Tomato Chili Pickle

A few weeks ago I planned to cook ratatouille. I bought peppers and tomatoes but couldn't find any eggplant at the Hollywood Farmers Market. I was thwarted in my plan.

So instead I turned the tomatoes into this tomato chili pickle. This is not pickle like Americans understand it. It's a form of British chutney, like lime pickle, a spicy relish to serve with curries or meats.

It's similar to sambal oelek, although a little less hot.

I'm giving you the recipe I used, but I have to warn you that in order to be completely food safe you should cook the full jars in a hot water bath for 20 minutes - I describe that in our salsa recipe.

I didn't do that, because I was feeling British. My grandmother made all sorts of preserves and put them in sterilized jars with a layer of greaseproof paper on top. No one died. This chili pickle has so much vinegar and chilies in it that I felt fine not boiling it, but the food safety police would be on me if I recommended such recklessness to you. It should be fine poured into a sterilized jar and refrigerated for a few months (if you can keep your family away from it).

I recommend serving it on with grain dishes or squash or veggie burgers - anything that might need a little zip. It rescued our Canadian Thanksgiving dinner from blandness.

The heat will vary depending on your peppers. I used jalapeños from my droughty garden - extra hot.

Yum. It disappears quickly. I should have made more.

Tomato Chili Pickle
10 jalapeños, stemmed
1 oz fresh ginger root, peeled
1 tsp tumeric
3 tsp cumin seeds
3 tbsp organic canola oil
5 cloves garlic
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp salt
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 1/4 lbs tomatoes, cored and cut in 8ths

Grind the jalapeños, ginger root, turmeric and cumin together in a small food processor or blender with a little oil.

Warm the rest of the oil over medium-high heat until quite hot. Stir in the puréed peppers and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring. Lower the heat and add the garlic, sugar, salt and vinegar. Keep stirring. When the sugar has dissolved, stir in the tomatoes and cook down until it's pulpy.

Pour into sterilized jars, cover and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Makes about a pint.

Spicy Greens

The other day I picked collard greens and the first jalapeño of the year from our garden, and combined them with the leaves of young beets and turnips from the Hollywood Farmers Market for a nutritious and yummy side dish.

Cooking greens breaks down some of the fiber in their cell walls so we can more easily absorb the bone-boosting nutrients. I suppose chewing would do the same thing, but who wants to chew as much as a cow or a rabbit? Twenty times seems to be my max, even though the theory is we should chew each mouthful 30 times minimum.

So I eat cooked greens a few times a week to give my bones the nutrients they need in a form that is easy for my body to absorb.

Here's what I did the other night:

Spicy Greens
1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
8 cups greens, washed and torn in bite-sized pieces

In a large pot, combine 1 1/2 cups water, the jalapeño, garlic and olive oil. Bring to a boil, add the greens, stir well. Cover the pot and cook the greens until they are tender, usually about 7-8 minutes, depending on your greens. Lift the greens out with a slotted spoon if necessary. Any liquid left in the pan can be added to soup or the chef can drink it as an extra yummy boost of nutrition.

Serves 2-3

Bean and Sweet Potato Stew

Healthy vegetarian cooking can be simple and delicious. This stew, which we ate last night, has very little fat, lots of protein and fiber, and a yummy taste that had us going back for more.

It's a stew to serve over brown rice, or a very chunky soup, which is how we ate it. The sweet potatoes keep their shape, but become very soft so are easily broken up with a spoon. The chiles make it warming to the mouth, and the beans add essential protein and fiber.

I used one orange sweet potato and two purple-skinned sweet potatoes with white flesh because that's what I had in the cupboard. The white-fleshed ones are less sweet, which let the chiles shine through. However, using all orange ones would add a little extra sweetness which might be nice.

I used small heirloom pinquito beans which cook quickly and are great on a soup spoon. I've also made this stew with lima beans or black-eyed peas. Use whatever bean you feel like eating.

I used 1 1/2 cups light vegetable stock and 1 1/2 cups water. All water would be fine, just add extra salt at the end for seasoning. I picked a red serrano pepper from the garden and plucked a red anaheim pepper from the freezer to season the dish. A jalapeño and red pepper would work well too. Use what you have.

