Tag Archives: bell peppers

What did you grow for dinner?

Aren’t you glad you grew this?

Sun Gold sweet tangerine-orange hybrid cherry tomatoes.

Cherry tomatoes are the first to ripen in the garden. When the full size tomatoes, start to ripen, the little cherries and pears continue to prolifically produce all summer until first frost. I think you can try here to look at this post to learn how to grow the same at your home.

Suddenly you have more tomatoes than you can eat. Time to get out the dehydrator. Halved cherries  make great “sun-dried” tomatoes. The sweet, dried essence of these fruits is a gourmet garden bonus.

Dinner tonight is a Mediterranean style pasta dish made with homegrown sun-dried tomatoes, and colorful bell peppers.

It’s cold outside. My abandoned garden patch looks stark and lonely out there in the single digit weather.

Inside the warm kitchen, I’m cooking up some of the fruits of my labor. Thank heavens I dried the overabundance of cherry tomatoes. They are a gourmet treat too expensive for my budget.

You can grow that! And now is the time. Order seeds for tomato plants. The sun-dried cherry tomatoes make every dish richer, even canned tomato soup.

I ordered Tricolor Cherry Tomatoes, Garden Candy and Heirloom Mini Tomatoes Red & Yellow Pear from Renee’s Garden 

In my zone 6b garden in southeast Missouri, I’ll start tomato and pepper seed in mid March. Start seed 6 to 8 weeks before planting out doors. I start tomatoes under grow lights, Grandmother started seeds in a Dixie cup on the window sill.

To find your plant hardiness zone, simply type in a ZIP Code at the USDA Plant Hardiness web page.

Mini tomatoes are the first to ripen. They will be your first homegrown tomato this summer. As the full size tomatoes come on, begin dehydrating the cherries and pears.

The intense tomato flavor of dried tomatoes is a flavor boost to pizza, salad dressings, and soups.

Tonight’s dinner will have tomatoes and peppers from last summer’s garden.

Pasta salad served hot or cold.

Recipe: Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Main: cooked pasta   (2 ounces dry pasta per person)

Add sun-dried tomatoes, bell pepper, mixed olives. (1 cup of each vegetable)

Dress with Lemon juice and olive oil, you favorite salad dressing, or balsamic vinegar.

Garnish with a handful of fresh, chopped herbs and a tablespoon or two  of toasted nuts or seeds.

Make it your own –  Add meats and cheeses, if you like. Anything you would find on an antipasto plate, could be added. Salami, mini mozzarella cheese balls, canned tuna, giardiniera.

A Black Beauty by any other name

Sweet Bell Pepper Finale

The name of this pepper is Purple Beauty. But I think it should be named Black Beauty. They are so pretty, I’ve left them on the plant until the last-minute. Growing profusely, bell peppers love the cooler days at the end of summer,

The sturdy stemmed plant grew to about 2 1/2′ tall with plenty of leaves to shade the peppers from the sun.

This bell pepper grows on compact plants producing blocky, deep-purple peppers. The mild, sweet flavored peppers are loaded with vitamins C, A and beta carotene.

Purple beauty matures to bright red.

I grew one plant of several varieties this year, including red,  yellow and chocolate-colored bell peppers. The purple beauty was the most prolific. Plant production really picked up after the temperatures cooled.

Bell peppers don’t have to be staked. The stakes are just a precaution because a sudden wind storm can snap a loaded pepper plant.

Purple BeautyCapsicum annuum is thick-walled, mild flavored and juicy like all bell peppers. These shiny dark peppers turn green when cooked. Close your eyes and you can’t taste the difference between green, purple or red peppers.

The purple pepper is so dark it looks black.

All the peppers, large and small must be picked before the first fall frost.

If there are more peppers than can be used fresh, chop and freeze them for winter use. I chop or cut the bells into strips and freeze.

This assortment of frozen chopped peppers are perfect to add to soup, stew, chili and casseroles. Bell pepper strips are perfect to use in fajitas and stir-fry.

I grew these black bells from Peaceful Valley organic seed.

