Peppers

Hello, fellow CSA members! This week, we're facing a plethora of peppers! There are green and red bell, yellow Hungarian, jalapeno, ancho, pasilla, and some little green ones I don't have a name for. Peppers are great for desert dwellers. One of the reasons Indian, Thai, and other cuisines from hot humid countries are so fiery hot is that the heat of the pepper makes you sweat, which helps cool your body- peppers actually turn on your "personal swamp cooler"! Peppers can also be eaten cooked or raw, and we've been enjoying them both ways. I put them in salads and sandwiches raw, and like them cooked in sauces, omelets, hash browns, and stir-frys.

This week, I marinated peeled sliced eggplant and half of a big zucchini (sliced lengthways) in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chopped basil, a little sugar and black pepper for a couple of hours. Then I grilled it till it was crispy on the outside and tender-juicy on the inside. That night we had grilled vegetables with a potato salad made with steamed (chilled) potatoes and green beans, olives, sliced radishes, diced green pepper, scallions, feta and oil and vinegar dressing. The second night I added the leftover diced grilled veggies to a couscous dish containing chickpeas, peppers, onion, green beans and a little broccoli. I used the other half of the zucchini to make zucchini bread.

Tonight we had a peppery potato-tofu scramble, using about four different varieties of pepper. I served this with a green salad featuring Jon's "weeds" (amaranth and purslane), basil, tomatoes, and, of course, peppers!

Until next week, enjoy the vegetables you receive, and cook what you have!