Stuffed Peppers
Recently I went on one of our local news channels promoting foods that are currently in season in Colorado. You can see the segment here. Another recipe I made that day on the show was Collard Greens with Garlic and Lemon, you can find that recipe here.
Essentially, there are many foods in season in Colorado right now. Great news indeed! But what are you supposed to do with all this harvest? That can be a tricky question to answer if you’re not used to cooking with many different kinds of foods.
Abundant Harvest
The foods in season right now include tomatoes, summer squash, melons, apples, pears, cucumbers, peppers, potatoes, and a variety of lettuce (arugula, chard, collards, and kale), onions, garlic, and we are starting to see sweet pumpkins too.
I just can’t help but love fall!
Making the Most of Seasonal Foods
In Colorado, we still have farmer’s markets operating all around the Denver Metro area and many of the small mountain towns too!
If you’re busy and can’t make your way to a farmer’s market, and you’re a bit adventurous, you could join a CSA (community supported agriculture). Joining a CSA is like owning a small part of a farm, someone does all the work, and you get a share of what’s grown. However, you still have to know what to do with the produce you receive, and sometimes you may receive a lot of one thing, so you have to find creative ways to use it.
One of my reasons for doing the segment was to show how easy and delicious it can be to use fresh, seasonal produce instead of that which has been picked before its ripe, shipped across state lines (or across countries), and sprayed with chemicals to help it ripen along the way.
There’s Just Something Special About Eating Seasonal, Fresh Food From Your Own Backyard!
So here is the recipe for the roasted bell peppers I brought with me on the show, which the anchor Amelia, commented smelled sooooo good!
Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 6 medium to large bell peppers
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 carrots peeled and shredded
- 3 celery stalks diced
- 4-6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 8-oz container of button mushrooms
- 1 cup white rice
- 7-8 oz spaghetti sauce
- 1 tsp dill chopped
- 1 Tbsp parsley chopped
- Vegetable broth or water
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut off tops of peppers and reserve, clean out insides of peppers.
- Combine all ingredients from onion to parsley. Season with salt and
- pepper.
- Fill peppers with stuffing and cover with reserved pepper top.
- Arrange peppers in pot and fill pot halfway with water or broth (to
- midline of peppers).
- Bring to a boil then cook on stove top for 40-45 minutes on medium-low
- heat.
