#Garden Bell Pepper

[askwhatsforlunch]

Chilli, Pepper and Tomato Mussels

These Chilli, Pepper and Tomato Mussels, hot with home-grown chilli and fragrant with garden pepper, tomato and herbs, remind me of the delicious kūtai I ate when Ava took me to Gusto, one of her favorite restaurant (with a superb view!) in her hometown of Ngāmotu New Plymouth, back in March. Which mean, I shall definitely cook this dish for her next time we're together!

Ingredients (serves 1):

about 905 grams/2 pounds fresh mussels

120 grams/4 ounces unsalted butter

1 small onion

1 fluffy sprig fresh rosemary

half a dozen leaves Garden Sage 

2 bay leaves

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

½ Garden Chilli Pepper 

¼ red Bell Pepper

1 heaped teaspoon tomato paste

1 large, ripe tomato, rinsed

4 sprigs Garden Chervil 

¾ cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc or Chardonnay)

Wash mussels thoroughly, gently scrubbing them with a clean sponge to remove any dirt and grit. Remove the stringy beards from the shells as well. Soak in clean water, a couple of minutes. Drain. Repeat, twice. Set aside.

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, melt half of the butter over a medium flame. Finely chop the onion, and add to the butter once it’s foaming. Sauté, a couple of minutes until softened.

Finely chop the soft top of the rosemary sprig, keeping the bottom whole and Garden Sage. Add the chopped herbs and both bay leaves to the pot. Cook, 1 minute more.

Increase heat to medium-high, and stir in mussels, coating in the butter and herbs. Cover with a lid, and steam, about 6 minutes, until the mussels start to open.

Using a slotted spoon, lift mussels out of the pot and into a large bowl.

Strain leftover liquid through a fine mesh sieve, into  a bowl.

In the mussels pot, melt remaining butter with olive oil. Add garlic. Cook, stirring over medium-high heat, until just softened, 1 minute.

Finely chop Garden Chilli and Bell Pepper, and stir into the pot. Cook, until softened, a couple of minutes. Add tomato paste. Cook, 1 minute more.

Dice tomato, and stir into the pot, along with its juice.

Finely chop Chervil, and had half of it to the pot.

Return mussels to the pot, stirring well, coating in chilli and tomato sauce. Stir in Sauvignon Blanc. Pour about 1/3 cup strained liquid back into the pot, making sure to discard any leftover sand. Cover with the lid, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, 4 minutes more.

Serve Chilli, Pepper and Tomato Mussels hot, topped with reserved Chervil, with toasted Sourdough and a glass of chilled Sauvignon Blanc. Bon appétit! 

[los-plantalones]

when i say she’s obsessed with peppers i need you to understand that she will literally rip them off the plants and adopt them as children she will eventually cannibalize

[thedenofravenpuff]

So proud!

My two bell peppers growing in my windowsill is starting to change color!

[gotankgo]

Today’s bell pepper harvest.

The orange plant is so top heavy it got knocked over by winds and its two fullest branches snapped off with all the still green peppers here

[ahedderick]

Bell peppers seem to LOVE a dry year. K meticulously chopped all these and I froze them spread out on a cookie sheet. Stored in a big ziploc bag, they will await the ripening of the tomatoes and the Days of Sauce. I need to chop some of the onions, too, because the ones we grew this year don't look like they're going to be good keepers. Sometimes you can store them long-term . . and sometimes you cannot.

My neighbor just drove his bobcat s-l-o-w-l-y up the lane to deliver a round bale for Hero and Missile. I gave him a big bouquet from the garden in trade.

[tweedlebean]

Made that Sri Lankan egg curry from the Tik Tok. I have some complaints about how the recipe was written but it looks/smells pretty good!

[nullcasting]

got worried that i was losing interest in my own characters and then sibling asked me ehich fruitd they would all like and i went off for like 30 minutes

[askwhatsforlunch]

Kūmara and Beef Shepherd's Pie

Whilst the days are still sunny, they are quite chill; and the nights are even chillier. This hearty Kūmara and Beef Shepherd's Pie thus makes an excellent, warming Sunday dinner, rather like a proper hug! Have a good one!

Ingredients (serves 4):

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

540 grams/1.20 pound beef chuck

1/4 cup plain flour

1 small onion

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 large red Bell Pepper, rinsed

1 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon ground chilli

1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or sea salt flakes

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup good red wine (such as a Bordeaux or Pinot Noir)

1 cup water

2 large kūmara or sweet potatoes

1 heaped teaspoon coarse sea salt

1/2 tablespoon demerara sugar

1 tablespoon pure (Grade A) Canadian Maple Syrup

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 tablespoon demerara sugar

1/4 cup double cream

Peel and cube kūmara, and add to a large pot. Add coarse sea salt. Cover with water, and bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, cook, about 20 minutes until tender.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt butter with olive oil over a high flame.

