Ali's Kitchen: Oui, oui, Ratatouille!

You know why ratatouille is the perfect food and wants you to eat it all the time? Look at it:

RATATOUILLE

It has the word "oui" in it. It's a culinary extravaganza of positive reinforcement, and it loves you. Love it back! I adore ratatouille, especially MY way that doesn't involve any stupid bell peppers. Honestly, bell peppers? You have eggplant, zucchini, onions, garlic, and fresh tomatoes... and you want to ruin it with bell peppers? Why would anyone do that?

Anywho, it may be all the Julie & Julia ads I've been seeing around, but I decided that I HAD TO cook ratatouille, and I HAD TO come up with a "new" way to make it. New here meaning "one Ali has not done before, because Ali doesn't feel like looking up the real recipe, and would rather just wing it." Herewith, My New Ratatouille.

Slice into 1/2 inch rounds:

1 eggplant (then halve these rounds into semicircles)

4 large zucchini

2 medium yellow onions

Slice very thinly:

4 large garlic cloves

Dice:

6 medium vine-ripe tomatoes

Set aside:

Extra virgin olive oil

Cooking spray

Herbes de Provence or similar mix*, to taste

Fresh basil, to taste

Sauté the eggplant and zucchini slices in single layers, over medium heat, setting aside when lightly browned on both sides, perhaps 2 minutes per side. Use just enough oil to coat the pan each time. Over medium-high heat, sauté the onion and garlic together, stirring often, just until the transluscent, about 3-4 minutes.

Spray a casserole dish with cooking oil and place the sautéed eggplant in gratin-like rows.

Sprinkle with Herbes de Provence. Next, spoon onions and garlic over the eggplant; add more herbs, approximately the same amount, again, varying for your taste. Add zucchini in neat rows, like the eggplant, and follow with a final dash of herbs.

Top everything with the diced tomatoes.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil. You can make the recipe ahead of time to this point.

Heat the oven to 375º F.

Let the casserole cook with aluminum foil covering it for approximately 20 minutes, longer if you've had it in the refrigerator. You're looking to cook until heated through, though the magical thing about ratatouille is that, in my opinion, you can't really overcook it. It's one of those dishes that can sit around and be reheated over and over, and just get better with each serving. Top with fresh basil! If you've made the amounts above, enjoy for days! Le yum yum!

* I use a pre-made Fresh Direct Provence Classic mix, which includes sea salt and black pepper, so I've not added any salt to the recipe. If you're using fresh Herbes de Provence or a mix without salt, add it with the Herbes de Provence, again, to taste.

Ali's Kitchen: Fresh Fig Scones

I love scones. I love them. I love them so much. So very, very much. I love scones.

I love figs. I love fresh figs. Fresh figs are pretty much the epitome of fruit, as far as my tongue is concerned.

I baked some scones. With figs. I love them. I want you to love them too. Love is good, as are scones and figs. Spread the love.

The basic recipe comes from p. 275 of my lovely copy of The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters. As per usual, I modified it to make it lower fat, and of course used fresh fruit instead of dried fruit, one of her great basic-scone-dressing-up suggestions. Now, either one or both of those alterations made the dough rather tough to work with. I imagine that, had I been patient and refrigerated the dough before kneading as you do with bread doughs, it would have been a heckuva lot easier to work with. But, they were scones, with figs, so waiting really wasn't in the cards. I'm sure you understand. Don't judge me, monkey*.

Preheat the oven to 400º

Measure and mix together in a large bowl:

- 2 cups unbleached whole-wheat flour (original recipe calls for pastry flour; I didn't have any; scones will simply be heavier)

- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1/8 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (original recipe call for 1/4 cup sugar)

- 3/4 cup figs, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces

Stir in:

- 1 1/3 cups skim milk (original recipe calls for 1 1/3 cups cream, which I swear I would have used, but we didn't have any)

Mix until the dough just starts to come together; it will be sticky. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead briefly, just enough to bring the dough completely together. (Remember the basic kneading rule: if it's too sticky, sprinkle on more flour as you go; if it's too dry, sprinkle in some extra milk or water.) Pat it into an 8-inch circle. Brush with:

- 2 tablespoons Smart Balance Lite, melted (original recipe calls for butter)

And sprinkle with:

- 1 tablespoon Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (original recipe calls for 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar)

Cut the circle into 8 wedges and place the wedges 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 25 minutes for my recipe, 17 minutes with the original recipe, or until golden brown. Common sense tells me that the extra moisture in the fresh figs (as opposed to dry additional ingredients) was responsible for the extra time, but I'm really just making that up.

Voilà:

Le yum yum!

* I will send you a scone (some day) if you can name that movie reference.