It actually felt good to be back on track today. I know this routine now. I'm comfortable with the food choices and portion sizes. I've stopped worrying about getting every meal perfectly measured. As a result the day seems much easier and I'm obsessing less about what I eat.
The scale definitely recorded my splurges of yesterday...and that's OK. I went up about 3-4 pounds but I know that I'll loose that and some this week. And with this last week to go until we take our one month measurements I'm inspired to finish well.
Tonight I decided to make use of the vegetables I picked up at the French Market yesterday and make a ratatouille (ra-tuh-TOOE). Ratatouille is a french-Mediterranean vegetable stew that has eggplant at its base.
Now before you get all weird on me and say, “I hate eggplant,” let me tell you a little secret that makes all the difference in the world! When you cook with eggplant you need to sweat out the bitterness that is trapped inside. Pay attention and you too will learn the secrets of great cooking from chef John.
Dice 1 large eggplant and layer it with sprinkled salt in a shallow baking dish and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. This will pull out the bitterness so dump the zucchini into a colander and let the juices drain. Set aside.
Heat ½ cup olive oil in a heavy pot. Crush 8 cloves of garlic into the oil. Add 1 large chopped onion and 2 tsp salt, saute' over medium hear until onion begins to turn transparent. Add eggplant, 6 Tbs. red wine, and 1 cup tomato juice.
Stir add ¾ cup chopped fresh basil. Mix well and cover and simmer 15 minutes over a low heat. When the eggplant is tender add 1 large cubed zucchini, 1 large green bell pepper, and 1 large red bell pepper.
Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add 3 large tomatoes in chunks and 4 Tbs tomato paste. Mix well and continue to stew until the veggies are tender (I like my pepper and zucchini to be on the firmer side.)
I wish you could smell the kitchen!
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