vegging out

i have this dorky rectangular tupperware container, and in it goes mostly-intact okay-looking scraps of vegetables. and sometimes fruit. and sometimes the water that leaked from the steamed-whatever. and sometimes - beer.

i used to buy cans of the stuff. i don't - because it gives me heartache to see all the stuff go into the compost. i know the compost is a good cause, planning for next year, yadda yadda. once the garden actually kicked in this summer, i started keeping it all in one place. once a week or so i brew up a vegetable broth from all the bits. sometimes i have some chicken to throw in it, making (voila!) chicken broth instead. but more commonly it's just the vegetables.

we've been eating a lot of peppers, 'cause that's what's been growing. long, thin, twisty-turny shapes of green. i think they were supposed to turn red, but with the weather and the lack of sunshine, they didn't. we're eating them now, since a whole lot have been lost to either the bugs or touching the soil, where they start to rot.

roasted sweet peppers, any variety

set your oven to broil.

cut up your peppers, removing the seeds and membranes (you can reserve this for your aforementioned stock pot, if you'd like). heavily coat a roasting pan with olive oil, and arrange the peppers in general slices so none cover. flip them around so both sides are coated with oil, re-arrange back into the uncovered layer with skin sides up. sprinkle with kosher salt.

place roasting pan in the oven. check occasionally (the timing will depend on how many peppers you've got in there), but not more than about 7 minutes. the tops of the peppers should be turning black/brown and maybe blistering - this is good.

there's a sweet spot for your peppers as far as timing goes. you don't want to burn them, but the more they broil the better. after about 10 minutes, take the pan out of the oven and try them out. some people like them crispier than others - we like ours with still a little crunch to them.