ratatat-ouille

i had the pleasure of eating dinner together with my swedish roommate last night. she is usually too busy working or writing her thesis so it was great to have a leisurely meal with wine. unfortunately i didn't really prepare a list of ingredients or even an idea of what i wanted to make. blame the danish homework... i ended up throwing together an even poorer version of the classic peasant dish, ratatouille. using julia child's recipe as a base, i only used eggplant, zucchini, canned tomatoes, red onion, dried spices (basil, thyme, rosmary), and lots of garlic. i decided i go wild with garlic on weekends since i'll be laying off it on weekdays to give my patients a break from the smell. :P

the swede made a refreshing salad of raw beetroot, romaine, and a balsamic vinaigrette. the colour of the beets is so intense and the rings are beautiful. i am still a little wary of buying and preparing my own since i never ate it before moving to denmark (though i'm sure it grows fine in california). but my roommate has inspired me to do it... eventually!