Rata what?

Ratatouille! I had my first ratatouille dish at Disneyland's Cafe Orleans and fell in love. Since then I have been trying to find a recipe to try so that I could enjoy my love for the dish at home. My friend Anmarie, a vegetarian, checked out a slow-cooker vegetarian book at the library and found a ratatouille slow cooker dish. She tried it out and nothing but good things to say about it.

So I finally got my hands on the recipe and had to try it right away. I ran to the store to buy my veggies. This was the first time I cooked with eggplant and I think I am hooked! I will definitely be trying some other eggplant recipes soon. I have to let you know that Joseph was not pleased with the dish. Mainly because of the lack of meat and the surplus of veggies he didn't like. But too bad. He did eat all of the corn cakes I made as a side dish though!

Source: Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker



Half-Day Ratatouille

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 1 small yellow onion, diced (I did a rough chop because I wanted larger pieces)
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds
• 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, with their juices (I used two 14 oz cans)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons pesto, homemade or store-bought (I used 1/2 cup)

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggplant to a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the same skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, cover and cook until soft (I also added garlic), about 5 minutes. Add the onion to the slow cooker along with the bell pepper, garlic (if you didn't saute), zucchini, tomatoes and their juices, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours until the vegetables are tender.

Just before serving stir in the pesto.

Serves 4-6, 3 WW points if 6 servings, 4 WW points if 4 servings
And I noticed that this whole recipe except for the pesto was core! So maybe if I make the jump it won't be soo bad...

Corn Cakes
Source: Elly Says Opa

• 1/2 cup corn
  
• 1/4 cup masa harina (you could also just use AP flour)
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• good pinch of salt
• cayenne and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup milk (or buttermilk)
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  canola oil, for pan frying.

Combine the masa, cornmeal, salt, peppers and baking powder in a bowl. Add the milk and the beaten egg. Depending on the texture you want (I wanted something a little firmer), you could always add some more milk to resemble something more pancake-like. Stir in the corn and cheese.

Heat canola oil in a skillet (I use a nonstick skillet to minimize the amount of oil). Add spoonfuls of the mixture to the skillet (depending how big you want the cakes) and press down lightly with a spatula. Cook until one side has set and is golden brown. Flip and cook the other side until golden.

Serves 2 with two cakes each

2 WW points per 1 cake, but only 3.5 WW points per 2!!! Don't you love WW fuzzy math??