Stuffed Poblano Peppers

 

In his weekly grocery shopping trip last week Gary noticed the largest poblano peppers he'd ever seen. He got a couple of them. I decided to make stuffed poblano peppers with ingredients I had on hand. First I blistered the skins of two poblano peppers and placed them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap to sweat the peppers so the skins are easier to remove. When the peppers were cool I cut them open in the middle of the top side, carefully removed the membranes and seeds and set them aside.

The stuffing ingredients I used were half a red onion chopped fine, 3 stalks of celery chopped fine, 20 button mushrooms chopped in half inch pieces, dried cilantro and cumin, salt and pepper, chopped fresh parsley, 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs, and one slightly beaten egg. I topped my stuffed peppers roasted red pepper relish and 4 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese. You can substitute salsa for the relish and a good melting cheese of your choice. You can also mix up the stuffing ingredients with whatever you have on hand.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Saute the mushrooms in a small amount of olive oil and set them aside in a small bowl. Next I sautéed the red onion and when soft I added the chopped celery to soften it. When soft I added them to the mushrooms then I added the herbs spices, bread crumbs and the egg. Toss gently till blended. Stuff the peppers and place them in a lightly oiled glass baking dish. Top the peppers with the mild red pepper relish or a salsa if you prefer. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and top with grated cheese and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes till cheese is melted.

These are so delicious and a meal by themselves. With poblano peppers you never know if they'll be mildly spicy. To counteract the heat keep a small glass of milk nearby. Milk is best used rather than water or any other liquid to quell the heat on the palate. (Images borrowed from the net)

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Going Nuts

Many times this past year I felt like I was going nuts. I'm sure there are many others who feel the same as I do. To keep myself occupied I've made a habit of observing what nature reveals surrounding my home. I'm also availing myself of products my area has to offer. One highlight this year was the white Christmas we had. It was a rare but pleasant occurrence since we weren't going anywhere and no one was coming here.

As the cold weather set in, I noticed squirrels digging up nuts and acorns they buried in my raised planting bins. Later I saw my holly bush had red berries for the very first time this year and so did my heavenly bamboo shrub. I harvested herbs I grew before a freeze killed them. I dried Spanish tarragon, rosemary, thyme, sage, Greek oregano, and also dill seeds earlier in the season. I dried them inside on trays since we have dry heat. I store them in air tight bottles to use in my cooking all winter long. Curiously my parsley is still growing despite freezes, so I harvest it fresh when needed.

Several local bounties surfaced and I couldn't resist supporting my economy. In December a nearby meat processing plant had a special of 40 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs for $50. The chicken is raised locally, an added bonus. Food prices have been skyrocketing and we're constantly looking for bargains. Gary drove to get the chicken and I packaged it all up to freeze. So far I've made marinated thighs and chicken shish kabobs. Chicken lends itself to a myriad of recipes.

Yesterday I saw an ad by a local person for unshelled pecans for $2 a pound. I decided to get 10 pounds. Gary met the local seller and brought them back home. Today I learned pecans are not like other nuts. They are a tough nut to crack.

For years living in California I cracked walnuts and almonds using a simple, hand-held nut cracker, but pecans are different. Apparently pecans are extremely hard to crack across the middle and should be cracked on each end first. You might ask yourself why I'd invest in nuts so hard to crack. I didn't know this about pecans till I got the pecans home and tried to crack a few. I originally reasoned nuts are nutritious and cracking them by hand entails energy burned off, also beneficial. Do you get my drift here. A desire to save money on food has now propelled me into learning all about cracking pecans.

Going nuts doesn't end here. I've been researching Texas nut shellers, anvil shears to clip off the pointy ends of the pecans, garage tools, mallets, hammers, even boiling the pecans beforehand. None seem to do the trick. Apparently I need a particular type of pecan cracker, that's the contraption in the photo above. Now you see why I am going nuts this week. What about you, do you have any nutty stories to share with me?

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White Rabbit 2021

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Wishing Happy Holidays to All

Wishing Happy Holidays to all

unfortunately I do not know the artist

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