What Should I Do With My Beautiful Spicy Peppers???

We got another great CSA box today. Here is what we got and what I’m planning to do with it all:

• Lettuce – dinner tonight
• Broccoli – I think we’ll eat it raw, part tonight and the rest over the weekend
• Onion – I will probably use it in a stir fry
• Tomatoes – I could eat them all right now all by myself… However, I won’t. We’ll eat some of them with mozzarella and basil. The others I will use to make a cucumber/tomato/feta salad.
• Apples, Plums, & Pears– We’ll eat them over the next few days as a snack.
• Cucumbers – I’ll slice part of one up to add to my water pitcher with some lemon slices to make cucumber/lemon water. The rest I’ll use in a cucumber/tomato/feta salad.
• Sweet peppers – I’ll probably use them in a stir fry with onions and mushrooms.
• Spicy peppers – Not sure what to do with them. Do you have any suggestions???
• Figs – they were really, really ripe, and we ate them as soon as we opened the box. They were delicious but certainly had to be eaten right away. Not that I’m complaining or anything… :-)

Okay, so do you have any suggestions what I should do with these beautiful, spicy peppers?
 

Questions: Do you have any “spicy pepper suggestions” for me? What are your weekend plans? What will you be eating and drinking?
 
Be well,
Andrea

More Veggies: Vegetable Lentil Stew

As I mentioned before, we are trying to eat more veggies after several weeks of indulging a bit too much. We have been eating lots of salads, so I thought I’d mix things up a bit and made a vegetable stew. I love making a big pot of stew - enough for dinner, leftovers for the next night, and enough for lunches and “mini meals.” I even froze a few individual portions. I haven’t frozen this dish before, so I’m not sure how it’ll hold up. But I’m not that picky when it comes to textures, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy the defrosted leftovers soon. There is nothing better than eating your own “frozen meal” when you are hungry and there is nothing to eat… 

Having veggie soup or a veggie stew in the fridge is a sure way for all of us to get our veggies. I added lentils to the stew to add some protein and heft.



Ingredients

• Onion
• Carrots
• Celery
• Zucchini
• Crushed tomatoes (I used Pomi)
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Dill
• Lentils (I used precooked lentils from Trader Joe’s)
• Garlic (not shown above)
• Organic ketchup (not shown above)
• 1 – 2 cups of water

I love Pomi crushed tomatoes. They taste great, and the package includes nothing but tomatoes.





I also used precooked lentils. While I prefer to cook my own lentils, having some precooked lentils around is very convenient. One reason I prefer cooking my own lentils is that the precooked ones contain quite a bit of sodium. I always rinse them very well in the hopes to get rid of some of the sodium. Not sure how much sodium I’m able to wash away…




Instructions

1. Sautee diced onion in olive oil. After sautéing the onions for a few minutes, add minced garlic (about 3 – 4 cloves).
2. Add carrots, cut into rounds, to the pot and sauté a few minutes.
3. Next, add diced celery, crushed tomatoes, and water to the pot and cook for about 12 – 15 minutes, until carrots start to soften.
4. In the meantime, rinse lentils well. Add lentils and diced zucchini to the pot and cook another 5 - 10 minutes, until all vegetables are soft but not mushy.
5. Season with salt, pepper, dill (I used about 2 tablespoons dried dill) and organic ketchup (2-4 tablespoons).
6. Serve over cooked quinoa or brown rice. Or you can add more liquid and eat the dish as a soup.
7. Enjoy!

Questions: What are your favorite vegetables? I love corn, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, green beans, cabbage… Yes, the list is long, and I’m sure I forgot some of my favorites… What’s your favorite way to eat vegetables? I love salads, vegetable stews and soups, as well as roasted veggies. I’m actually really looking forward to lots of roasted veggies in the fall and winter…

Be well,
Andrea