Wednesday 1 August 2018

Rat!



Happy Lammas!

It's that time of year again. There's a surfeit of vegetables at Haddock's, and it all needs attention. The first thing to make is Ratatouille.

Now, this is NOT the classic way of making 'Rat', but let me assure you that you really wouldn't know the difference.

I chop-up all my Toms, Peppers, Aubergines, and Courgettes, into 1-2 cm pieces, season a bit, and cook down until all is softened. 


I fill 500 gm jars, fix the capsules and lids, then sterilise for an hour.

Take out, tighten lids, and leave to cool. The following morning I take off the lids, clean and dry the capsules, and write on them what is inside (checking that the capsules are firmly sealed).


It's a simple process; one that I shall be repeating several times over the next few weeks.

Life without home-bottled 'Rat' in the winter would be unthinkable. These were simply the first six jars; plenty more to do!

23 comments:

  1. Apart from green capsicums it all looks and sounds delicious. I love ripe capsicums but cannot digest the green ones unfortunately.

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    1. I always use our 'green', I can't be bothered to wait for them to turn. I would have thought that their 'digestive' qualities were the same?

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  2. Ripened in the sun are the best ever. No waste. Well done.
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. There was a bit left over which we had last night; delicious.

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  3. Lammas. I used to be in tune with all these old festivals but they seemed to have slipped into the background with all these orthodox fiestas. Oddly enough the church doesn't seem to have taken over this one.

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    1. Lammas is probably a bit 'pagan' for the church. It's supposed to be when the first bread is baked from the new season's flour. I like the idea of that, so always celebrate it.

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  4. I am so sorry now that i am so lazy and don't grow my own vegetables.

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    1. I'm sure you can buy equally good vegs, if not better, nearby.

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  5. Cro, all I can say is that you are a jewel in the kitchen and i do hope Lady M appreciates it.

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    1. She does. It's good having all these bottled vegs through winter. I use them as the base of all sorts of different dishes.

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  6. Bell peppers have to be red for me, love them grilled black and then take the charred skin off. But green Piment des Landes for lunch today!

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    1. I love those long peppers. I'd have them every day if I could; at the moment it's just every 3 days.

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  7. I'd never thought to preserve ratatouille before but it's such an obvious thing to do. Looks great!

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    1. It uses up all the excess at this time of year; and there's plenty of excess!

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  8. Had my first "egg plants" of the season yesterday. Do you remove the skins before
    saute?

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    1. No; I eat them whole. Usually I halve them, score a criss cross pattern into the flesh, and fry them in plenty of Olive oil with a tiny sprinkling of salt. I then leave them to become tepid before eating.

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  9. Summer gives us the best colors, doesn’t it. Your veggies are lovely to look at and, I am sure, delightful to eat.

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    1. There's little to compare with delivering a good basket of veg' straight from the garden.

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  10. Love a bit of rat, even more so if it’s homemade. Your cupboards must be heaving Cro. XXXX

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    1. I did another lot yesterday too. The store cupboard is all jam and Rat. Can't be bad!

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  11. I remember ratatouille when it first "arrived" in the '70s. We used to eat it with brown rice and it went with the 3 day week, power shortages and Laura Ashley.

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    1. The 70's brought all sorts of things to our attention. I can still remember, after college, when I bought my first house in Wales, even RICE was still a novelty. You could buy 'pudding rice', but not ordinary rice. Amazing.

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  12. Delicious - I am 'ratting' as well but I put mine in containers in the freezer. I love the stuff, hot or cold.

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