(Another fabulous post from contributor Betsy Dorfman!)

“Eat colors!” is just plain good advice. Most meats, starches and carbs are not colorful; chances are if your plate holds an array of bright colors you are eating vegetables and fruits, always a good thing. We’re talking natural colors here, not jello or frankenfoods. This mélange of vegetables was the preamble to a vegetarian meal served over rice. Our mix included Bermuda onion, green pepper, eggplant, and both orange and yellow carrots, the latter courtesy of Trader Joe’s. I like to julienne the carrots and leave the onion and green pepper strips rather long as they make a nice presentation draped over the rice, and they stay crisper than if chopped fine. The dish would have been more colorful but I held the eggplant too long in the crisper (which we call the rotter) and the purple skin became mottled brown and so was pared away. The eggplant was first precooked in the microwave and was added, as was a can of black beans and two chopped Roma tomatoes, at a later stage.

A recipe for the finished dish follows. The amounts of vegetables are arbitrary, depending upon how many mouths you have to feed. Any other vegetable can be added, to your liking. The quantities below fed three adults with lunch portions left over for the next day.

Eat Colors mélange:

INGREDIENTS
2-3 carrots, peeled and julienned
2 green peppers, pared, seeded, and cut into thin strips
1 large bermuda or other sweet onion (2 if small), peeled and sliced
1 eggplant, cubed and peeled if the skin is tough or bruised
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced or put through a grater
1  12 oz can of black beans, unsalted if possible, drained with liquid preserved
2  roma tomatoes, pared and rough chopped. Peel if skins are thick and/or waxed
1/2 half cup of cashew nuts, chopped fine for topping
2 TB olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsps Ras-al-hanout seasoning, or to your taste. Tandoori seasoning is also a fine option.
plain nonfat yogurt for topping
3-4 cups cooked white or brown rice

TECHNIQUE
Place the cubed eggplant in a microwave safe dish, mix with the minced garlic cloves, cover tightly and microwave on high until softened but not fully cooked, approximately 5-7 minutes.

Sauté carrots, peppers, and onion in 2 TB olive oil over medium heat until onion is becoming translucent and the carrots are softening but still al dente. The vegetables should not brown.

Add the eggplant and garlic, together with any cooking liquid left in the microwave pan. Add the drained black beans and the chopped tomato and stir to distribute.

Stir the ras-al-hanout into 1/2 of the reserved black bean liquid. When blended, add to pan. Cook 3-6 minutes until heated through. If too thick add remaining bean liquid or other liquid. Taste and add salt and pepper, adjust seasoning as needed.

Serve over or aside rice with a dollop of yogurt and chopped cashew nuts as topping. Also good served with chutney.

Healthy, delicious, and satisfies all the senses!

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Categories:	Veggies	Leave a Comment
Tags:	bermuda onion • carrots • eggplant • green pepper • onion • peppers • stir fry • vegetables • Veggies

My step-father makes the best stuffed roasted peppers. Really, they truly are the best. I’ve tried to think of a word that perfectly describes them, and the only one that best sums them up is this: bitchin’. Yup, they are that good.

Bitchin’ good.

Here’s what I think is the key (other than all the yummy goodness he puts inside): roasting the peppers. And roasting good quality peppers. Roasting them brings out their natural sweetness and adds a wonderful smokey flavor, otherwise they’d just be plain old good stuffed peppers, right?

Stuffed Roasted Peppers
From “Dr. Bob”

3-4 large peppers
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 lb ground beef
1 small can tomato sauce
½ can tomato paste
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cilantro
3 tomatoes, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded (you may use chili sauce or hot sauce instead)
1 cup cooked rice
1 cup cooked corn
Cheddar cheese

Fire the peppers on the grill or under the broiler until they’re black, then put them in a paper bag for a few minutes. Once cooled a bit, remove the peels (they should just slide off). For longer peppers (e.g. pasilla) make a slit down the center to remove the seeds. Keep the cap on for presentation. If your peppers are the regular bell pepper size then remove the cap to stuff from the top. Then, without cutting through the pepper, slice a bit off the bottom so the pepper will stand upright.

Sauté the chopped onion. In a large saucepan brown the ground beef, then add the onions. Add 1 small can tomato sauce and 1/2 can tomato paste. Mix in the minced garlic, diced tomatoes, and jalapeno pepper. Add the cooked rice and corn, then mix well.

Stuff peppers and cover with grated Cheddar cheese.

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 mins.  Serve with refried bean

Note: for a vegetarian version use tofu or soy meats.

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Categories:	Uncategorized	8 Comments
Tags:	fire roasted • fire roasted peppers • Food • foodista • peppers • roasted peppers • roasting • stuffed peppers • Veggies

Photo: Harris Graber

My husband has a heart of gold, the patience of Job, and a cast-iron – no, asbestos – stomach. He’s a man so in love with the hot stuff that he orders the “porn star – xxx” box at our favorite Victoria B.C. noodle bar, The Noodle Box. Embracing the challenge, I have experimented with a variety of chili recipes. The following is my favorite recipe that allows for many variations based on the level of heat desired and a variety of ingredients.* Now you, too may seek out the porn star the next time you order ‘take out,’ too.

Anyone enjoying a little kick should enjoy this recipe – varying the heat by choosing a more or less mild chili and removing the seeds if you desire a lesser heat. Asbestos esophagus not required.

Chili Sauce

Ingredients:

Chilis – this recipe is designed to be used with fresh chilis (as opposed to those of the dried or smoked variety). The number of seeds and the vein holding those seeds used in your recipe will often dictate the heat, though the removal of all seeds does not necessarily remove all heat.

Acid – This is a key element. You may use either a little vinegar or a lemon or lime (I prefer to use lemon/limes).

