Tomorrow I'm Making Ratatouille!!

First of all let me just start by saying the following: thank you for all of you that have now started following Cook and Books, or have shared my blog through your own sources. It means a lot to me and I appreciate the support. So thank you!

I know that my posts have lately been shortened in regards to context, and I truly don't mean to neglect my writing just because I may not have liked what I've read. Therefore I promise from today onward, that even if the book I'm reading is something I ultimately despise, I will still write good content to make it worth while. Hell it will probably just highlight more of my sarcastic tendencies. (Something my Professors said I could never eliminate from term papers...) 

So in this regard I bequeath to you a more detailed description of the meal I'm cooking tomorrow and how it ultimately ties back in to The Hundred-Foot Journey!

"Tomorrow we throw out our menu, everything we have done for the past nine years. All the heavy sauces, all the fancy dishes, they are finished. Tomorrow we begin afresh, entirely. From now on we are only going to serve simple dishes at Le Chien Méchant, dishes where the most beautiful and freshest ingredients speak for themselves." (Morais 203-204).

I absolutely love this about Hassan, because he finally is going back to his roots. This was the first time in this part of the book that finally invigorated me again. Personally this section really touched upon me in an interesting way because it made me think of Maine. I know you may be wondering how a book taking place in France can make me think of Maine - but it has to do a lot with Maine's (specifically Portland's) strong local food growth. There are a quite a few restaurants popping up that believe firmly in the concept of farm-to-table dining now, and to me that's amazing. (And difficult to implement here on off-season.) 

To me for Hassan to finally touch back on the roots of pure simple cooking was huge because it finally brought into him a sense of character. Something I find lacking in him as a whole. 

I chose to cook Ratatouille because Ricky and I have a lot of homegrown tomatoes that need to be cooked, and also because the ingredients are in season here in Maine. I wanted to keep in the realm of what this passage had a deeper meaning to - therefore this dish is going to be implemented.

I hope you all tune in tomorrow to see how my Ratatouille comes out. (I plan on making it look more like the one from the movie Ratatouille.)