Summer Vegetable Ragout

We have been the lucky recipients of some incredible produce this week from our Stone Hill neighbors. 

Ann and good neighbor Charlie (GNC) were heading out of town and gave us the items above; zucchini, eggplant and red peppers from their farmers market finds. They were heading out of town and were afraid they would go bad. Ann and I were literally talking about how to donate left over CSA's to the homeless while I was getting the mail and she asked if I could take these off of her hands. Yes ma'am. What a score!

Our other neighbors Guy and Pam gave us these little beauties from their gorgeous garden next door. Aren't we the luckiest ducks to have such sweet and generous neighbors? I had to make one of my all time favorite summer recipes from my beloved Martha Stewart as a toast to late summer. After college I received a book of the month club-type subscription from Martha.  This recipe is from the book, "What to have for dinner" and is listed here. The pages are all splattered, well loved and I've cooked nearly every recipe in the summer chapter.

I change the recipe up based on what vegetables we have on hand and started with onions, garlic, fennel, rosemary and olive oil.

Chop the eggplant in one inch cubes so it will cook evenly and not get soggy. E. is not a fan of eggplant so I luck out and get his. Does anyone else think of Steel Magnolias every time you cook with eggplant? "Would you call this color grape or aubergine?" Oh Clairee, how I love you.

Add the zucchini and peppers.

Zest an orange. I can practically smell this photo. 

The orange zest, good olive oil, rosemary and the balsamic vinegar are imperative to making this signature dish. 

Cut and seed the tomatoes. 

Don't over cook the tomatoes but throw them in at the last five minutes.

Add a 1/4 of a cup of Balsamic. Drinking red wine while cooking makes the food taste better. You should always clean up as you go along too. My counter needs help. Maybe it was the wine. :)

Since I'm now 95% gluten free I boiled up some Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta from Whole Foods. The pasta is really good. You have to cook it exactly the amount of time it says on the box. Works perfectly every time. 

This video cracks me up post detox. "Can you please move, you're right in front of the quinoa." Hilarious.

I added fennel fronds to finish and packed it up for my lunch in my glass container. Kasia taught us never to use plastic due to the toxins. We went to HMart and bought a bunch of square glass containers to help keep us detoxed and keep our fridge organized. HMart is an Asian market with great organic items in bulk and is amazing! 

This dish is a gift to the olfactory nerve. The orange zest truly wows the pants off this bad boy. Enjoy these last days of summer and the fruits of the harvest.

Thank you Ann, good neighbor Charlie, Guy and Pam for your generous gifts. They didn't last very long and were perfect in this celebratory summer dish.