Ratatouille and the joy of local organic tomatoes in January

When Andrew came home from the market the other day, he came home with a shiny, plump tomato.  "It's local.  And organic."  He used one, and the other one was haunting my thoughts for a while.  I had to do something special with it.  A fresh tomato in January is a pretty rare thing in snowy Maine.  After working on a farm and having access to tomatoes seconds off the vine, a tomato long off the vine and shipped thousands of miles doesn't hold the same juicy sweetness.  So I'm spoiled.  Or maybe I just have discerning taste buds.
In either case, after spying a lovely purple eggplant at the market (albeit not locally grown) I knew my tomato now had a partner in crime...for a killer Ratatouille.

To make my ratatouille a big more hefty, I added in half of a roasted eggplant that I had blended, and some locally made black bean tempeh.  I love this farm for making tempeh from Maine-grown black beans, since my stomach has decided not to like soy, the traditional bean used.  So maybe my ratatoullie isn't traditonal with this addition, but it has protein.  And protein is good.

• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus oil for drizzling
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• Italian spice blend
• salt
• pepper
• 1 eggplant
• 1 tomato, roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• a gamut of vegetables.  I used zuccini, yellow squash, mushrooms, carrots, red pepper, green beans, and sugar snap peas.  Anything goes.  Chop them in a rustic manner.
• 1/2 package tempeh

Crank the oven to 400 degrees.  Slice the eggplant in half, lengthwise, and drizzle (or better, brush) olive oil on the flesh, and season with salt and pepper.   Roast in the oven with the skin side down for 25-30 minutes, or until the flesh is soft enough to be easily scooped out with a spoon.  Blend one half in a blender to make a luscious puree, and chop the other half.
Heat up the olive oil in a nice large soup pot.  Work on chopping your onions while oil gets sizzling and add them to your pot. Add the garlic, and chop and prepare all your veggies except for the tomato and add them to the pot, stirring well to coat everything in the oil.  Add the chopped eggplant and eggplant puree and the tomato paste, and stir well again to get all the flavors incorporated.  Add salt, pepper, Italian spices,and finally add in your chopped tomato and tempeh.  Cover and let simmer for about 40 minutes.  Taste before serving -- do you  need more salt?  More spice?  Do you want to go crazy and add some paprika?  Have fun!
Serves 2 hungry people.