Tag Archives: peppers

The Tipping Point

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I feel like we’ve reached the tipping point in the turning of the seasons. We had another big haul from WSF, but surely it is the last week for summer favorites like tomatoes and eggplants. New this week: cantaloupe and napa cabbage

I’ve already cooked up a bunch of treats: a mix of new and old dishes:
– Eggplant curry (a recipe from the “From Scratch Club” blog)
– Creamy Garlic Soup
– Crispy Veggie and Brown Rice salad
– Kale Chips
– Crunchy Coleslaw

Stay tuned for more details on my new recipes above.

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Red Cat Pepper Pasta Back Again

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In case you didn’t notice, there are a LOT of peppers in this picture

CSA Pick-up 9/22/12. Extreme close up of peppers (bell peppers and jalapenos)

What’s a gal to do with these beauties? I’m all good on the “putting up” front. I’ve got more frozen julienned yellow, red, and green bell peppers than I know what to do with from previous pick-ups.  I thought back to a recipe from the Red Cat restaurant cookbook that Hubs and I used to prepare somewhat regularly. We also used to be Red Cat regulars and remain big fans.

Red Cat cookbook

The recipe for Bucatini with Peppers and Anchovies was salty, savory and full of texture, but always a little greasy.  The recipe also called for Italian frying peppers, which I would never have on hand and would inevitably require a special trip to the store.  Over the years, I’ve also tried to prepare  meals with  protein as the centerpiece, rather than carbohydrates. So the recipe fell to the wayside. But I thought about dusting it off and refreshing it with some of my surplus CSA ingredients.

Here’s how I updated it: I substituted fresh bell peppers for the frying peppers and used a fresh jalapeno in place of the dried chili flakes to add heat. Oh, and I used spaghettini instead of bucatini – bucatini are a long, tubular pasta shape and generally a specialty pasta. I also used less panko than the recipe called for. This, combined with the juicy bell peppers made for a moister dish than previous attempts. This recipe is going back in the rotation, with my recent updates. One tip: don’t be afraid of the anchovies. They lend flavor, saltiness and depth to the sauce. The dish does NOT taste fishy at all. Ask Hubs.

Ingredients:

200 grams of spaghettini, or other long, thin pasta that you have on hand
3 tablespoons of olive oil
3 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6 anchovy fillets, minced
2 large red, orange and/or yellow bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced lengthwise
4-5  pepperoncini  (the chartreuse-colored, jarred peppers you find in the grocery), sliced horizontally
1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and minced
1/4 cup panko, or dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmiggiano
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes (about 1/8 teaspoon)
Handful chopped parsley
1/2 lemon

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to the package directions to al dente doneness.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wide, deep, heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and anchovies and cook for about 3 minutes, mashing the anchovies until they disintegrate. Add the bell peppers and jalapeno and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring, until the peppers soften. Add the pepperoncini, stir and remove the pan from the heat.

In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, pepper flakes and parsley.

When the pasta is nearly done, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. I recommend using a glass measure cup, because it has a handle and you can scoop up the water easily without burning yourself. When pasta is al dente, drain it and add it to the pan with the anchovy and pepper mixture. Add half of the the bread crumb mixture, along with a splash of the pasta water. Squeeze the lemon half over the pan, using a small strainer or your hand to catch any seeds, and toss to combine.

Divide the pasta among shallow serving bowls. Top with remaining bread crumb mixture and serve. Add a splash of olive oil if pasta is dry.

Yield: 2 generous servings

 

Let the Odyssey Begin: Home Pickling

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With a bounty of Kirby cucumbers, what can you do but pickle?

All I can say is, it’s good to have a partner in this endeavor. And I was fortunate to have two: Hubs and my Cuisinart. No, Hubs is not in same category as Cuisinart, but you know what I mean. I had never made pickles before, so this was an adventure indeed. We decided on Bread & Butter Pickles for a few reasons:

  1. Hubs loves them
  2.  Can be made “refrigerator-style,” like Dan’s awesome pickled string beans. No need for serious canning experience, of which I have none
  3. Good value! We’ve been buying jars of these at the green market for $6 or $7

Truth be told, Hubs has got me hooked on these Bread & Butter Pickles, too. I am used to traditional sour dill pickles (maybe even a half-sour), which are the kind I grew up on.

We’d go downtown to the Lower East Side with my grandmother and buy them out of the barrel at Gus’s, back when the LES was still populated by discount merchants and Jewish delicatessens, not hipsters and cocktail bars.

Here’s what we did: We worked off of 2 recipes we found online: borrowing ingredients from Smitten Kitchen’s blog and  and technique from an old-school recipe on  A Way to Garden. I liked the fact that Smitten Kitchen used about 1/2 the sugar used in the old-school recipe. And, skipping to the chase, you would never know. These pickles are sweet and succulent at the same time; you’d never think they needed more sugar.

