Hi.  My name is Mark and this is my cooking blog.

I get asked a lot for my recipes, so I decided to start this cooking blog.  What you’ll find here will be my recipes and my variations on others’ recipes, my cooking tips and who knows what else. 

I should say up front that I’m lactose intolerant (check out my lactose intolerance site www.nowhey.org) and I also try to live a low-carb lifestyle.  So the recipes you’ll find here will generally be devoid of milk and milk products and try, wherever possible, to be low in carbs.

I hope you enjoy the site and the recipes.

Mark

I had made this dish once before as a test but was inspired to make it again by the eggplant, pepper and tomatoes I saw in a friend’s garden over the weekend.  This is a little different than a regular ratatouille in that it uses chicken to add some protein.  I’ve also added mushrooms to give it a chicken cacciatore feel as well.

Chicken Ratatouille

Ingredients  (feeds 4)
1 14.5 oz Can Stewed Tomatoes
2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, sliced into 1/2″ strips
2 medium Zucchini, sliced
1 large Chinese Eggplant (the long thin light purple kind), sliced
1 Green Pepper, cored and sliced into 1×1″ pieces
1 cup Mushrooms, whole or sliced
1 medium Yellow Onion, chopped
2 medium Garlic Cloves, minced
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup Sweet Marsala
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar

Start by preparing the vegetables.  (There is no need to go through the “salt the eggplant” dance if you use the Chinese eggplant.)  Put the oil, onions and garlic into a large skillet one medium-hgh heat and saute until the onions are starting to become translucent.  Add the balsamic vinegar and stir well.  Next add the green pepper and continue to cook for another few minutes.  Add the rest of the veggies, then the stewed tomatoes and stir well.  Next add the marsala and the oregano, salt and pepper and stir until well mixed.  Stir in the chicken slices and bring to a good bubbling simmer.  Reduce the heat to a light simmer and cover.  Allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

Once 30 minutes has passed, uncover and continue to simmer until the liquid is reduced, about 15 minutes.  (How long will depend on how juicy you want it and how much liquid was released by the veggies.)

Serve!  You really don’t need anything else to go with this, but if you need carbs, then rice or pasta or some good garlic bread would go well.