I can probably count on one finger the number of stuffed sweet peppers I’ve eaten in my life til this point. It just never appealed to me. But having my own homegrown crop of gorgeous sweet peppers, and wanting to save some for later, I looked up a few recipes, mixed and matched, and made a batch to freeze.
I used half a package of ground lamb in an insanely delicious eggplant curry this morning, and used the other half this afternoon in the pepper stuffing, along with rice, spices, and some of last year’s tomato sauce. Based on more reading, I cut the peppers lengthwise instead of cutting out the top, filled them with the mixture, and baked under foil. All but one I let cool and wrapped individually for freezing for a quick meal down the line. I topped one with cheese and reheated it tonight. The pepper was tender but still crunchy, the filling full of savory flavor. So simple, so delicious!
I’m grateful for sweet peppers and all the experience of other people who guided me to use them wisely today.
The air was even smokier this morning so we limited ourselves to a short walk. More about breathing tomorrow…
Another batch of Bread & Butter pickles made today. Hard to believe that two pounds of cucumbers can distill into five half-pints of pickles, including a whole onion, but it is so. I’m grateful for other people’s ideas, in particular what they think of to do with food. I would not have thought to invent Bread & Butter pickles, and now that I think about it, I don’t even understand why they’re named that: there’s no bread or butter, there is a lot of vinegar and sugar, and a few tablespoons of spices.
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon celery seeds
1 inch cinnamon stick
6 allspice berries plus a pinch of ground allspice
6 whole cloves plus a pinch of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
Boil ’em all together, boil the jars, et voila! So simple, so delicious.
I had a few sweet peppers in the fridge, and needed a quick snack for ‘supper,’ so I looked up ‘stuffed sweet pepper recipes.’ I’m grateful as always for the technology that allows me to discover a world of recipes with a few taps. I adapted one I found, cut a Blot pepper into quarters, mashed some cream cheese, shredded Mexican cheese blend, and Italian-seasoning ground garlic, forked enough onto the pepper sections to cover them, and baked for twenty minutes at 450℉. So simple, so delicious! These are things I wouldn’t think of by myself, but with a little nudge from other people’s ideas, I can create my own version with whatever is on hand.
Little Wren was introduced to the big North Forty for the first time this evening, just as the sun was setting. She didn’t quite know what to make of or do with all that space. But she’s sleeping soundly now, after a busy day flirting with does, guarding the garden, making sure I’m okay any time I cough, dispensing random cuddles when she feels they’re needed, and trekking into evening. I’m so grateful for this little creature who came into my life, exactly what we each needed at exactly the right time.
