Late Summer Peppers and Tomatoes.... and fruit flies
I've got more tomatoes than I can eat. What a luxury. I like to can them. They are bottled sunshine for the long winter ahead. I also like to roast some with butter and garlic for the freezer. Many years ago, I had a fun assignment at Pillsbury. I had to write Tuscan recipes for the back of packages of frozen pasta that they sold in South America. Anyhow, in my research I ran across Marcella Hazen's iconic recipe for tomato sauce with onions and butter. It's so yummy. So jumping off from that idea, I roasted a big pan of mixed tomatoes with whole garlic cloves and knobs of butter at 350 degrees F. for about an hour. Then mashed it all up to a coarse puree and spooned it into bags for the freezer. It's great as a sauce, but also lovely as an ingredient: chile, lasagna, soups.... go crazy.
Now what to do with those abundant peppers. I like to throw them on a hot grill just as they are, and grill them until they are blackened all over. Then pop them into a paper bag for a couple of minutes, until they are cool enough to handle. Then I pull them out and use a paper towel and my fingers to peel off the blackened skin and pull out the stem and seeds. Don't rinse them! A little char tastes good and water washes away so much good flavor. Now you can freeze them if you like. When I was visiting my brother we had some wonderful bread from La Mie Bakery in Des Moines. I had more than a few thick slices of good bread spread with goat cheese and topped with slabs of grilled peppers.
The ugly photo on the left is of super yummy stuffed peppers. I took a big bite before I thought to snap a pic. I stuffed the peppers with a mixture of Italian sausage cooked with garlic, breadcrumbs and shredded cheese. I used mozzarella, but fontina would be even better. Then I cooked the stuffed pepper in a skillet with a film of olive oil until the skin blistered. Then I added a couple of chopped fresh tomatoes, covered the skillet at simmered it for about 30 minutes. It's saucy and wonderful on top of a bed of creamy Parmesan polenta.
I'm battling fruit flies. With so many tomatoes, melons, and apples on my counters I'm seeing more every day. It helps to cover your produce with a thin dish towel. I have always made my own fruit fly traps. I pour some cider vinegar in a custard cup, add an equal amount of water and a drop of dish soap and give it a little stir. This year I picked up these cute little apple shaped traps. The bait included sure smells like cider vinegar--I have to imagine it is pretty much the same stuff as my homemade traps. As satisfying as it is to see the little fruit fly carcasses in my custard cup, some might find it gross. The little apples are much cuter and does hide the bodies. I've just refilled it with my own concoction.
