All that pepper

It seems after watermelon, peppers are the best growers in my garden. And, I am in habit of making sure I grow enough varieties that from the tip to the back of my tongue receives notice of their season. The yellow banana and red pimento are terrifically sweet and the poblano straddles sweet, bitter, and hot. Then there is the straight-up fiery assault of the Thai bird’s beak, chocolate habanero and jalapeno, all of which I prefer to let fully ripen just to make sure their potency is fully apprecited. When the jalapeno is still green they are more like bonsai bell peppers to me. Unfortunately, I am married to the biggest “heat” wimp ever. He starts sweating profusely when I use a slightly ripening poblano. He chides me that I use chili sauce like most Americans use ketchup, and on this he is right. I have learned that on average I will go through about 2-plus quarts of chili a year. And, just think I grew up in a house with a small bottle of Tabasco in the door of the refrigerator, and an age worn, red and white tin of cayenne pepper probably moved from kitchen to kitchen by my mom.

The hotter chilies are no longer to be grown in any great quantity since they are primarily for me. However, three poblano plants and four sweet feed us bountifully during the summer, and gives me plenty to slice and freeze for winter’s soups and stews. So, while the black flea beetle clings to the leaves of my eggplant feeding its addiction, just across the path my peppers grow tall, bushy and don’t seem to want to stop flowering. While the summer sun pours down baking rays I will dry a couple of batches for homemade ancho chilies otherwise, it is another incarnation of peppers tonight.

Wilted Peppers with White Beans – serves 4

4 poblano peppers – seeds discarded

1-large onion – thinly sliced

2-garlic cloves – thinly sliced

13.5 ounce canned white beans – drained and rinsed

2-tablespoons olive oil

1-cup cherry tomatoes

1-tablespoon chopped summer savory leaves

3-cups packed chopped amaranth or spinach leaves

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

After removing the seeds from the peppers slice them into no more than ¼-inch thick strips.

In a 10-inch sauté pan add the peppers, onions, garlic, white beans and olive oil, and cook over a low flame for about 45 minutes to an hour. Stir the mixture every so often in order not prevent it from scorching. Mix in the cherry tomatoes, summer savory, chopped leaves, and salt and pepper. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes longer. Serve warm on a crostini or over a grilled pork chop.

My Blank Canvas

The debauchery of Fat Tuesday is behind us. I am not in pain from too much drink and gyrating until dawn. No, rather, I am in pain (mostly my back) from rising with the dawn and grabbing my shovel to prepare some earth. I have a spot that received a heaping load of aged manure, and now that that pile of nutrients have been dispersed about I am left with an unanticipated garden spot. So, I dug, and shook dirt free from invasive grasses and their roots then dug some more.  This unexpected square of prepared earth is going to be home of future sunflowers – I adored their leggy beauty last season, and the cardinals appreciated the feed. Not to mention the add space I now have where I planted them last year. Seed shopping I will go this weekend.

Part of yesterday’s chores was to sow seeds that where frost tolerant, or preferred a cool soil to germinate in. This was a something I learned last year when I planted English peas in late May, a seedling that I bought from a favorite farmer in Union Square. I flew that nascent plant down south to its new home. They took, started to climb and even sprouted delicate, pale lavender/white flowers. A few of the blooms actually set and become pods filled with snuggling peas – then summer’s heat set in putting the kibosh on this springtime treat. Those peas were the most expensive foods I ever ate – I think I got a total of two-dozen peas. That would have been about $20.00 a pea if I amortized the cost of the flight but I was in NYC on other business as well.  They say, live and learn and hopefully don’t repeat the same mistake.  We know new ones are on their way.

As the country has enjoyed a mild winter, and we had only few days where the temperature did not climb above freezing I am feeling cocky and hopeful that those seeds sprout and climb. Can you give up the possibility of frost for Lent? 

Red Bean and Pork Stew – yields 8 servings

2-cups dried kidney beans  

1-1/2 pound boneless pork shoulder – cut into large chunks

½-pound smoked sausage – such as Andouille or Chorizo – cut into 1-inch pieces

3-leeks – cut into 1-inch pieces

4-stalks celery – cut into 1-inch pieces

1-red pepper – seeds discard; cut into 1-inch pieces

2-poblano peppers – seeds discarded; cut into 1-inch pieces

3-medium carrots – peeled; cut into 1-inch pieces

5-garlic cloves – chopped

1 dried chipotle chili

1-tablespoon coriander seed

3 black cardamom

1-teaspoon annatto seed

1-teaspoon cinnamon

5 whole cloves

2-teaspoons cumin seed

28-ounces canned tomato

1 plantain – peeled; cut into 1-inch pieces

1 butternut squash (1-1/2 pounds) peeled and seeds discarded; cut into 1-inch pieces

2-teaspoons salt

Soak the beans in about six cup of water for 8-hours. Drain the beans, and place in a 2 to 3 quart pot and cover with about 8-cups of water. Bring to the boil, and reduce to a simmer. Simmer the beans for an hour. Drain.

Over a high flame heat an 8 to 10 quart pot and add the pork and sausage. Cook the meat until browned, and then remove from the pot into a work bowl. Into the pot add the leeks, celery, red pepper, poblano pepper and carrot, cooking the mix for about 10 to 15 minutes wilt down and lightly brown.

While the vegetables are wilting crush all the spices together. It is fine if it is not a fine powder.

Once the vegetables have cooked mix the spices and garlic. Then add in the reserved pork sausage and beans, and canned tomato plus one cup of water. Lower the heat to medium low and cover. Cook for about an hour.

After an hour add in the butternut squash, plantain and salt. Replace the lid and lower the heat to low. Cook for an additional two hours. 

A mid-summer dream

Summer finds its peak
Swollen cucumbers, tomatoes, melons
I feast; I save seeds
Stores of potential
Everything cycles

Roasted Pepper and Heart of Palm Salad – yields 6 to 8 servings
1 can heart of palm – drained and rinsed; cut into 1/2 inch rounds
1 red pepper – roasted; peeled and seeded
1 yellow pepper - roasted; peeled and seeded
1 small red onion – sliced a thin julienne
1 medium sized tomato – thinly sliced
1 cucumber (peeled if waxed) – slice into thin rounds
1/4 cup Italian parsley leaves – chopped
2-tablespoons chopped oregano leaves

1/4-cup fresh lemon juice
1/4-cup white wine vinegar
1/3-cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 ripe avocadoes – sliced for garnish (drizzle with lemon juice to prevent browning)

Gently toss all ingredients together, except for the avocado, in a large bowl to coat the vegetables. Lay the vegetables onto a platter and garnish the salad with slices of avocado.