I really love bell peppers — red, orange and yellow being my favorite, green not so much. Did you know that in addition to their their varied colors and taste, each differently hued bell pepper has a unique array of nutritional benefits? Green peppers feature an abundance of chlorophyll. Yellow peppers have more of the lutein and zeaxanthin carotenoids. Orange peppers have more alpha-, beta-, and gamma-carotene. Red peppers have more lycopene and astaxanthin, two other important carotenoids. This summer we have orange and chocolate brown peppers growing and I can’t wait to try them. Regardless of the color, bell peppers are a very healthy vegetable to include in your diet. My favorite way to eat them fresh is with hummus or roasted on pizza.
Over the weekend, I did a massive purge of my refrigerator contents. I took every shelf out so there was absolutely nothing in my refrigerator. I made a pail of vinegar and hot water with a dash of liquid dish soap and went to town. I grossed myself out with the gunk in my fridge. But, it’s all sparkly clean and I found myself opening the door every so often just to peak at it’s beauty.
Revelation — From this exercise, I learned that I don’t need “jars” of pickles, olives, peppers, or bags of produce anymore. They just go to waste. Lately, I have just been visiting the salad bar at Whole Foods and Albertson’s and buying what I need. If I am making a pizza — I buy 10 olives. If I need spinach, I buy a handful. If I need peppers, I am going to roast my own.
You can roast them over a flame on your stove or grill, but I like the easy method the Barefoot Contessa uses. Watch her video here.
Ina’s Roasted Red Peppers
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Place the whole peppers on a sheet pan and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the skins are completely wrinkled and the peppers are charred, turning them twice during roasting. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately cover it tightly with aluminum foil. Set aside for 30 minutes, or until the peppers are cool enough to handle.
Remove the stem from each pepper and cut them in quarters. Remove the peels and seeds and place the peppers in a bowl along with any juices that have collected. Discard the stems, peels, and seeds. Pour the oil over the peppers. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
And the best part, I can put them in these French glass terrines from the Container Store! Elevate your food by storing it in a beautiful container is my motto!
I use these in my pantry, too, which you can see featured on the Container Store website showing how I use glass jars and the multi-purpose bin in my pantry. #containyourself.
What’s one thing you can cut back on buying that can help you save money and refrigerator space? Please share!
Hospitality is in my DNA. I founded Home with a Twist, a daughter’s twist on her mother’s traditions, in memory of my mother to celebrate her life and the gifts she shared with me. Mother loved to celebrate life’s occasions – big and small.
