Poached Eggs on Ratatouille Bruschetta

Ratatouille has been one of my favorites for over twenty years. The first reference I had ever come across was in a Sunset publication that I picked up at an Atlantic Books warehouse that long ago. I recall thinking then that it was one of the most delicious sounding dishes I'd heard of. It was billed as a salad in that book and included no background whatsoever.

As the years passed I learned more about its origins and the slight differences and variations, but I always came back to making it close to the way I first learned. My own recipes can be found here and here and it is those I used to make this breakfast.


I've taken to eating ratatouille bruschetta-style, on toasted thick bread and there's nothing so satisfying to me at the moment. Until this particular craving is fully sated, I expect I'll find more new and interesting ways to consume this thick French stew.

Poached Eggs on Ratatouille Bruschetta
Serves 1 or 2

2 slices French batard
1 cup prepared ratatouille, warmed through
2 large eggs

1. Toast bread rounds until desired crunch is achieved.
2. Top toasted bread with ratatouille.
3. Poach eggs (slide gently into simmering water from a small bowl or plate - one at a time - and cook until whites are just firm and center is still soft). Remove with a slotted spoon and set atop ratatouille. Grind fresh pepper over the eggs. Serve.

Dear Michael Ruhlman, This is Why I Cook

Food writer, Michael Ruhlman wrote about why he cooks and asked of bloggers to share as well why they cook. This is my response.

The first, and I'll admit-seemingly conceited, thing that comes to mind for me is, "I cook, because I can." That's true and not so arrogant as it comes off ... really.

I cook because I love to eat.

I cook to nourish my family in the best way possible. Letting someone else do it removes me from the process of knowing exactly what goes into our meals.

I cook to earn money. I develop recipes and take photos for a living 9and write about the process), and that end of it is ever fascinating and ever educational. I learn something new each day by doing.

I cook to remember. There is nothing so memory provoking as the aroma or flavor of a food loved as a child. Nothing. I make my grandmother's brownies or my great-grandmother's brown sugar cookies or my mother's fried chicken to recall all that was good and pure and wonderful about my childhood - even if it wasn't all good or pure or wonderful.

I cook to create new memories. Yes, the common thread here is that food is central to my feelings of well-being and health and I aim to continue building those feelings in my children and their children. I want them to have memories of love and home and nurturing all rolled into one loaf of bread or layer of cake. The more I cook, the more chances they have to watch and learn and begin to cook for themselves.

I cook to live. Eating is truly secondary for me to the creation process that takes place each time I make a dish. I tell people often that cooking is an art like no other with an instant gratification (or let-down, whichever the case may be) that you can't get by creating with any other medium. Paintings can take days to months to complete. Books are the same. Recordings, movies, sculptures - they all take much more time to create and to be appreciated. With food, the 'yay' or 'nay' are immediate - you know if your creation was loved or liked or hated before the creation is gone.

I cook to bring others happiness. There's nothing else to say about that.

So, I echo Michael Ruhlman - what are your reasons for cooking?

The Amazing Parents and Their Daring Adoption Feat

I have a very dear friend, whom I have written about before, that is one of the most amazingly amazing people I have ever had the pleasure to know. Her name is Kate. I call her Katiepooh, but that's besides the point.

She and her fantabulous husband are raising a bunch of children just as wonderful as they are. Now, in case you think that's an easy feat, let me shed a little light. Firstly, they are raising 7 children. Having 7 of my own, I know how trying and tiring and utterly wonderful such a thing can be. The only difference is, while I have special needs kids of my own (I don't really see Asperger's as a special need, but hey - that's the label), I don't have children with the needs that hers do.

Kate being the amazing mom that she is keeps in all in check; homeschooling, doctor's appointments, surgeries, therapists and daily life. She does this without batting an eyelash. In fact, many times I've talked with Kate on the phone and she's laughing about life rather than wallowing in pity.

When Marty was injured, Kate was the first person on the phone to me checking in and keeping others updated for me. Kate was the one who set up a PayPal account to help our family get by while Marty was in the hospital. Kate was there in more ways than that and continues to be someone I can lean on and talk to about life, putting her own needs on hold to listen to me ramble.

See, pretty amazing, huh? Guess what? She and her husband Charley are even more amazing than all that. They are now on the road to adopting two very special and precious baby girls from the Ukraine. Not just any baby girls (this is Kate we're talking about) but baby girls with Down Syndrome. They are the sweetest babies ever and even though they will have many issues and many needs, Kate and Charley are up for it and I can't think of any family better suited to take these children in and raise them.

They do need help to reach this goal, however and I want to share with you how you can help.

Money is always welcome and the one thing that they need to most to get these girls home to the U.S. Right now they are looking at is $36,000. Kate's PayPal link can be found HERE if you are so led to help.

Donations of Goods or Services: Kate will be holding raffles on her blog for goods or services donated by friends and family. If you have something you can donate for her to raffle or would like to enter a raffle, please see her blog, Room for More for details.

Prayers - This is the best way to get them where they need to be. Offer up whatever you can on their behalf and the rest is Faith.

Blogging or any other way you can get the word out is fabulous. Even if you can't help, others may be able to and bringing it to light would be terrific. You can add Kate's button to your blog or web page as well:

<a href="http://snadoption.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i47.tinypic.com/70vq11.jpg" alt="" /></a>

Thank you so much for reading this and considering my dear friend and her family.