Ratatouille

Ratatouille

Serves 4

Preparation time: about 40 minutes

- 1 onion, sliced thin

- 2 garlic cloves, minced

- 5 tablespoons (75 mL) olive oil, divided

- One 12-ounce (340-g) eggplant, scrubbed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into thin slices

- 1 small zucchini, scrubbed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into thin slices

- 1 red bell pepper, chopped

- 12 ounces (340 g) small ripe tomatoes, chopped coarse (about 11/4 cups or 300 mL)

- 1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) dried oregano, crumbled

- 1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) dried thyme, crumbled

- Pinch, ground coriander

- 1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) fennel seeds

- 3/4 teaspoon 4 mL) salt

- 1/2 cup (125 mL) shredded fresh basil leaves

1. In a large skillet, cook onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons (25 mL) of the oil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened.

2. Add the remaining oil and heat over moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking. Add eggplant and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until the eggplant is softened.

3. Stir in zucchini and bell pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes.

4. Stir in the tomatoes and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

5. Stir in oregano, thyme, coriander, fennel seeds, salt and pepper to taste and cook the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in basil and combine the mixture well. The ratatouille may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated before serving.

Toad in the Hole

Ingredients

4 to 6 best quality pork sausages, depending on the size of your oven tray,

100g Plain flour (yes, NOT self raising and no added raising agents),

225ml Whole Milk,

¼ tsp Salt,

3 Eggs, Medium or Large

4 tbsp vegetable oil, or any high temperature flavourless oil

Optionally rosemary 

Equipment

A glass roasting tray (or steel, I prefer glass for the higher thermal mass)

A balloon whisk, preferably an electric one

Method

Cook the sausages, not too dark as they're also going in the oven for half an hour, and set aside, I usually cook a packet the day before. Plain pork or Cumberland are best.

Set the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7 and place the roasting tray in the centre of the oven, do not add the oil yet.

Into your mixing container (I use a 1 litre measuring jug) put the flour and the salt in it, stirring the salt into the flour.

Next, make a well and break in the 3 eggs whole, add a splash of milk and whisk until smooth. 

Now you whisk while slowly adding the rest of the milk, whisk very well.

Leave the batter to come up to room temperature or prepare the bought before and let it rest for 24 hours. More resting tastes better but give it an hour at least. 

Once the oven is good and hot, add the oil and put it back in the oven. Optionally add your rosemary.

This needs 5 to 10 minutes to come up to high temperature.

Once ready, remove from the oven, remove the rosemary if using, and, with tongs, add the sausages. If it's hot enough it'll snap and pop, don't let it bite you. 

Take the battery and pour it evenly throughout the tray, it should snap again.

Place the tray back in the centre of the oven and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. 

The exact time will be about this but vary slightly depending on local water, flour, eggs, etc. 

At 30 minutes open it up and have a quick look, once medium dark and toasted it is ready. 

Serve immediately with rich mashed potato (riced or pureed with lots of butter and well seasoned with salt to taste, if you want to add pepper, use white pepper), some green vegetables and a good onion gravy.

The Room at the End of Time.

I have a thought experiment that I wrote for myself when I was young, about 11 or 12.

I've never met anybody who can give me the answer (well, my answer, although I've never met anybody who didn't just look confused, maybe I've not yet asked the right question) 

It goes something like this. 

For the assumption that the room you are in is the entire universe, it is the end of time, you share the room with one other. 

You are the last two. Of anyone.

There is no supernatural, there is no life after death.

You are in the room, you both are sitting on a sofa, watching television.

You are the one on the left side.

...

You have just died, painlessly, of old age, ceased, the conscious physical structure present in you stops.

It happened instantly, no time to even blink or form a thought.

Here's the question. 

Who are you now?

Reset the experiment.

The two are now three.

You are in the center seat this time, with the two to your left and right.

Again you die.

Who are you now?

Reset the experiment.

Three are now a city.

You sit in your apartment, solitary. 

A million people bustle around you.

Again you die. 

Who are you now?