A new twist on an old classic...just in time for flu season

It's that time of year again. Only a couple of weeks since school started and my oldest son already brought the "icks" home. It didn't take long for my daughter to catch it, characterized by sniffles, sneezing, fever, and congestion. SO when this happens in our home, I do my best to fortify their immune reserve by amping up immune-boosting foods in our daily meals. At the trip to our local market I was inspired by the bright wonderful colors of the fall vegetable line-up and dreamed up, what I like to call: Ratatouille ala Pacific Northwest. Not your average ratatouille, this peasant dish has all the makings of a healing food: color, bioactivity, and most of all-TASTE! While the colors gave me the initial inspiration, I crafted this dish on the basic premise of the healing powers of good ole' chicken soup. Classic Ratatouille is a vegetarian dish with layers of vegetables cooked into a stew of sorts with eggplant as the star of the show however, as I was looking for a chicken soup interpretation for the increased Zinc content and the texture issues my children have, I swapped the two. My second "must have" in this recipe was garlic. Garlic is not only great for stinky breath and pores, but it is also a potent anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal and has been shown in studies to combat the cold and flu bugs . It has cardiovascular restorative powers and is thought to have blood sugar regulating effects and cancer fighting properties as well. No kitchen pantry should be without fresh garlic. With all this in mind I began preparing my dish with relish.

Ingredients:

Zucchini -I used Yellow zucchini-a rich bright yellow-gold zucchini with rich flavor-but regular green, or even yellow squash will do. For a family of 4 or less, one large squash stick-for more, grab another. Slice into thin rounds.

Tomato-I used two larger very ripe Roma tomatoes as they seem to have a richer flavor than beefsteak or standard varieties do. Slice these into thin rounds as well.

Shiitake Mushrooms- Is the variety of mushroom I sliced up for it's immune enhancing properties. Some other great mushrooms are: Maitake, Cordyceps, and Reishi. (look for more mushroom info later!)

Orange Bell Pepper- Any 1 bell pepper would do, but food should look good as well as taste great, so for my fall color theme, this worked great- sliced thin.

1 Medium to Large Sweet Onion sliced into thin rings

2 Free Range Chicken Breasts- sliced and diced.

2 Large cloves Garlic-pressed or minced

Herbs de Province (I used a dried pre-mix of my own with Thyme, Basil, Parsley, a small bit o' Rosemary and Crushed Lavender) about 2 teaspoons or to taste

Salt and Pepper to taste

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Astragalus root-1 shaved stalk**

-Oh. And 1 casserole dish, preferably round (I used my handy Pyrex round casserole-looked GORGEOUS through the glass.

Saute the chicken breasts for about 2 minutes, then add the Herbs de Province and garlic. Saute until chicken is before or JUST done-then remove chicken and set aside leaving the oil/broth mixture in your saute pan. Add the Onions to the oil/broth and saute until translucent. Grab your round casserole pan and layer the squash in concentric circles until covered (if adding an Astragalus Root to simmer, place under the squash) and add a little salt and pepper, layer the mushrooms similarly, then the tomatoes, bell peppers, and finally add the oil/broth mixture containing the Onions to the top layer-pouring evenly throughout, and for your top layer add your Chicken. Fresh Parmesan Cheese is great with this recipe, but as dairy products can be mucous forming, a tasty alternative is a ground up mixture of Almonds and a pinch of salt.

Bake in the Oven for about 30-45 minutes or until vegetables are tender. I use a spatula to try and preserve the layers and then ladle the broth at the bottom over the top. Garnish at will with Parsley, orange, or even a broccoli "tree".

This was a hit in my house, even with my vegetable averse children.

**optional for the sicker than sick: 1 dried shaved Astragalus root stalk to be placed at the bottom of your casserole dish to steep with the broth. Astragalus is a wonderful immune boosting herb that is great in teas or broths to enhance the body's own immune system in fighting off illness :)