24 Ratatouille and A Giveaway

Spring is starting to take it's turn towards Summer.  There's a hum of energy in the air mixed with gentle breezes and plenty of sunshine that makes everything come alive.

These days I take any excuse to linger outside, especially around dinner time.  I love the feeling of the sun slowly fading into the cool night air, watching all of the colors of the sunset light up the sky before the stars take over.  Listening to the birds slowly settle down into a hush, a few moments of silence before the chorus of frogs and crickets begin.  I love savoring my dinner, talking about the day or plans for the weekend - or laughing about nothing at all and finishing the bottle of wine.

This is just that kind of meal.  The deep earthy flavors of the whole grains and vegetables are so fresh and light.  It's invigorating - not heavy.  The kind of meal that leaves you satisfied and your body relaxes into a content sigh.

The creative minds over at OXO sent me their Hand Held Mandolin Slicer to review, and also sent one for me to give away to one of you!  This was my first time using a Mandolin and to be honest I was a little nervous about the blade.  Well let me just say there was no reason to worry using this.  It has neat little grips to use over a bowl...

and when you get down to the end of your veggie, it has the handle to protect your fingers.  The blade is definitely sharp (I got through all of these veggies in no time) and has 3 thickness settings.  I guess if I had to be super picky the only change I would make is to make it wider.  It works great for narrow things like zucchini or eggplant, but my red pepper was a little too big - I kind of had to squish it in to slice.  Again - that is being VERY picky, this really is a great kitchen tool.  I'm starting to think of all kinds of ways to use it!


Win an OXO Mandolin!


Rules:


Anyone can enter! Simply leave a comment telling me how you would use a mandolin, or if you can't think of anything - any comment will work.  Be sure to leave a link back to your blog or leave an email address so that I can contact you as the winner!! 


For extra entries:

1. Follow Seaweed & Sassafras and leave a separate comment

2.  Like Seaweed and Sassafras on Facebook and leave a separate comment

3.  Like OXO on Facebook and leave a separate comment

Contest ends 11:59 EST on Wednesday April 25

Winner will be chosen by Random.org and contacted the next day.

Ratatouille
(Adapted from smitten kitchen)

1/2 Onion
1 small Eggplant
1 medium Yellow Summer Squash
1 large Zucchini
1 small Fennel Bulb
1 Red Pepper
1 cup Tomato Puree (I used Pomi)
1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 teaspoon Dried Basil
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Feta
Near East Quinoa and Brown Rice

1.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

2.  Trim the ends off of the fennel, onion, zucchini, squash, red pepper, and eggplant.  Slice all of your veggies (very thin) using a mandolin.

3.  Spray a 13x9 glass baking dish with non-stick spray and add the tomato puree, 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Basil and Oregano.  Mix well.

4.  Layer the bottom with the onions.  Then arrange the remaining sliced veggies so that they just overlap one another, until you have run out of space.  There may be a few leftover pieces, that's okay.

5.  Drizzle the other 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil over the top of the arranged veggies and lightly sprinkle with garlic, salt, pepper, and herbs.

6.  Bake for about 40 - 45 minutes until the tomato puree is bubbly and the edges of the veggies are roasted but not burned.  Prepare Quinoa according to the box.

7.  Serve over quinoa and sprinkle with Feta Cheese.  Enjoy!