BELL PEPPERS aka SWEET PEPPERS aka CAPSICUM

Being a staple in my house I was both fascinated and frightened to learn that the Bell Pepper is so toxic when grown conventionally, and when you go to go a regular grocery store…you’re not likely to find an organic offering. Yet peppers at FARMER’S MARKETS are cheap, cheap, cheap and pesticide free, free, free! Remember though, ORGANIC FOOD is more than just pesticide free—it’s a whole farming culture supporting the food, the farmers and the land...and it pretty much guarantees a superior crop so chew on that!

I really hate green bell peppers, I think they taste insipid…kind of remind me of cut grass and Old El Paso taco sauce. Not good. I only stick to the colorful varieties—which are the same damn things as the green ones, only more mature. In fact, green, white, brown and purple are all immature bell pepper colors. Red, yellow, light purple, and orange are all mature colors. A red bell pepper has double the vitamin content as a green one!

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BELL PEPPERS are crazy good for you—even the green ones. Super high levels of Vitamin C and A are found within, along with antioxidants and lycopene—a super cancer-fighter! Bell peppers are also said to be good for the heart, the lungs, the eyes and your joints. AND THEY TASTE GREAT TOO!

My biggest issue with the bell pepper is that I have no idea what to do with them. Yes, they are always in my fridge…but I rarely cook with them. I love ‘em RAW and add them to green salads and sandwiches all the time and nibble on sticks for a snack. My other big use for bell peppers is in stir-fries, just barely cooked, paired with some sorta meat or tofu with onions, garlic, ginger and herbs. An awesome crunchy addition!

I also really love ‘em roasted! It’s like a whole new fruit when you roast the babes! I tried roasting bell peppers LIVE on video for the Podcast, but it was mess. I usually do the stove-top method where you just burn them black before steaming in a brown paper sack. But, you get charred pepper skin ALL OVER the place. You really need to use a sink and a bunch of towels. Baking in an oven is a much easier and cleaner route. The results are similar, though I miss that smoky flavor the burnt method lends. Grilling is also a great option for bell peppers! You can grill and eat them at any stage or go the full route and make “roasted” ones on a bbq.

I’m adding a great pasta dish to the recipes that uses bell peppers. Yummy. Not good for carbo-phobiacs though.

STUFFED BELL PEPPERS seemed like a really easy thing to do. I felt like I was letting the world down by featuring this dish on the show, but they are SO GOOD and SO EASY and too often overlooked. There’s no wrong way to do a stuffed bell pepper…you just need to fill the halves with things you love. Why not skip the meat, or cut it in half, and use some veggie stuffers? Beyond rice, try couscous, lentils, polenta, tofu, tempeh, seeds and nuts! I think the secret to a great stuffed bell pepper is in the extras…use a bunch of grain and then extras like walnuts, sun dried tomatoes, olives, goat cheese, anchovies, capers, fresh herbs… It’s the little amounts of little things you add that just sing in your mouth!

Check the recipe section. Get bell pepper busy.

CHEERS!

GGGGG