Chunky Oven-Baked Ratatouille and Pasta

It's now 13 days until BUSOM's production of Back to the 80s starts (and 10 days until we start rehearsing in the theatre itself).  Last Sunday, I cut a cursor out of cardboard on my bedroom floor for the one scene that I will be appearing in and will soon be learning the choreography for.  On Tuesday, we had our first full run-through with members of the tech team coming to watch us and take notes for the set of the production, and I heard and saw some of the songs that I hadn't heard being rehearsed before and I was very impressed by the sound and choreography.  Yesterday's main focus was Act 2, from which the choreography to Dancing On The Ceiling, the line delivery of "The only difference between you and a bucket of crap is the bucket", and the choreography of a fight scene between two characters.  I've now also seen most of the costumes, including a black sparkly dress and a few of the tie-dye T-shirts made at the fundraiser event we held a few weeks ago.  I'm getting more and more nervous about this every day, but I'm also very excited and very proud of the cast and the rest of the production team.  Tickets are on sale at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/event/EFFFMM!

Get your tickets now for our main show 'Back to the 80s'.Be sure to get them before they're gone! ...
Posted by Bradford University Society of Operettas and Musicals (BUSOM) on Wednesday, 24 February 2016

Getting closer every day!⏳http://www.bradfordplayhouse.org.uk/box-office#loveBUSOM #backtothe80s #mainshow #countdown #musicals #musicaltheatre #teambradford
Posted by Bradford University Society of Operettas and Musicals (BUSOM) on Friday, 26 February 2016

Meanwhile, my final project group development plan was submitted today, meaning that 15% of the marks have now been accounted for.  The main areas that I wrote were the competitor analysis of the other websites that have similar features to what we are going to provide with the website we are developing, and the industrial budget for the project, for which I was constantly updating the final totals after changing one figure after another.  The next 15% is for my 2000 word individual reflective report which is due next Friday.

I've heard some people say that they think a plant-based diet is too expensive for them, but it's been proven to be possible.  There is the Live Below The Line initiative in which participants fed themselves on £1 (or Australian $2, seeing as I followed agirlnamedally's Live Below The Line journey) a day for 5 days to gain an insight into the amount of money that those who live "below the poverty line" are able to spend each week on food.  There are also plenty of blogs by vegans who have a lower budget, including students.  I found this recipe in a little booklet called "Meat-Free: Feed four for under a fiver!" that I picked up at a stall at my university's volunteering fayre promoting volunteer work with animals, anti-animal testing and veganism.  What I like most about this recipe is that it's full of delicious vegetables!

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 large red onion - peeled and cut into chunks
1 large courgette - cut into chunky pieces
1 large aubergine - cut into chunky pieces
2 red peppers - de-seeded and cut into chunks
2 yellow peppers - de-seeded and cut into chunks
8 garlic cloves - peeled
juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
400g can plum tomatoes
several sprigs of fresh basil
Your choice of pasta

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius OR 350 degrees Fahrenheit OR Gas Mark 4.
2. Put all the vegetables into a roasting tray or large shallow casserole dish, and sprinkle with the lemon juice, oil and pepper.
3. Mix so that all the vegetables are coated.
4. Bake, uncovered, in the oven for 20 minutes, giving the vegetables a stir after about 10 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes and cook for a further 15-20 minutes.
6. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions whilst the vegetables cook for another 10-12 minutes.
7. Season the vegetables with more pepper if necessary, tear the basil over the top and serve with the pasta.

Also, I'll be posting soon about my weekend in Newcastle over Valentine's weekend (it was for a 21st birthday party and had nothing to do with Valentine's Day though)!