Heaps of peppers, a rainbow of colorful bells and every Anaheim and Poblano had to brought in before the first freeze. There are several ways to quickly preserve those peppers while they are still crisp and fresh.

I canned a couple of half pint jars of roasted red peppers. Most bell peppers are chopped and frozen. Chilies are roasted, peeled, chopped and frozen into ice-cube trays.

Yellow peppers will make a tasty golden salsa.

Roasted red peppers are perfect for pasta dishes and antipasto trays. Chopped frozen peppers, can be dropped directly into pots of chili, vegetable soups and baked dishes. Roasted chili peppers will brighten winter casseroles, enchiladas, stews.

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Today’s Harvest Basket 10/1

Beautiful bells, a few mildly hot peppers, and this seasons best surprise pepper.

Chocolate peppers, named for their color, will go from a chocolate brown and turn green when cooked.

It’s October. The cooler weather is producing more peppers. A little rain could only help.

Several loaded branches of the pepper plants have snapped with the weight of this year’s crop. The heavy foliage protects the pepper from sunburn.

Dark Purple Bells

We grow peppers to freeze and use all winter in stew, chili, fajitas and soup. Chopped or cut into strips, bell peppers are easy to freeze. A couple of trays of stuffed peppers are already in the freezer ready for quick winter meals.

Some of the prettiest bells were the Sweet Purple Beauty, Sweet Cal Wonder and Sweet Chocolate**. Sweet Cal Wonder is the one pepper that should always be in a small space home garden, the thick-walled and juicy bright green bell turns red when ripe.

Padron peppers

Pick when 1″.

Padron chile peppers, Pimientos de Padron*, are the summer’s best garden discovery. My only regret was not growing more of these 1″ to 1-1/2″ surprise peppers. They are delicious. Except maybe 1 out of every 10 is hot.

These peppers are bright green to yellowish-green and best picked small. Size or color is not an indicator of heat.

Padron

The Padron peppers are a tapas bar and restaurant favorite throughout Spain. Padron chile peppers, Pimientos de Padron, are an heirloom non-hybrid variety of chile. Let one or two peppers continue to grow and save some seed for next year.

Picked small, then blistered in a hot, oiled skillet, and finally, salted. They are the perfect appetizer, or tappa.

Mildly hot Poblano and Anaheim peppers

Once charred, peppers easily peel apart from the skin.

The poblano (Capsicum annuum) is a mild Mexican chili pepper. Dried, it is called ancho or chile ancho.

Anaheim and poblano peppers are first roasted then peeled. These chilies are finely chopped and frozen into cubes for easy storage. To use, drop the frozen peppers into what ever dish you are cooking.

You can exchange these peppers for each other in recipes.

A poblano chili ages to brown and has an earthier, almost smoky flavor. When dried, it becomes the ancho pepper with a smoky sweet taste.

The green California Anaheim becomes sweeter as it ages to red. Pick at any stage. These are the pepper I use in salsa. I mix the colors in my salsa, using what ever is available at canning time.

Seed Source:

* The Tapas Peppers,Spanish Padron are from Renee’s Garden and started from seed.

** Organic Bell Peppers, Sweet Cal Wonder, Sweet Purple Beauty and Sweet Chocolate at Peaceful Valley Farm

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Today’s Harvest Basket 8/28

Wrapping up summer

Summer wraps up with rich, ripe vegetables; golden carrots, red okra, bell peppers, green beans.

yellow carrots, red okra, sweet peppers, green beans.

Carrots

Jaune Obtuse du Doubs Carrot is a French heirloom. These tender carrots are yellow and about 8″ long. The key to long straight carrots is preparing the soil before planting.

Well worked soil with plenty of compost or organic matter, is the secret. Keep carrots thinned and weeded. Carrots store well in the refrigerator, or can be canned or frozen.

We can usually grow two crops of carrots each year. Spring carrots and then the seeds started in late summer that will thrive in the fall garden. Once the seeds are started and spaced, carrots only need regular water.

Grated carrot salad of yellow and orange carrots, a sprinkle of parsley in a vinaigrette dressing.

