Monday, 31 May 2010

Ratatouille and Turkey Schnitzel

by Sabrina

This meal is simple and served in no matter of time. As I always cook for two persons (my boyfriend and me), the quantity of ingredients suffice for two.

You will need:
• an eggplant
• a zucchini
• three tomatoes
• an onion and a clove of garlic
• two turkey schnitzels
• some salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme
• one egg and some bread crumbs to crumb the schnitzels
• olive oil for frying

First you need to wash the vegetables and cut them into little pieces. Usually I chop the zucchini and eggplant into round slices and then the slices into quarters. The same I do with the tomatoes; I quarter them, remove the green stalk and again halve the quarters (which mathematically would make them eighths).
Next I cut the onion and garlic into little pieces (unfortunately I have no garlic grinder).
To crumb the schnitzels I need two plates. On the first one I whisk the egg and on the second one I put the bread crumbs and some salt and pepper. The schnitzels now go first into the egg (with both sides) and then into the bread crumbs.
After heating two pans and in each one about two spoons of olive oil (I love olive oil and am almost sure that it preserves my skin from aging) I add the schnitzels into one pan and the onions and garlic in a second one. When the onions became glassy I add the vegetables, salt pepper and other spices, stir it up and put a cover on the pan. The vegetables need about 10 to maximum 15 minutes to get smooth.
The schnitzels need to be turned over after the on side became a delicious golden color. When the other side has this color too, they are done. Be sure to add some more oil if the schnitzels took it all in, as a black schnitzel is not so pretty, healthy and delicious.

If you like you can add a pepper (vegetable not spice) to your ratatouille. I had none at hand. But as you see in the post below I'm growing one.

I served the meal with rice.

Enjoy your meal!

Sunday, 30 May 2010

Pepper Plant growing out of the Sink

by Sabrina

Today when I was making coffee in the kitchen I found that a tiny greenish stem was peering out of my sink's plughole. Actually it is the plughole of the space next to the sink where you can put your clean but wet dishes to dry.

First I didn't recognize what I was seeing but as soon as I extracted it and took a nearer look I found that I was holding a little pepper plant. I knew it because the grain/seed is still sitting on top of the first leaves.

I decided to test my green thumb on this tiny pepper and implanted it into some earth. Let's see if it will ever become a grown up!?