COOKING WITH CLORIS--GUEST AUTHOR KATHRYN BARRETT & RATATOUILLE RECIPE

Kathryn Barrett reluctantly put aside childhood dreams of becoming an author and took a more practical approach, majoring in Business Administration in college. But after marrying an Air Force officer, she realized a career in high finance didn’t suit an itinerant lifestyle. She happily returned to her first love, writing stories that feature larger-than-life characters, family relationships, and of course, a happy ending. Learn more about Kathryn and her books at her website. – AP 

Have you ever found a hobby that you become passionate about? I have—and now I have enough cross-stitched cats to remind myself not to get too carried away.

In my novel Temptation, the protagonist, Laura Hayes, plants a garden, and in the process finds inner peace, a sense of purpose, and more zucchini than she can give away.

Sound familiar? The problem with vegetable gardens is an abundance of vegetables, at least during certain weeks. I’m not lucky enough to have a vegetable garden where I live, but I do have friends who share their bounty with me. There’s something magical about fresh-picked vegetables. The taste of supermarket veg just isn’t the same.

Laura, being a novice gardener, ends up with lots of zucchini and eggplant, and a meddlesome mother who visits (and tries to put the kibosh on Laura’s burgeoning relationship—but that’s another story!). Laura uses her bounty to make ratatouille for her mother—a perfect way to consume an excess of garden produce.

Ratatouille is one of my favorite ways to cook eggplant, and this method of roasting the vegetables is ridiculously easy. My only advice is, if you wish to make more than four servings, use a bigger pan or even two pans, since the vegetables start out rather large and shrink during the roasting process.

Bon appétit!

Roasted Ratatouille

Ingredients:

1 red onion
1 eggplant (no need to peel)
1 zucchini
1 red or orange pepper
about 20 cherry tomatoes, or a similar amount of regular tomatoes, cut into wedges
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/2 teaspoon each: dried rosemary, thyme, oregano
olive oil (about ¼ cup)
salt and pepper to taste
fresh basil leaves, for serving

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

Cut all the vegetables into bite sized pieces. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half. In a large baking dish or baking pan, pour enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. (It’s a good idea to spray first with cooking spray, for easier clean-up.)

Place the vegetables in the dish and pour more olive oil over the top, tossing the vegetables until they’re more or less coated with olive oil.

Sprinkle the dried herbs on top. (I often use herbes de provence, which is a combination of several dried herbs.) Cover with aluminum foil.

Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 45 minutes, stirring about half way through. Remove the foil and bake another 30 minutes, until the vegetables are beginning to turn brown and are softened.

Serve with more olive oil and fresh basil or other herbs, salt and pepper, and a good red wine.

Temptation

Laura Hayes has been acting since she was in diapers, and acting up almost as long. When she moves to Pennsylvania’s Amish country to film her next movie, she discovers there’s more to life than a pair of Jimmy Choos and a Marie Claire cover.

Intrigued by the Amish simplicity, she’s soon putting in a garden, dodging earthworms and garter snakes. And when her neighbor turns out to be the local heartthrob as well as a talented furniture maker, she realizes that what’s missing from her life might be the love of a good man—not to mention the perfect heirloom tomato.

Jacob is trying hard not to question the teachings of his Amish faith, despite a desire to create furniture that looks like it belongs in a museum rather than the local tourist shop. As his attraction for his neighbor grows, so do his doubts, until he’s forced to face Temptation.

Buy link