Pickled Red Onions and Bell Peppers

Aaaahhh, the peace and quiet of winter break. I am soaking it all in around here: twinkling lights, quality time with my nearest and dearest, and a stack of library books. I am excited to share these two Moosewood delights today. These took me under 30 minutes to throw together: Pickled Red Onions and Bell Peppers.


Pickled Red Onions are just that: thinly sliced red onions in a simple pickling brine of apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, salt, whole peppercorns, and water. Real talk: I have never pickled anything before. These look wonderful though. Mollie suggests putting them on a variety of things: sandwiches, salads, and on homemade pizza. I'll try them on the pizza I am making tonight!

Next I made the bell peppers. These were simple sauteed bell peppers seasoned with oregano, basil, and garlic. After cooking them, red wine vinegar was stirred into the pan.

Both of these dishes are marinating at room temperature right now and will be tasted tonight with dinner. Yum!

Bulgarian Pepper Casserole

Sunday night's dinner: Bulgarian Pepper Casserole. I enjoyed putting this meal together, even though the casserole wasn't my favorite.

I started by cooking some brown rice on the stove. In a separate pan, I sauteed peppers and onions with oregano and basil. Garlic and feta cheese were added to the pan once everything was softened.

I whipped some ricotta cheese in a big bowl and mixed in the peppers and brown rice.

The top of the casserole was dotted with tomatoes, sliced garlic, and olives (only half since somebody doesn't like olives!). Overall, the casserole was OK. It was an interesting combination of ingredients!

Eggplant and Peppers in Spicy Chinese Peanut Sauce

Eggplant and Peppers in Spicy Chines Peanut Sauce made an excellent topping for pasta. The sauce contains peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, cider vinegar, cilantro, cayenne, and a little hot water.  It was super strong and intense! I loved it though and will definitely make it again.

I roasted the pepper and eggplant in the oven, then let it cool to room temperature. The vegetables were then coated in the delicious peanut sauce, spooned over whole wheat pasta, and devoured!

Mexican Pepper Casserole

I just returned home from a wonderful vacation in Miami Beach, Florida! One of my sweet ladyfriends lives down there and we spent our days swimming in the ocean, strolling through shops, and reminiscing about our childhood. Oh, and making Mexican Pepper Casserole, of course!

We started by thinly slicing onions and bell peppers. I used a variety of colors. Then, we sauted these with garlic and spices.
After that, transferred the peppers and onions to a oven proof dish, and spread a mixture of sour cream, egg, and cilantro on top.
Cheddar cheese and paprika were sprinkled over the whole thing and then we baked it!

The casserole was really good, almost like an upside down quiche. We served it with tortilla chips and a lovely platter of homemade plantain chips, guacamole, and pico de gallo. It was a wonderful South Beach dinner!