Ingredients: 

4 pounds cucumbers, sliced 1/4-inch thick — “pickling” or kirby cucumbers work best here
4 bell peppers sliced lengthwise [ok to omit if you don’t have them on hand]
3 large onions, thinly sliced
1cup Diamond Kosher salt [Updated: Why Diamond? Read this first.]
2 cups sugar (1/2 cup per pound of cucumbers)
1 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar [Original recipe calls for less, but we were low on liquid, so I’d recommend more]
1 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 tablespoon mustard seeds
4 tablespoon coriander seeds (if ground, use 1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon celery seed

Instructions:

Use Cuisinart or mandoline to slice cucumbers and onions. It is definitely a time saver and worth the extra time afterwards  to wash all the piece parts of the equipment.

In a very large bowl, combine the cucumbers, peppers, onion and salt. Mix well. Cover the mixture with ice. Let stand at room temperature for two hours. In a large pot, bring sugar, vinegar and spices to a boil. Drain cucumbers and onions. Add to vinegar mixture and bring back to a boil.

Pickles in the pot: kirbies transformed in 5 minutes to pickle green color

Simmer for 5 minutes, then ladle them (with the liquid) into clean jars. Be careful as you are ladling boiling hot liquid into the jars. Hubs was particularly helpful in this step. As the jars cool, you should hear the light “pop” of the seal vacuuming tight. Once cooled, keep them in the fridge. They will keep quite well for six months or so.

Bread & Butter Pickles ready to go

Yield: 14 1/2 pint jars. Of course, I mis-placed a lid from one of the Ball glass jars at the end of the process and had to use an old jam container. Ah well.

Life is Good

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I was fortunate enough to be asked to pickup another great haul from Wolfe Spring Farm this Labor Day weekend. It was a lovely bounty with awesome produce. Unfortunately, our house guests happened to get in the way of me photographing and blogging everything we did with the food. So……It started with a margarita made with fresh watermelon juice and WSF jalapeños. Its a delicious summer drink. After two of those I forgot all about the blog so don’t have any pics of that evening. Then, we made an awesome tomato salad with some fresh mozzarella, WSF tomatoes and some micro greens from Zinks farm down the road. Drizzle some white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and that’s it! Next, I made an improvised ratatouille with the WSF eggplant, peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, basil, and a few other things. It came out really well and will be my lunch for the next few days. Perhaps I’ll add some chick peas.

Watermelon Jalapeño Margarita

Make some fresh watermelon juice. Muddle a jalapeño pepper or two in a cocktail shaker. Add lots of ice. Put in a splash of lime juice (about a half lime per serving) add tequila (we used Patron Silver because its so clean tasting and complements the watermelon but a smokier liquor could be interesting) and watermelon juice to your taste. Shake and serve up or over ice. Since I don’t have a pic, you’ll have to take my word for it – it was gorgeous to behold and drink.

The Haul. Artistic License Disclaimer: The peaches are not WSF and I neglected to put the raspberries in the photo.

Beautiful Sunflowers

It doesn’t get much better than this at the end of the summer………..

Nanny’s Dish

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My Italian-American (Calabrese) grandmother (we called her nanny) was a lousy cook. I know, it’s counter to what everyone wants to believe about her type but she made greasy tomato sauce, tough pork chops and tasteless baccala. But she made one delicious, memorable favorite dish: peppers and onions, usually with sausage or potatoes. I updated it with Wolfe Spring Farm bell peppers, fingerling potatoes, and some regular old supermarket onions. And since it’s August and I’m doin’ everything on the grille in my new dumptique enameled metal pan……… Slice everything up as shown, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, throw in some fresh oregano, rosemary and whatever else you have around, thyme would be nice, and then put on the grille on high heat. Toss every so often until looks done. This could easily be done on the stovetop or in the oven, OMG……..memories……. light the corners of my mind……..greasy oily-tasting memories……of the way we were…..

Beautiful ingredients!

Ready to go……

Maybe after 30 minutes on high heat

EAT! You’re so skinny!!

An Embarrassment of Riches

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Take a look at this awesome haul from Wolfe Spring Farm! Organic corn, eggplant, string beans, garlic, tomatoes, red cabbage, jalapeños, zucchini, bell peppers, fingerling potatoes, edamame, and beautiful sunflowers. Thanks so much to Paul and Debra for letting us pick up their CSA produce while they are on jury duty.  While at the farm, we had a nice chat with Jim, who told us that they had naturally raised chickens for sale. We bought two. Stay tuned for what we do with all this gorgeous produce. Thanks!

Embarrassment of Riches

And sunflowers too