Writers' Ratatouille

Ratatouille has become more popular in my house since a movie recently released with the same name. As soon as Lawson learned we were having it for dinner, he wanted to help make it. Eating, it, however, was a different story. Lawson didn't realize ratatouille had so many vegetables in it.

Tonight I hosted my monthly writing group meeting. The hostess gets to serve dinner, and because Pat's a vegetarian, I wanted to cook an entire meal that she could eat instead of having to just select the portions with no meat in them. Ratatouille is a perfect choice because not only is it meatless, but it's healthy, and I can make a large one and feed all six writing group members as well as my family. Of course, this dish is also perfect during Lent.

Served with whole grain pasta, ratatouille is high in fiber and relatively low in fat, depending on what kind of cheese I use:

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced
2 large yellow squash, sliced
1 large zucchini squash, sliced
2 or 3 sliced portabello mushrooms
1 large onion, sliced
1 can sliced black olives
1 jar Ragu Light tomato and basil spaghetti sauce
1 to 2 cups shredded light mozzarella cheese

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees while you slice all those veggies. Line a cookie sheet with Reynolds Release Non-stick foil and place eggplant on it. Spray with cooking spray and salt and pepper to taste. Roast eggplant slices for 10-15 minutes, until the just start to brown. While eggplant is roasting, saute' the zucchini and squash slices in a tbsp. of olive oil (use cooking spray if you want to) until they are just soft. Don't cook them until they're limp. Remove eggplant from oven. Line a 9 x 12 casserole dish with the eggplant slices. Place squash and zucchini slices over the eggplant. Saute the mushroom slices in 1 tbsp. of olive oil (use cooking spray if you wish) until they are just soft. Don't cook them until they're limp. Place mushrooms over the squash slices. Saute' onion slices in 1 tbsp. olive oil (use cooking spray if you wish) until they're just soft. Don't cook them until they're limp. Layer the onion slices over the mushroom slices. Then open the can of olives and drain. No, don't saute' them. They're already soft enough. Layer them over the onions. Pour the Ragu Light sauce over the vegetables. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top. Bake for 30 minutes or so or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese has melted and browned just a bit.

I realize that many of my meals look the same. This picture, for instance, could also be a photo of my baked spaghetti. Or it could be a photo of Sabra's macaroni casserole. But it's not. Please trust me that this is really a photo of ratatouille.

I served the ratatouille with whole grain penne pasta and a cucumber salad. Here's how I made the salad:
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 ball fresh mozzarella, cut into small pieces
3 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Hendrickson's dressing

Combine cucumber, tomatoes, cheese and basil in a bowl. Toss. Dress with Hendrickson's dressing as desired. Toss again.

My writing group loved dinner. Stephen liked it too. I didn't hear a verdict from the boys, but I have a feeling Lawson put sauce on his noodles, avoiding the vegetables at all cost. He may have had an olive slice or two.