Cut beef chuck into large chunks.

Spoon flour in a shallow plate, and dredge beef chuck pieces, coating them well and shaking off excess flour.

Once the butter is foaming, add floured beef chuck pieces and brown well, on all sides. Transfer browned beef chuck pieces to a plate to rest; set aside.

Peel and finely chop onion, and stir into the Dutch oven. Reduce heat to medium-high. Stir in garlic; cook, 1 minute more.

Finely chop red Bell Pepper, and add to the pot. Cook, a couple of minutes.

Season with dried sage and ground chilli. Then, season with fleur de sel and black pepper.

Sprinkle in remaining flour, and cook out, 1 minute.

Deglaze with Bordeaux wine, stirring well to loosen brown bits. Then, stir in water. Bring to the boil.

Once boiling, reduce heat to medium, cover with a lid, and simmer, at least 45 minutes until the meat is juicy and tender, and the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, peel and cube kūmara, and add to a large pot. Add coarse sea salt. Cover with water, and bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, cook, about 20 minutes until tender.

Once the beef has cooled enough, cut into very thin slices, and return to the pot, coating in the sauce. Add demerara sugar and Maple Syrup. Give a good stir.

Lightly oil a baking tin with olive oil, and spoon beef stew mixture in, levelling well with a spatula. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 200°C/395°F.

Drain kūmara, and return them to the pot. First, mash them thoroughly with a potato masher and stir in half of the butter, until melted. Then, process using a hand-held blender, so the mixture is very smooth. Energetically stir in remaining butter, demerara sugar and double cream with a wooden spoon, until perfectly blended and sugar and butter are melted.

Spoon kūmara mash on top of the beef mixture, levelling into an even layer with a spatula.

Place tin in the middle of the hot oven, and bake, at 200°C/395°F, for 30 to 35 minutes.

Serve Kūmara and Beef Shepherd's Pie, with a glass of Bordeaux or Waiheke Island Pinot Noir.

[forageling]

This year's growing season:

20 March 2023:

Today I planted cucumber, bellpepper, and cherry tomato seeds! Hopefully they'll all sprout!

22 April 2023:

The first seeds have successfully sprouted!

2 May 2023:

Lots of bellpepper plants and tomato plants have made it! And one strong cucumber plant!

I also planted some sunflower seeds, hopefully these will turn out well too!

26 May 2023:

My cucumber plant has opened its first flower of the year! (I've also transported all of my plants outside to our balcony and repotted them into bigger pots)

11 July 2023:

The very first cucumber is coming, the tomato plants are getting really big now, the bellpepper plants are finally starting to get bigger too, and the pumpkins which i planted the other day are getting more tiny leaves!

7 August 2023:

The flowers on my tomato plants are finally turning into tomatoes, the pumpkin plants are growing and growing and growing, my first cucumber is almost ready to harvest, the first sunflower is slowly starting to open up, and the bellpepper plants are finally starting to produce flowers!

25 August 2023:

The very first sunflower has opened, more and more tomatoes are popping up, the first bellpepper is on its way, and my pumpkin plant is starting to bloom!

31 August 2023:

More and more sunflowers are starting to open, the pumpkin plants are getting absolutely gigantic, and it looks like i'm gonna get another cucumber this year!

07 September 2023:

The first tomatoes are finally ready to harvest, i've counted 8 bell peppers that are getting bigger and bigger, the cucumber plant has 3 new babies (but i'm not sure whether they'll make it cause the plant is not looking too good), almost all sunflowers are blooming now, and i think the pumpkin flowers are starting to slowly turn into tiny little pumpkins!

[ladysnowangel]

[gotankgo]

just brought some of my cherry tomato, bell pepper, coleus and marigold seedlings outside to harden them up. hope to have them planted in their summer digs soon

[thedenofravenpuff]

My lil indoor garden is going well!

My bell peppers got replanted before they tangled too close together by their roots.

And my lemon is finally sprouting!?

[heckyeahobjectbattlecity]

the starerrrrrr

[ahedderick]

Yes! YES!!

Bell peppers can be surprisingly finicky, here. Over all, they are producing well this year, but the ones that are supposed to progress from green to red rarely do so. Or sometimes they DO start to turn colors, but go bad before they get completely finished. Ergo, this one (1!) red pepper represents a small but emotionally important triumph. There are five red pepper plants, by the way. All full of green peppers. The green pepper plants are similarly full of green peppers.

[cosmichorrorsol]

Now, for the most difficult part of gardening: figuring out what to do with pounds of peppers and basil given that I really don't feel like cooking.

[martiancount1877]

Dog n stuff