Ukrainian Stuffed Sweet Peppers

Cubanelle peppers comes in many colors as they ripen.
A tapered pepper, it is sweet and mild, its thin wall
is especially suitable for quick cooking. Cubanelle

peppers are unique, growing in imperfect shapes and
changing color from green/yellow to shades of orange
and red. Popular in dishes of Spanish, Italian and
Slavic kitchens. I first tasted this made by our cousin,
Natasha, who remembers her mother making it in the
Ukraine. She used ground veal and chopped carrots.
I loved it but used the meat loaf combination of ground
beef, veal and pork mix instead. I used fresh stewed
plum tomatoes instead of canned crushed tomatoes. (see previous recipe for tomato sauce)
I think you can also use Italian sweet peppers as an alternative.

Ingredients

1 lb ground veal (or 1 lb ground beef/pork/veal mix)
6 Sweet Cubanelle Peppers or Italian sweet peppers
1 egg
1/4 cup rice
olive oil
1 large onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 teasp. paprika                                
1 teasp.salt
1/2 teasp. ground pepper
1 teasp. oregano
2 large cans crushed tomatoes (or fresh stewed plum tomatoes)


Directions

Core the peppers and remove the seeds and membrane.
For the filling, warm 3 tablespoon olive oil in a pan and saute onions until golden brown, add the chopped garlic and keep stirring for 2 minutes.
In a large bowl, beat 1 egg and add the ground meat, 1/4 cup rice, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper. Mix well together. Add the onions and garlic and mix again. Before filling the peppers, add 3 tablespoons of the tomato sauce. The rice tends to swell during cooking and can make the filling quite solid.
Using your hands, stuff the peppers, loosely.Any left over meat mixture, I saute in a pan and add to the tomato sauce.
Add salt, pepper, paprika and oregano to the sauce.Place the stuffed peppers in a saucepan and cover completely with the tomato sauce, if not covered, add a little water.
Simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours, or until the rice is done, check the skin of the pepper desired tenderness (I like the pepper to be slightly crunchy) and cut one pepper in half to make sure the meat is done.
Serve with pasta.
I also added mushrooms and chopped asparagus, both sauteed first to the sauce.
It’s a fabulous dish, either eaten with no additions, or adding other vegetables, could be mushrooms, corn, asparagus, beans etc.

Stuffed peppers uncooked before sauce has been added

Fresh Tomato Sauce

It is late September and the market is full of bushels of ripe, red plum tomatoes. I like to make sauce from these, freeze them for the winter to use in spaghetti sauce, chili, soups, added to stuffed egg plant, lubi..... basically anything you need tomatoes to enhance the taste. Tomato sauce can be substituted by canned plum tomatoes or crushed tomatoes, but nothing reaches the delicious taste of sauce made from fresh plum tomatoes.
I bought a half bushel of plum tomatoes at the farmer’s market.

Directions:
Fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to the boil
Reduce the heat so the water is barely simmering.
Gently drop 6 tomatoes into the water and leave for a minute, then remove and let drain in a colander. Repeat this process till all tomatoes are done.

Next, with a sharp knife, slit the skin lengthways so there are four slits running vertically down the tomato. Then peel off the skin completely, also slicing out the top part.

Chop the tomatoes and place in a saucepan on low heat, start off covered, stirring from time to time, then remove the lid and let the water evaporate.

From this point you can freeze the tomatoes for later use, or make spaghetti sauce, chili, soup. . . . .  Nothing beats it!

Pickled Hungarian Pickles

This is Mary Anne Garofalo's recipe, my wonderful, creative neighbor and dear friend.
I'm writing this on the second week of August, the Hungarian Peppers are ready locally at the farms. I got mine yesterday from Emmi's Farm Stand on Buckley Road, their peppers are always good, nice and crisp . .
I got enough peppers for one jar, maybe a dozen and sliced them first, placed them in the jar and with a measuring cup figured out how much liquid the jar would need. So for one jar, you need 3 cups water and 3 cups white vinegar. The rest of the ingredients are the same.
So for each jar, put one clove garlic, 1 teaspoon pickling salt, 1/2 teaspoon salicylic acid (this keeps the peppers green and crunchy), 1 basil leaf and 1 sprig oregano, also 1 teaspoon sugar if you wish. Once opened keep in fridge.
Mary Anne uses this on top of pizza.
As the peppers go down, I have also added raw cauliflower to the jar, which was most popular among those people who love hot flavors.

Make sure you wear rubber gloves when working with these peppers! After you have sliced the peppers, change the gloves to fill the jars. If the juice by some error gets into your eyes, flush your eye with milk, keep blinking...... The jars can be stored in a cool place, once you have opened the jar, keep in refrigerator.

Ingredients

8  2qt pickling jars
1/2 bushel Hungarian peppers
Pickling salt
salicylic acid
16 cups water
16 cups white vinegar
8 cloves garlic
1 basil leaf (optional)
1 sprig oregano (optional)
1 teasp. sugar (optional, and cuts down on heat)


Directions

Wash 8  2qt. pickling jars in the dishwasher to sterilize.
Slice of each end of pepper, wash thoroughly and slice 1/2 inch thick. Leave seeds in.
In a large pot, bring 16 cups of vinegar and 16 cups water to the boil.