Peppers, carrots, okra and beans are some very good reason to grow your own vegetables. Diversity. These are not varieties that you usually find in the grocery store. You can navigate to this website to know more about opening up a grocery franchise around your neighborhood.

Grocery store vegetables are grown for transport not taste. Taste and nutrients are never the point in mass market. The goal of a grocery store vegetable is durability and longevity.

Lots of carrot and root vegetable recipes are on the Pintrest Carrots, Potatoes, Root Vegetables.

Second season green beans

It’s not too late to grow another batch of green beans. The soil is warm and will quickly germinate. Keep the plants watered and you may have your biggest crop ever.

French Green Beans Almondine

Plant seeds one inch deep and water well. If your hanging baskets or  container gardens are exhausted, replant them with beans or greens. Space pole beans about 2 inches apart and bush beans 4 to 6 inches apart.

Keep your beans picked for steady production until frost. Plants are dependent on you for food and fertilizer.

Other crops you may plant at the end of the summer are, lettuce, leafy greens, radishes, turnips.

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Today’s Harvest Basket 7/30

July 30, Harvest Basket

Eggplants, sweet peppers, Anaheim and poblano green chile peppers, giant heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, sweet onions.

Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, onion

Eggplant at last!

Finally, the eggplants are plentiful. That completes the ingredient list for ratatouille. Ratatouille is a showcase of summer garden in one main dish. By the time all the ingredients are assembled, the dish is big enough to ensure leftovers. I believe the dish is better the next day.

This vegetable casserole is great served with rice. I make a slightly under cooked version of this and freeze it. One snowy winter day, I’ll enjoy my homegrown taste of summer.

Julia Child’s Ratatouille

Eggplants* grown in a container on the deck.

Tomato Tarte Tatin

Cherry tomato pie

I love cherry tomatoes, they start producing early and just keep on growing till first frost. With the full size tomatoes coming on strong, cherry tomatoes are good for dehydrating.

Mix colors and shapes of cherry tomatoes for a mix of sweet and tart tomato flavors.

Easy, fast, tomato tart suitable for serving at any meal. The tart is a lighter version of tomato pie. Tomato Tarte Tatin is a simple summer-only treat.

This is a great way to use up a lot of cherry tomatoes. I used a mix of red and yellow cherry and pear tomatoes. Caramelize a small onion, and fill the skillet of onions with a single layer of little tomatoes. Cover with a layer of puff pastry. Bake tart until crust is puffed and golden, about 30 minutes.

Cool tart in skillet 10 minutes. Loosen pastry around the outside of the skillet. Place large platter over skillet. Hold skillet and platter firmly together and invert, allowing tart to settle onto platter. Garnish with fresh chopped basil and Parmesan.

*   Container Eggplant Little Prince grown from Renee’s Garden Seed.

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Today’s Harvest Basket 7/19

The July garden is bursting with produce and in need of water every day.

Orange and yellow carrots, Anaheim peppers, purple bell peppers, Padron peppers, green beans.

Carrots, peppers, beans

Where are the tomatoes?

The missing tomatoes in this picture were stolen by a ruthless gang of squirrels. Those thugs absconded with my big heirloom tomatoes. But, I picked a few before they were completely ripe. I’ll show you in a day or two.

I am buying tomatoes at the farmers market. But, the cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen faster than the squirrels can eat them. So, I pick a few cherry tomatoes everyday.

Trellised red and yellow cherry tomatoes overlooked by the tomato cartel.

The heirloom tomato cartel, is the squirrely gang involved in tomato trafficking. These well fed rodents can move fast and manage to disappear on site. I can imagine that the neighbors just see me yelling and waving my fists in the gardens.

A peck of peppers picked:
Padrón, Anaheim, Chocolate-brown bell peppers

Padrón or shishito peppers are new to my garden this year. Easy to prepare, grilled or flash fried and sprinkled with salt. Mild and very flavorful, about 1 in 10 of these tiny peppers is fiery hot.

The Anaheim peppers are about 6″ long and mildly hot. Every few days, while the peppers are firm and shiny, I roast, chop and freeze them. I’ll use some of these in homemade salsa.

