Ratatouille — What the Garden Gives When You Let It Take All Summer

Second haying. Four days, same sequence as always. The hay came in dry and clean and the barn is full. Dad stood at the fence for the first morning and the last afternoon. I didn't wave when he was watching because waving would acknowledge the watching and the watching is a thing that doesn't need to be acknowledged. He knows I see him. That's enough.

The apprenticeship model I've been developing with the Montana Farrier Association had its first meeting with three other senior farriers in Billings last week. Three hours around a conference table talking about competency frameworks and how to assess them without reducing the craft to a checklist. Tom Whelan joined by phone for the last hour — I'd told him about the meeting and he insisted. He had three observations, two of which were better than anything said in the preceding two hours. At eighty-one he's still the sharpest person in most rooms he's in, by phone or otherwise.

The grief journal in Denver published the Salina essay in their online issue. The piece is now in the world in a context I didn't write it for, which is the thing that happens when writing escapes its original container. It finds people I'll never know in situations I can only imagine. Linda called when she saw the republication and said: Derek would have found this very funny, actually. His death becoming a teaching thing. I said I thought he might have. She laughed. That was a good thing to hear.

Made bruschetta from the first garden tomatoes — the big heirlooms, the Brandywines that take all summer and are worth the wait. Sliced thick on toasted sourdough with olive oil and basil and flaky salt. No more ingredients than that required.

The bruschetta was perfect in its simplicity—five ingredients, no technique to speak of—but those Brandywines kept coming, and by midweek I had more tomatoes than bread. So I pulled the zucchini and eggplant that had been quietly doing their work alongside the tomatoes all summer and made a ratatouille. Same philosophy: let good ingredients alone, give them heat and time, don’t complicate what doesn’t need complicating.

Ratatouille

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 4 large heirloom tomatoes, chopped (about 3 cups)
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, torn
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Instructions

1. Cook the eggplant. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant cubes and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
2. Cook the squash. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the same pot. Add the zucchini and yellow squash and cook until just tender and lightly golden, about 4 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the eggplant.
3. Build the base. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pot. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
4. Add the tomatoes. Stir in the fresh tomatoes, canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fresh tomatoes break down into a sauce.
5. Combine and finish. Return the eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash to the pot. Stir gently to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender and the flavors have melded.
6. Season and serve. Stir in the red wine vinegar and torn basil. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm, at room temperature, or even cold the next day.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 145 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 18g | Fiber: 5g | Sodium: 480mg