There’s nothing like a slow burn on a hot day.
I don’t quite understand the logic of it, but nature saw fit to give us peppers during the hottest days of the year. And somehow, it works: There’s something satisfying about setting your tongue on fire on a summer day. Maybe it’s because the burn in your face makes the rest of you feel cool by comparison. Or maybe it’s the bravado of it all: “A heat index of 110? No problem, Mother Nature. Pass the jalapeños.”
Either way, I love when the peppers come in. We add them to just about everything, and sometimes we just enjoy them all by themselves. We use the mild and sweet bells in homemade sauces or impromptu tomato stews with green beans or okra. Hotter peppers add a kick to corn-and-cherry-tomato sautés and our morning potatoes. And just about every variety of pepper that comes into my house eventually finds its way — roasted, skinned and seeded, but still whole — into the center of a pan of corn bread, served with salsa (more peppers).
Peppers are abundant now in farmers markets and gardens, so you might as well savor the heat. Frank Holzman is. The longtime gardener and new proprietor of Tierra Sonrisa Garden in Chattahoochee Hills is enjoying a good pepper crop, even in his first season.
“You never know with a first-year garden; it’s a challenge,” he said. “But I’ve got the peppers. I have chocolate peppers and red bull nose peppers, both bell peppers. And I’ve got two kinds that are old family peppers from New Mexico.”
Holzman also has basil, cherry tomatoes, long beans and whatever eggplants he doesn’t eat himself. He and his girlfriend love baba ghannouj. At East Lake Farmers Market, he also sells sunflowers and mixed flower bouquets.
“People say, ‘Why do you grow flowers? You can’t eat them.’ But I like flowers. They’re food for the soul. And they look great — the earth smiles flowers.” A little beauty, a little burn — that sounds like just the right balance.
You can find Holzman’s Tierra Sonrisa booth 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at the East Lake Farmers Market at the corner of Second Avenue and Hosea Williams Drive.
At local farmers markets
Arugula, Asian pears, beans, beets, blueberries, carrots, chicory, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, field peas, figs, greens, herbs, kale, lambsquarters, muskmelons, okra, peaches, pears, peppers, potatoes, salad mix, summer squash, Swiss chard, tomatoes, zucchini, watermelons
From farther afield
Looking good: Chilean apples, Washington apricots, Chilean avocados, Washington and Michigan blueberries, Wisconsin and Colorado cabbage, Indiana and Carolina cantaloupe, Michigan and New York corn, Michigan eggplant, California honeydews, Chilean kiwifruit, New Jersey nectarines, Florida okra, California and South African oranges, Chilean and Argentine pears, Michigan and Ohio peppers, Carolina summer squash, Michigan tomatoes, Illinois and Delaware watermelon
Coming in: California gala apples, Virginia cabbage, Colorado cantaloupe, California grapes, Appalachia nectarines, Michigan and Appalachia peaches
From local reports and the Packer
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Cheese-stuffed Grilled Peppers
Hands on: 20 minutes Total time: 40 minutes Serves: 8
Jazz up your next cookout with these smoky, cheesy bombs. If you’re planning a party, you can do all the prep work through wrapping the stuffed peppers in foil. Then store them in the fridge until a few minutes before serving time. All that’s left is to pop the foil packets on the grill to melt the cheese. Turn them into a main dish or hearty appetizer by wrapping in a double layer of steamed corn tortillas.
8 (6-inch) medium-hot peppers, such as Anaheim or poblano
8 ounces smoked cheddar cheese, cut into 8 long strips
2 teaspoons fresh marjoram or thyme leaves, chopped
Preheat the grill to high. Place the peppers on the grill, turning occasionally, until the skin is blistered and blackened, about 8 minutes. Place in a paper bag, seal and let steam for at least 10 minutes, until peppers are cool enough to handle. Remove the skins. Cut away the stems and pull out the seeds, leaving the peppers intact, if possible.
Stuff each pepper with a stick of cheese and 1/4 teaspoon herbs. Wrap the peppers in foil packets and place on the grill over medium heat until heated through and cheese is melted, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve hot.
Note: This recipe can also be made with milder peppers such as bell or pimento.
Per serving: 138 calories (percent of calories from fat, 60), 8 grams protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 10 grams fat (6 gram saturated), 30 milligrams cholesterol, 180 milligrams sodium.
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