I BELIEVE IN BROCCOLI AND BROWNIES
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 Green, red, orange, and yellow sweet peppers are packed with nutrients and low in calories. Despite their different colors, the nutrient content of peppers varies little from color to color. Peppers are an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, and potassium. Green peppers are really just unripened red peppers (or maybe even a yellow or orange pepper). A green pepper is more bitter than a red pepper. As the pepper ripens natural sugars develop giving a red pepper a sweeter taste. Roasting peppers can enhance the sweetness. The best way to store peppers is in the produce drawer of the refrigerate. Whole peppers will keep 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator. Once the peppers are cut, they only keep for 2-3 days. My simple recipe for roasted peppers and feta only enhances the sweetness of a red pepper. Start by slicing up some red peppers and placing them in a bowl. Add a few cherry tomatoes.  Cube up a brick of feta cheese. Be sure to buy the feta in a brick, not crumbled.  Now add some Kalamata olives. Black olives work as well.  Drizzle the mixture with some olive oil and add some freshy cracker black pepper.  Toss everything on to a baking sheet and place in a preheated 425° F oven.  Bake for 12-15 minutes, until vegetables are tender and cheese is browned and just starting to bubble. You can’t believe how delicious that browned feta cheese is – YUM!  These red peppers go great with my Black Bean Burgers [link]. You can also serve them as an appetizer with toasted pita chips. Or try it as a part of a grain bowl with quinoa, chopped kale, chickpeas, avocado, and a tahini style dressing.  Roasted Red Peppers and Feta 2 medium Red Peppers, seeded and sliced
1/2 to 3/4 cherry tomatoes 1/4 cup Kalamata or black olives 8 oz feta cheese, cut into cubes 3-4 Tbs Olive Oil Freshly ground Black Pepper Heat oven to 425° F. Toss vegetables, cheese, oil, and black pepper in a medium bowl. Spread onto a baking sheet. Roast 12-15 minutes. Summer is the best time for fresh salads. I made this one the other night with ingredients from the garden. Here is what you need to make the salad Lettuce (I got mine from the garden)
Strawberries (I got mine from the garden. They are tiny, but delicious.)
Next add some cashews and feta cheese.  Lastly top it with dressing. I made a vinaigrette with the most delicious Peach Balsamic Vinegar. Other good choices would be poppy seed dressing or a blush wine vinaigrette.  When I stepped outside to look at the garden the other day, I was amazed at the transformation. Just a short month ago, the garden was a few seeds underneath dirt and some transplanted plants. Now four weeks later I’m making salads with lettuce from the garden. This transformation made me think about how much we can change in a month for good or bad. Is there a habit you want to start? Getting more sleep, exercising more consistently, eating more vegetables? Is there a habit you want to stop? Sleeping late? Always eating on the go? Choose something you want to improve and work on it for one month. The transformation may be as powerful as the one I saw in my garden.
 I grew up with a mom who was a Home Economist. She taught high school for a while and then spent 39 years as an Extension Agent for the land grant school -- Utah State University. As a Home Economist she was an early adopter of many home appliances. While not unusual now – my family had one of the first home microwaves in the neighborhood. Home microwaves became available to home consumers in the mid 1960’s and by the early 1970’s my family had one. It sat on the kitchen counter next to the fridge. It was heavy, had a turn knob, and lasted forever. With this new gadget there was a lot to learn and my mom worked through most every recipe that came in the microwave cookbook. One recipe became a favorite and we are still making it – Tangy Mustard Cauliflower. To start remove the stems from a medium cauliflower and wash. Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe dish (I like to use a quiche pan) and add 2 T water, cover with plastic wrap and cook in microwave for 7-8 minutes until tender.
 En Papillote is a cooking method where food is cooked wrapped in paper. Parchment paper is usually used but the good ole “tin foil” dinner might fall into this category as well. En Papillote is my no fail way of cooking fish. It is fast, easy, and the fish turns out perfect every time.
First start with a large piece of parchment paper – big enough to fold over the fish and all the vegetables you’ll be adding. Place your fish on one half of the paper. I live far from a coast, so I almost always purchased frozen. I place the frozen fish right on the paper.  I grow a backyard garden and my tomatoes are plentiful, so I’m constantly finding ways to use fresh tomatoes. My go to uses for tomatoes are Bacon and Tomato Sandwiches, Caprese Salad, and Tomatoes and Cottage Cheese. But every once in a while I venture out and that is how this BB & T (Bacon, Basil, and Tomato) pasta Salad came to be.
Start off by cooking up 8 ounces of bowtie pasta according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking dice 2 medium tomatoes and put in the bottom of the serving bowl. Add 2 Tbs chopped fresh basil. Smoothies are great for breakfast, snacks, or a light dinner. Just toss some fruit, yogurt, and spices into a blender and in 90 seconds you are ready to eat. Use the amounts in this basic mix, then unleash your imagination to create various flavors. Adjust the liquid to get the consistency you like. Add ice or frozen fruits for a slushy smoothie. Basic Smoothie Recipe ½ cup yogurt ½ cup fruit or veggie (fresh or frozen) ½ cup liquid (milk, juice) Add ins (oats, peanut butter) Spices (cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg) Sweetener (honey, sugar, molasses) Ice if desired Blend all ingredients on high speed for about 90 seconds  Strawberry Banana Smoothie Here are a dozen flavor combinations to try. Don’t be afraid to be adventurous with flavors. If a combo doesn’t work, try something different next time.
Each person in the US throws out about $400 worth of food a year. For a family of four that’s $1,600 right into the trash. Repurposing leftovers is an easy way to reduce wasted food. Ham fried rice is a delicious use of leftover rice. Start by dicing up about 1 cup of veggies – I like carrots, onions, and something green. This time I had some leftover peppers to use, but I love peas in this dish. Feel free to add other veggies. This is a great way to use veggies before they go bad. Mushrooms would be yummy or canned baby corn would had some fun crunch.
 Corn, tomatoes, peppers are all end of summer vegetables. So, you may be asking “how can you make an end of summer salad in the dead of winter?” The answer – freezing and no, I don’t mean the freezing temperatures of January and February. I mean freezing foods at the peak of ripeness in summer. Here are my bags of peppers diced, cut into strips, and even halved ready for the freezer.
 Every other year I plant cabbage in the garden. I don’t plant it yearly, because cabbage doesn’t store for long periods which means when it is ready to harvest there is a lot to eat. And too much of something can make you tire of it. I can walk out to the garden and find multiple heads ready for harvest. Here are three I picked one evening – with dirt and all on the outside.
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