Baked eggs change ratatouille’s course

Switch It Up: A Fresh Take on Quick and Easy Diabetes-Friendly Recipes for a Balanced Life by Corinne Trang is the kind of cookbook designed to let cooks mix and match recipes to create balanced meals. It’s a concept we like in a cookbook. We appreciate well-thought out and carefully planned menus, but we value flexibility more.

Switch It Up features 50 vegetarian-heavy recipes, a mix of salads and vegetable dishes; soups; grains and legumes; eggs, poultry and seafood dishes; and fruit, cheese and nut creations. Each recipe includes pairing suggestions, but many can be served on their own.

And a few of the recipes do double duty, as does this ratatouille side turn main-dish with an egg on top.

Baked Eggs With Ratatouille and Parmesan

4 cups leftover Ratatouille

(recipe below)

16 leaves basil, torn into

small pieces

8 eggs ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese Ground black pepper to taste

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Fill each of 8 individual gratin dishes or custard cups with ½ cup ratatouille. Divide basil among cups. Top each with an egg. Sprinkle with parmesan and black pepper. Bake 10 minutes (for firm whites and liquid yolks) or until eggs are cooked to desired doneness. Or, broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until eggs are cooked to desired doneness and cheese is lightly browned. Makes 8 servings. Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 130 calories, 7 g protein, 8 g fat, 7 g carbohydrate (3 g sugar), 185 mg cholesterol, 75 mg sodium and 2 g fiber.

Carbohydrate choices: ½ .

Ratatouille

¼ cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped 1 medium onion, chopped 1 jalapeno, seeded and

chopped, optional

2 yellow bell peppers, cored

and cut into 1-inch pieces 1 medium eggplant, cut into

1-inch thick rounds

2 medium zucchini, cut into

1-inch thick rounds

4 plum tomatoes, cored and

chopped

3 sprigs fresh thyme

12 leaves basil

½ cup water

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

In a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, add the oil and saute garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the onion, jalapeno (if using) and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until onion is golden brown. Add the bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, thyme, basil and water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, partly covered, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes about 8 cups. Nutrition information: Each cup contains approximately 115 calories, 2 g protein, 7 g fat, 13 g carbohydrate (5 g sugar), no cholesterol, sodium varies and 3 g fiber.

Carbohydrate choices: 1.