He quotes it at random times and begs to watch it at least once a day. His favorite character this week is Anton Ego, the terrifyingly evil food critic who feels that his mission in life is to shut down Gusteau's restaurant. Last week, he said, "Mom, I want to be like him when I grow up." Silently, I thought "What, terrifying? Evil?" But to my relief, he followed up his surprise declaration with, "I want to be a food critic."
Again my thoughts took over and I started to wonder, "Don't you have to actually EAT food in order to be a food critic?!" Because lately getting Carter to eat a meal is like declaring war--a world war that would last forever if not for the lengthy negotiations, diplomacy, and treaties.
So today, when he told me he wanted to eat rataouille--the EXACT ratatouille shown in the movie, thank you very much--I hastily agreed. Pretty veggies all lined up and baked? DONE.
I found a recipe for Ratatouille's Ratatouille on a site called Smitten Kitchen. (Find the recipe here.) And then, in true Pioneer Woman style, I decided to document the entire process in pictures. (If you haven't visited her site, GO. NOW. I'LL WAIT.)
Can I just say that I love slicing veggies? And cooking? And I LOVE it when food is pretty. So today's meal was nirvana for me.
Start with this.
Super-thinly sliced yellow squash, zuchini, eggplant, and red bell pepper. (Yes, I know a mandoline would be easier/faster, but I don't have one and slicing veggies is therapeutic for me.)
In a baking dish, mix together tomato puree, thinly sliced onions and garlic, salt and pepper and a little olive oil.
Start lining the outside of the dish with a circular row of veggies, alternating them in a visually pleasing pattern. Then fill in the gap in the middle. You should end up with this.
Drizzle the top with a little more olive oil, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and some thyme.
Cut some parchment paper to fit snugly inside the dish, then bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes.
When you can't stand the delicious smell anymore, pull it out of the oven.
Doesn't that look DIVINE?! Carter loved the way it looked...he asked to look at it about 50 times before I actually served it, and he peeked at the leftovers in the fridge again right before he went to bed.
I served it with some whole wheat pasta and bread I baked yesterday. But you can eat it alone, with couscous or rice, or however you think you'd like it.
The true test: Carter ate it. And tonight during bedtime prayers, the first thing he said was, "Heavenly Father, I'm thankful we could have ratatouille today."
Ahhhh, the scrumptious smell of victory.
4 comments:
That post made me happy - both because Carter ate his veggies and because he has finally made a career choice. I really hope he becomes a food critic - he'll have a great story to tell!
I'm super impressed with you both! Gorgeous meal. I wish I could Gabe to not fear vegetables with every fibre of his being. That dish would be the stuff of his nightmares. I have to carefully conceal any vegetable like substance or make it easy to pick out. But it looks like a dream to me. Yum, yum YUM.
Oh you are good! lol My DS has been on a "Ratatouille" movie kick lately too! lol I have often thought about making it, but have never tried. Now you have given me the push to try it out! lol Thanks! It looks delish!
That is hilarious!!! I'm impressed he ate peppers. I have to force my kids to. But I've added this to my list of recipes for the month. I think if the kids know it's from the movie they will at least try it. You're such a good mom!
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