether it rains or not, whether the sun will shine for me or not. I'll just do it.

Cake au salami avec pignon et prunes

It is over when it is over. Therefore I have the honour to tell you, it isn't. I still got some plum deals for you. As I told you before, I checked some of my cookbooks for inspiration and nearly missed this one ...

It's from the book The little Paris kitchen by Rachel Khoo. I tried to do a similar setup for the picture as was in the book, but I didn't dare to take the photo outside in the garden on the lawn, because it was too cold for my taste at that time. I suppose that won't improve for a while.
Now to the recipe. I had to do a few adjustments, since I didn't have French smoked sausages and pistachios. Let's see ...

Still Plums - Plum Jam and Plum Muffins

Faithfully I keep on using those plums and ... keeping you posted about what you could do. I also checked my cookbooks on what possibilities where available. Well, In fact I only have five books available. All the others are in boxes waiting for a new place to be put.
So, what cookbooks would you keep, if you only could keep five?
To be honest, I just selected four, the fifth one (Tasting India by Christine Manfield) was buried somewhere on my desk and I didn't notice. 
Which four books did I choose then? Cook with Jamie by Jamie Oliver, Bills Sydney Food by Bill Granger, The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo and Secrets of Scandinavian Cooking ... Scandilicious by Signe Johansen.
Did they have anything with plums on offer for me?

Tarte d'oignon avec fromage

Encore un peu de cuisine français, mais je ne parle pas français.C'est la vie! Il n'y a pas de souci! I don't necessarily need to speak French to enjoy some French food and neither need you.
However, it wouldn't do any harm. Since I have been to Paris, memories of it keep coming up ...

... and would I be more fluent in French, well ... who knows ...

Whatsoever, there are things I can do, like cooking some French and France inspired food. For example I got this new book in my collection The little Paris kitchen by Rachel Khoo. I simply couldn't resist ...

Why, I already have tried a few things from the book, like Poireaux vinagrette avec œuf poché et jambon de Bayonne ...

... and then also Nids de brielette ...

... while I've done this, I also came up with a version of a Tarte d'oignon avec fromage ... with Rouqefort to be precise.
Here we go then ...

Ingredients:
1 tbs of butter
3 onions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp dried rosemary
100 ml white wine
2 tsp Dijon mustard
150 g Roquefort
250 g double cream
275 g puff pastry

Preparation:
Melt the butter on low heat in a pan. Then add the onions and sauté for 15 minutes. Then add the garlic and let go for another 10 minutes.
Now put in the rosemary and pour over the white wine. Let things simmer until most of the white one is gone again.
Once that is achieved mix in the mustard, double cream and the Roquefort cheese.
Get a suitable dish ready for your tarte and fit in the puff pastry. Done! Spread over the onion and cheese mixture.
Transfer your tarte for 35 minutes to the oven at 200°C.
Enjoy your tarte d'oignon avec fromage.

Well, that's one of the few words of French that clearly stick to my mind 'avec fromage'. I don't think it gets you far, when you finish every sentence with 'avec fromage'. I'm not quite sure I want to try it.
Whatsoever, I definitely know, that I'm in the wrong place ...