It went over really well with my sometimes picky family (well, Mom can be a little particular about new foods)… I hope it works for you!

For me it’s lab notebooks, the ones with the brown cover and a black binding. Now I’ve even got a cubby for mine on the new desk. No more losing it among all the rest of the stuff.

As for the cooking, we all have misses now and then. I think I am the person most critical of my own cooking. Each flop makes you a better cook though.

This is how I (well, my dad) makes Ratatouille:
Cut & dice bellpeppers (all colors if one wants), zucchini, eggplant, onion, some garlic. Fry onion & garlic in olive oil. When golden/tender, add the other veggies and canned tomatoes (cubed, whole, or as I prefer the ones that are just the red liquid stuff… blended tomatoes if you’d like). Let cook a long time, add herbs: laurel, thyme, rosemary, oregano (if you want… I don’t like oregano in it). Let totally cool off and reheat before eating. This will have all the flavours mingle and shake hands. Oh and add salt and pepper to taste of course. If you’re using dried herbs you can add them quite early on, the fresh ones need to be added at the end. Honestly, I think the dried ones taste better in this dish as you let it go cold and then heat it up again. The fresh ones don’t really like the reheating part. Don’t forget to fish out the laurel leaves before eating it… no one likes a crunch tree leave in their plate hehehe.

That’s all there is to it