Provencal Vegetable Stew

From RACHAEL RAY EXPRESS LANE MEALS. I loved and still miss Julia Child. She consumed life as robustly as she did a good, crispy skinned chicken. If I had ever had her over for lunch, I would have made her this simple stew.

4 SERVINGS

1/4 cup EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), 3 to 4 times around the pan
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 pound button mushrooms, trimmed and halved
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 green or red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 medium to large eggplant, cut in l-inch cubes
Salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped (a few sprigs)
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped ( a couple of sprigs)
1/2 cup dry white wine (eyeball it)
1 14-ounce can petite-diced tomatoes or tomato sauce
Crusty bread, such as baguette

Heat the EVOO in a deep skillet over medium to medium high heat. Add the garlic, bay leaf, mushrooms, onions, celery, and peppers. Saute for a couple of minutes, then add the eggplant and season everything
with salt and pepper and the fresh herbs. Cook for 15 minutes or until the eggplant is tender. Deglaze with the wine and scrape up the vegetable bits from the bottom of the pan, then stir in the tomatoes or tomato sauce and heat through. Turn off the heat and discard the bay leaf. Let the vegetables stand a few minutes, then stir and serve with the warm crusty bread and butter.