We're Feasting on Peppers, Too

Yesterday, I harvested all the ripe sweet Italian frying peppers - snatching them away from the leaf-footed bugs! I fried them in garlic imbued olive oil and served them with plain stoned - wheat crackers as an appetizer at suppertime. The thick, juicy flesh of these peppers is absolutely delicious! They would make a fine pepper sandwich on some nice crusty bread.

This morning I roasted two pans of sweet red Italian peppers and one pan each of mildly hot poblano and moderately hot anaheim peppers. Later today, I'll clean these peppers, removing skin, seeds, membranes, and freeze for future use. THAT will be a job!

Feasting on Peppers

I found these leaf-footed-bug nymphs all over my sweet Italian frying peppers. Related to stink-bugs, they are sucking insects. That's right ... they suck! They have long piercing-sucking mouthparts that they poke into leaves, shoots, and fruit (veggies) to suck up the juices. This can result in depressions or discoloration / mottling to the surface of the fruit (veggie) at the feeding site. The good news... the food is still good for human consumption.

I think I saw the parents of these young'uns making whoopie on my tomatilla plants a few weeks ago. I should've been more diligent removing them!

Dry Fried Chinese Longbeans

Dry Fried Chinese Long Beans

yield: 4 servings• 

1 lb green beans, haricots verts or Chinese longbeans
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
2 scallions (spring onions, green onions), white parts only, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon chili paste
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Pepper to taste, optional
2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil, or as needed

Preparing the ingredients: 

Wash the green beans, drain thoroughly, and trim the tops and bottoms. Cut the green beans on the diagonal into slices approximately 2 inches long. Chop the garlic, ginger and scallions. 

Dry-Frying: Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the green beans and stir-fry until they start to shrivel or "pucker" and turn brown (6 to 7 minutes for longbeans). Remove the green beans from the wok and drain in a colander.

Cooking the aromatics: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the wok on high heat. Add the garlic, ginger and scallions. Stir-fry for a few seconds, then add the chili paste and stir-fry for a few more seconds until aromatic.

Assembling: Add the green beans and the dark soy sauce, sugar, salt, and pepper if using. Stir everything together, and taste and adjust the seasoning if desired. Serve hot.

From: Epicurious website

A full morning in the kitchen...

I found a new recipe for Dilled Green Bean Pickles. The recipe I've been using is too salty! Hope the ratio on this one is better.

Dilly Beans - WaterBath Canning
makes 6 pints

3-3/4 cups vinegar
3-3/4 cups water
1/3 cup pickling salt
6 cloves garlic, crushed or thinly sliced
3 teaspoons dill seed (or 6 dill heads)
3 lbs beans, trimmed and cut into jar-length pieces

PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
TRIM off ends of green beans and discard. Cut to length. Wash.
COMBINE vinegar, water, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve salt.
PACK dill, garlic, and beans in jars leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
REMOVE air bubbles. Wipe rim, center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fingertip tight.
PROCESS filled jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.
CHECK for seal after 24 hours. Lids should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

from: Fresh Preserving website

Stevia Extract

It's been 2-1/2 days since I immersed the stevia leaves in vodka.

Time to finish the process.

375 ml bottle of vodka produced 54 ml, perfect amount for a 2-ounce bottle.

• STRAIN liquid off the leaves.
• SIMMER 30 minutes (do not boil!) to cook off alcohol and precipitate out impurities.
• STRAIN through something like a coffee filter.
• COOL
• STORE in opaque glass containers.
• USE to sweeten coffee, tea, etc.

See blogpost from July 2, 2014 for more discussion and pictures of entire process.

Okra Pickles

Okra Pickles
yield 4 pints

3-1/2 pounds small okra pods
1/3 cup canning salt
2 teaspoons dill seed
3 cups water
3 cups vinegar
4 cloves garlic
2 small hot red peppers, cut in half

from Ball Blue Book of Preserving

See posting from September 8, 2011 for discussion and photos of entire process.

Stevia Extract

Step 1  Harvest and wash the leaves. Spin dry. Submerge in cheap vodka. Cover and store in a cool, dry place. Wait a couple of days ...

See post from July 2, 2014 for what will happen next.

Still Life with Squash