The earliest bell pepper to ripen are the chocolate peppers. So named for their color, this bell pepper is sweet, juicy and thick-walled. The smooth, medium-small, tapered blunt end bells are chocolate-brown peppers that ripen early and are heavy producers.

The carrots will be served fresh or roasted. To store the carrots, seal unwashed carrots in a plastic bag in the refrigerator crisper. I’ll also sow more carrots that will be harvested in the cool fall weather.

 

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Cute as a Baby Bell

Bright and crisp

These little peppers are crisp and sweet. I ate the first ripe pepper right in the garden. I’m growing a few  chilies and several different mild or bell peppers.  These mini bell pepper plants are compact and heavy producers. Baby bells are a good choice for growing in containers.

There are truly a rainbow of colors for bell peppers. Try something new, like Baby Bells, beautiful in the garden and tasty in recipes. The green peppers are not as sweet and sometimes more bitter than the red, yellow or orange peppers. Bell peppers are at their sweetest when allowed to ripen on the plant in full sun.

Red peppers also have twice the vitamin C content of green peppers. Bell peppers are an excellent source of vitamins C and A. One raw pepper provides more vitamin C than one cup of orange juice.

Red Baby Bells

The red and yellow baby bell peppers are beautiful together on an antipasto plate or in a big summer salad.  This pepper seed is easy to find in several catalogs.

I got my seed at Renee’s Garden. I like that both the red and yellow peppers came in one seed pack. After all, how many pepper plants does a home gardener need?

Red and yellow baby bell peppers

Down and dirty in the garden.

4/22/2010 3:55:38 PM

by Patsy Bell Hobson

Patsy Bell HobsonPatsy Bell Hobson is a garden writer and a travel writer. For her, it’s a great day when she can combine the two things she enjoys most: gardening and traveling. Visit her personal blog at http://patsybell.com/ and read her travel writings at http://www.examiner.com/x-1948-Ozarks-Travel-Examiner.

You still have time to start peppers from seed. I’m growing several chilies and a few different mild or bell peppers. The sweet pepper that caught my attention this year is the baby bell pepper. The plants are compact and heavy producers. Baby bells are a good choice for containers.

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Left: Cheese-stuffed peppers make a tasty snack. Photo by Pille, courtesy Nami-Nami.
Right: Stuffed yellow peppers are easy to make. Photo courtesy
Burpee.

As you plant peppers, stake or cage them. Pepper plants tend to be brittle and the stems can snap in heavy winds or storms. These cute little peppers can be used fresh or cooked in summer recipes. Leave peppers growing on the plants until their color is bright and the peppers are well ripened for the sweetest flavor.

Peppers, like tomatoes, are native to the Americas. This new baby bell pepper will be pretty served grilled, stuffed as tapas or on an antipasta tray. My little baby bell pepper plants are just about 2 inches tall and looks just like any other pepper plant. Baby pictures will be delivered about the time tomatoes start coming on.

There are truly a rainbow of colors for bell peppers. The green peppers are not as sweet and sometimes more bitter than the red, yellow or orange peppers. Belle peppers are at their sweetest when allowed to ripen on the plant in full sun.

Red peppers have more vitamins and nutrients and contain the antioxidant lycopene. The level of carotene, another antioxidant, is nine times higher in red peppers. Red peppers also have twice the vitamin C content of green peppers. Bell peppers are an excellent source of vitamins C and A. One raw pepper provides more vitamin C than one cup of orange juice.

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The red and yellow baby belle peppers are beautiful together
on an antipasto plate or in a large summer salad.
Photo courtesy
Renee’s Garden .

This pepper seed is easy to find. Gurney’s Seed & Nursery Co., Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Renee’s Garden and many other catalogs offer baby bell peppers. But if you don’t want to find them on your own, enter my giveaway! I’m excited to announce another giveaway: Renee is giving away baby belle pepper seed packets, which contain both red and yellow peppers, to three lucky Herb Companion readers. Winners will be chosen randomy and announced after they have been notified. Good luck!

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