Provencal Vegetable Stew - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 lb button mushroom, trimmed and halved
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 green bell peppers or 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 large eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leave, chopped (a couple of sprigs)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 (14 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes or (14 ounce) can tomato sauce
crusty bread, such as a baguette

Preparation

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 tomatoe sauce and heat through.
Turn off the heat and discard the bay leaf.
Let the veggies stand a few minutes, then stir and serve with the warm crusty bread and butter.