Salt – to taste.

Oil – I prefer extra virgin olive oil. Realistically, the flavors are so intense that the delicacy of extra-virgin can be lost, however, I find the silky quality that extra-virgin brings to this recipe to be a nice addition (needless to say, you don’t need anything expensive here).

Garlic – Again, this is critical. You may vary the amount you use, but don’t skip this ingredient.

Ginger – Adding this ingredient will truly transform your chili from good to great. I use fresh ginger – though I realize that for many, fresh ginger is something that may not be something you keep in your pantry on a regular basis. My mom, Val (yes, this is Trifle and Apple Tart Val introduced to you regular readers to Sheri’s earlier blogs) taught me a fantastic way to keep fresh ginger in my pantry and avoid the shriveled fingers that inevitably result when I buy ginger and don’t use it fast enough. We peal and slice the ginger, in chunks or slivers, and put them in a bottle covered in dry Sherry (the cheaper stuff will do). I use this bottled ginger in all recipes that call for some – just give it a rinse and I dare you to tell me you can tell the difference between this and fresh when cooked.

Sugar – I think a little sugar is a nice addition. I prefer to use a little brown sugar – start with a ¼ to ½ tsp depending on the amount you’re making, but feel free to add more to taste. I do think that an orange or grapefruit could be an interesting acid to add to this – which has a greater sugar content than lemon or limes, so you might want to skip this ingredient if you choose a sweeter citrus here. Again – play around with this, don’t hold back.

Technique:

The proportions vary depending on how much you want to make. I generally use approximately 4 cups of rough chopped chilis to 4-5 cloves of garlic and 2 teaspoons of ginger. But mix it up, these proportions are estimates, I don’t follow the recipe to any exactness.

Lightly sauté the chilis, garlic and ginger in olive oil (be generous, but realize you’ll be adding more later, so there’s no hard and fast rule here). Cook for approximately 10 minutes, though it can be cooked longer. The longer you cook it, the smoother the mixture will be. I prefer a more fresh tasting chili, hence the shorter cooking time. But experiment with this step. You can’t go wrong.

Put this entire mixture into your food processor with more oil (at least ½ a cup – but really it’s to taste), salt (at least a ½ teaspoon – but again, to taste), and the acid of your choice. I prefer a less vinegary chili, but go for it if you like it. I prefer the juice of a ½ to a whole lime or lemon, again to taste. You can add the acid (and the salt) at any stage.

Blend in your food processor to the desired consistency. Let this be a recipe you play with – don’t feel constrained by proportions. Enjoy!

*Be aware that chilis vary in heat, even if you take out all the seeds and veins. So, be careful as you prepare this if you, or someone at your table, is sensitive to the heat.

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Categories:	Cooking tips • Sauces • Seasoning & Spices • Veggies	2 Comments
Tags:	capsicum • chili • chili sauce • foodista • hot • noodle box • peppers • Spicy

Well, I don’t have a recipe for you today, but I couldn’t resist sharing these beautiful purple peppers with you. I had never seen the likes of them before I spied them in my friend’s garden. They’re tiny, about the size of the tip of your thumb. They look benign, but one tiny bite and your face feels like it ceases to exist. But if used in small quantities they will flavor your dish wonderfully – just wear gloves. Trust me.

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Categories:	Seasoning & Spices	3 Comments
Tags:	capsicum • Food • foodista • peppers • purple peppers • Spicy

Sorry music lovers, I’m not talking about the band, I’m talking about the capsicum. Although both do add spice to your life.

You don’t have to be a “hot head” (a.k.a. lover of spicy foods) to appreciate these beautiful chili wreaths. You can pluck from them for your cooking pleasure or just let them colorfully adorn your kitchen. There are a couple of shops in Pike Place Market that hand string these, and I am always like a kid in a candy shop oooing and aahing over the row upon row of them.

That’s the short of spicy of it for today!

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Categories:	Seasoning & Spices • Veggies	4 Comments
Tags:	capsicum • chili • Chili Peppers • Food • foodista • pepper wreaths • peppers • pike place market • Spicy • wreaths

Whenever I go downtown to Pike Place Market I’m always sucked into the Spanish Table. There’s no way around it, and I always end up parting ways with more dolares ($) than I intended. Needless to say, it’s a wonderful establishment and I always leave happy – usually with a bunch of anchovy stuffed olives in my hand.

Today I was thrilled to find a shipment of Padrón peppers had just arrived from Happy Quail Farms located in East Palo Alto, California. When we lived in Palo Alto we frequently bought from Happy Quail Farms, and we were delighted to find their produce had made it all the way up to the Pacific Northwest.

Padrón peppers, named after the Spanish municipality in which they are grown, and are a typical tapa. They’re small, sweet and mild, although occasionally you do come across an errant hot one. Peppers grown in June/July tend to be milder, while those grown in August/September tend to pack more heat. But that’s not a strict rule of thumb, so it’s a bit like playing Russian Roulette. I hope you enjoy spicy surprises, you just may get one!

1. Start with 1/2 to 1 pound of pimientos de Padrón
2. Wash the peppers and dry on a paper towel.
3. Heat a frying pan with a small amount of olive oil, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan
4. Add the peppers when the oil begins to smoke just a bit
5. Fry the peppers shaking the pan so that all sides cook
6. As the peppers start to blister, sprinkle liberally with kosher salt.
7. Once the peppers are slightly browned and blistered on all sides, remove from heat and cover in pan for 2-3 minutes.
8. Add a bit more salt, hold by the stem, and eat while they’re hot!

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Categories:	Latin • Veggies	8 Comments
Tags:	Chili Peppers • Food • foodista • peppers • pimientos de padron • Spanish • Spicy • tapa • tapas