In the bottom of each jar, place a garlic clove sliced in half, 1 tablespoon pickling salt and 1/2 teaspoon salicylic acid. (the basil leaf and oregano sprig may be added also if you choose to use them). Pack the jars with the sliced peppers. Spoon boiling water and vinegar mixture into the jars so the level of liquid is right to the top. Leave to let the bubbles rise, add a little more liquid and place the lid firmly on top, twisting tight. Turn the jar upside down to seal the lid and leave overnight.
Store in a cool place. Does not need to be refrigerated until you have opened the jar.

Freekeh Salad with Pomegranate and Brussels Sprouts

Freekeh is a highly nutritious grain made from fire-roasted green wheat. The grains are harvested while still young, therefore freekeh contains more protein, vitamins and mineral than the same mature grains and has up to four times the fiber of brown rice. Used as an alternative to pasta, rice or potatoes often served with meat. This recipe is a light refreshing salad using fruit and sprouts.

Ingredients

1/2 cup freekeh
1/2 lb Brussel sprouts, outer leaves removed and sliced in half
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion diced
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and chopped
2 tablespoons honey
Juice of 1 lemon
Seeds of 1 pomegranate
1/3 parsley chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions

Wash the freekeh at least three times, letting the outer shells and chaff that float to the top of the water, then slowly pouring off. In a small saucepan, place 1/2 cup freekeh and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to the boil, stir and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook. Test after 20 minutes, but may take up to 40 minutes. This can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge.
For the Brussels sprouts, remove outer leaves and wash. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Toss 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/8 teaspoon salt with the Brussels sprouts, spread on a parchment papered cookie sheet and roast for 20 minutes while turning once with a spatula at the 15 minute mark. The Brussels sprouts can also be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge covered.
On the day of eating, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over low medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the onions and saute until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the chopped apple and lemon juice to the onions and saute until the apples are soft but not mushy. Add 2 tablespoons honey, 1/8 teaspoon salt and some freshly ground pepper. Saute for a few minutes longer. If you had stored the freekeh and Brussels sprouts in the fridge, add to the pan and let them warm through, Only need to be warm not hot. Remove from the heat and add the pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries and chopped parsley. Mix and serve at room temperature.
Keeps well in fridge, nice cold too.

Mango & Cucumber Salad

This is a salad inspired by a recipe in Bon Appetit featuring a restaurant in Oakland CA called Miss Ollie’s specializing in island food. The recipe required 1 scotch bonnet chile or a habanero chile thinly sliced and chopped cilantro, both of which I forgot to get so used parsley and watercress instead. The main ingredient being a firmly ripe mango not mushy and an English hothouse cucumber (one of those long seedless ones) and, surprisingly no oil. I think the chile would have been too overpowering for me, the salad is really refreshing. Our mint and chives are coming up in the garden, so I added those as well and a couple of grapes cut in half.


Ingredients

1 large shallot
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh lime juice ( I used lemon juice as no limes in fridge)
1 teasp. kosher salt
2 ripe but firm mangoes (I only had one but would use 2 next time)
1 long seedless cucumber
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or parsley)
Freshly ground pepper
Watercress (optional)
Mint Leaves
Chives

Directions

In a bowl put 1 large shallot, thinly sliced into rings, 2 cloves garlic finely chopped, 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (or lemon juice), 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, and mix together.
Peel 2 mangoes and cut into 1 inch chunks, peel the cucumber and slice crosswise, add to the bowl and toss. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes and just before serving add chopped cilantro, (or parsley) and some watercress.
Really you can add a few leaves of anything, I added a few baby spinach leaves I had in the fridge, some mint leaves and chopped chives. Threw in 6 grapes cup in half!
Season with pepper and toss well.

Steak Not on the Grill Cooked inside

I'm not very good with the barbecue and have tended to let David build the fire (he prefers charcoal grills) and watch over the grilling. So when it's raining, or freezing cold, this way to cook steak inside is delicious.

Ingredients

Steak (ribeye)
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Garlic Powder
Olive Oil
Cast Iron Pan

Directions

Remove Steak from fridge and rub with sea salt, black pepper and garlic salt. Allow steak to sit for 20 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heat the cast iron frying pan over high heat, when hot add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Place the steaks in very carefully, the pan is hot and it can spit back. Cook over high heat for 3 1/2 minutes then flip the steak and sear for another 2 minutes.
Place the pan and steak in the hot oven for 2 - 3 minutes..
Remove from oven and place steak on a platter.
Let it rest for 15 minutes.

Freekeh

Freekeh is a highly nutritious grain made from fire-roasted green wheat. The grains are harvested while still young, therefore freekeh contains more protein, vitamins and minerals than the same mature grains and has up to four time the fiber of brown rice. It is an excellent alternative to pasta, rice or potatoes. (Chef  Kamal Al-Faqih)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups freekeh
4 1/2 cups hot broth (beef or chicken)
2 cups frozen pearl onions (optional)

Directions
Preheat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the wheat and stir, coating the grains. Add the hot broth and frozen pearl onions (if you are using onions). Increase the heat to high, bring to a rolling boil, reduce the heat to medium low, cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes until the broth has been absorbed. If it seems dry, add a little more broth or water. Remove from the heat and set aside for 15 minutes. before serving. You can also substitute chopped apples for the onions or serve it plain.