Summer is coming to a close. Pretty soon the kids will be back at school. Lately, I have been reflecting on this summer and what we have done and not done.
I had a bucket list of what I wanted to do with them and I have to say, we did nothing on the bucket list. I felt bad about this for several weeks but then I realized some really important things were going on. You see, my parents moved from my childhood home to an apartment for Seniors. This was pretty significant as my parents have been living at that home for 52 years.
My parents are in their 80's. They have needed to move. Some circumstances in the Spring kind of forced their hand. The kids spent a lot of time helping them out. They each would go and stay at my Mom and Dad's for a day or more working hard, carrying boxes, moving things to the curb, helping my Mom donate unwanted items. All that lifting. The kids really eased the burden for my Mom. Of course, it was a pretty huge task packing up a house that she has been in for so long.
Everything went really smooth. My brother and sister in law came in from out of town to help out. We moved the boxes from the house and movers came and moved the furniture. The kids helped out so much. They never complained, they just kept on working.
Even though we may not have hit the jackpot of bucket list excitement and fun. We sure hit the jackpot of family time, responsibility to others, helping and honoring. It just doesn't get any better. I could not have been more thrilled with what I seen them do and how they behaved. Well, except for a little fighting... I don't want to make it sound perfect or anything...
Here is one of my bucket list dishes for this summer. I have made it before but I wanted to try different ways of making it until I found a fast and easy one. Bingo. I scored a great pot of ratatouille.
Ratatouille
Recipe slightly adapted from Emerill Lagasse.
I had a bucket list of what I wanted to do with them and I have to say, we did nothing on the bucket list. I felt bad about this for several weeks but then I realized some really important things were going on. You see, my parents moved from my childhood home to an apartment for Seniors. This was pretty significant as my parents have been living at that home for 52 years.
My parents are in their 80's. They have needed to move. Some circumstances in the Spring kind of forced their hand. The kids spent a lot of time helping them out. They each would go and stay at my Mom and Dad's for a day or more working hard, carrying boxes, moving things to the curb, helping my Mom donate unwanted items. All that lifting. The kids really eased the burden for my Mom. Of course, it was a pretty huge task packing up a house that she has been in for so long.
Everything went really smooth. My brother and sister in law came in from out of town to help out. We moved the boxes from the house and movers came and moved the furniture. The kids helped out so much. They never complained, they just kept on working.
Even though we may not have hit the jackpot of bucket list excitement and fun. We sure hit the jackpot of family time, responsibility to others, helping and honoring. It just doesn't get any better. I could not have been more thrilled with what I seen them do and how they behaved. Well, except for a little fighting... I don't want to make it sound perfect or anything...
Here is one of my bucket list dishes for this summer. I have made it before but I wanted to try different ways of making it until I found a fast and easy one. Bingo. I scored a great pot of ratatouille.
Ratatouille
Recipe slightly adapted from Emerill Lagasse.
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more as needed
1 1/2 cups small diced yellow onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cups medium diced eggplant, skin on
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 cup diced green bell peppers
1 cup diced red bell peppers
2 cups diced zucchini squash
1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Balsamic Vinegar
1 1/2 cups small diced yellow onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cups medium diced eggplant, skin on
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 cup diced green bell peppers
1 cup diced red bell peppers
2 cups diced zucchini squash
1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Balsamic Vinegar
Sauté onions in olive oil for about five to ten minutes. You want them lightly golden. Add garlic, cook one minute more. Add in eggplant and thyme, cook for about seven minutes. Add in bell peppers and squash and cook for five minutes. Add tomatoes, basil and parsley and cook for five minutes.
Drizzle balsamic over top. The balsamic really makes it all pop! If you have balsamic reduction, by all means, use that.
1 comment:
I'm definitely not ready for summer to be over, so I'd like to view this dish not as a roundup of the season's best offerings, but merely a delicious way to celebrate it. :)
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