I went out to the garden to pick the couple of handfuls of collard greens I added at the end. My plants are still young so the leaves were small. If you have regular-sized greens, use about 6 leaves.

Bean and Sweet Potato Stew
1 cup pinquito beans
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced (3/4 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 anaheim pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cups water or stock
1 1/4 lbs sweet potatoes
14 oz can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 serrano pepper, seeded and diced
1 tsp grated ginger root
2 handfuls of collard greens

Cook the beans in plenty of boiling water until tender, 1-2 hours.

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic and anaheim pepper and sauté, covered, until soft, about 5 minutes.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 1-inch chunks.

Combine all the ingredients except the collard greens in a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker. Cook on high for 4-5 hours.

Steam the collard greens 5 minutes until tender. Chop them in bite-sized pieces and add to the slow cooker. Stir and serve.

Serves 4

Saturday Night Pasta

At the end of a long week, a big bowl of pasta hits the spot.

On Saturday Larry and I made a tomato eggplant sauce for our pasta that was pretty sensational, if we do say so ourselves.

I think the key was that I cooked the eggplant on my cast iron grill pan. I brushed it with oil, but because the eggplant wasn't sitting in the oil as it would have been in a fry pan, it developed a smoky flavor that shone through in the pasta sauce.

We used a red jalapeno pepper and a green long Italian pepper. I could have sautéed them with the onions, but I forgot. So I stirred them raw into the sauce to cook, and they did a good job of flavoring it.

This sauce would also be good stirred into cooked white beans.

Tomato Eggplant Pasta Sauce
2 cloves garlic, peeled and bashed
1/3 cup diced onion
1 tbsp olive oil
14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 jalapeno
1 Italian pepper
1/2 lb eggplant
parmesan to taste (optional)
1/2 lb penne

Sauté the garlic and onion in the olive oil until golden. Add the tomatoes and their juice. Stir well, season with salt and pepper, and simmer 10-15 minutes, adding water if necessary so it doesn't get too thick. Stir in the chopped peppers.

Meanwhile, warm a grill pan over medium heat. Slice the eggplant 3/4 inch thick. Brush the pan with oil and cook the eggplant until soft, 10-15 minutes, turning as needed. (You could also do this on a barbecue.)

Dice the eggplant into 1-inch pieces and stir into the tomato sauce. Add water as necessary to the sauce to keep a good consistency, and let it simmer 5-10 minutes for the flavors to meld.

Cook penne according to package directions. Drain and stir into sauce. Let simmer a couple of minutes to let the pasta absorb some of the sauce, then serve with parmesan on the side if desired.

Serves 3-4

Whole Oat Pilaf

Oats are one of the best foods we can eat to keep our inner microbes happy. There are a wide variety of microbes living inside us - the ones we hear most about are the ones in the large intestine that benefit from yogurt and other probiotics, but there are many many more -  and the fiber and natural sugars in oats do a great job of keeping them balanced and harmonious, which in turn helps us stay healthy.

Rolled oats serve this purpose, so granola is a good way to start the day.

However, whole oat groats are even better for the body.

And they make a fine substitute for brown rice when you're looking for a grain to round out a meal. Make sure to buy hulled oat groats, not the ones with the husks on that are used for sprouting. They should look similar to brown rice or barley.

I took advantage of the fresh peppers at the market to make this cheerful fall pilaf that I served with a bean stew, beets with mint, and wilted greens. It was a colorful meal that our bodies really appreciated.

(And it tasted good too!)

Whole Oat Pilaf
1 cup whole oats
1 jalapeno
1/2 red peppers
1/2 orange pepper
4 mushrooms
2 shallots
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh basil

Bring three cups of water to a boil, add 1/2 tsp salt and the oat groats, cover and simmer until cooked, about 20 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile dice the peppers and shallots. Chop the mushrooms and mince the garlic.

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the peppers, shallots, mushrooms and garlic and cook 2-3 minutes until crisp tender, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat and add the cooked oats. Season with salt and pepper. Toss so all is warmed through. Stir in the basil and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Peperonata

The red peppers and tomatoes in the market are just beautiful at this time of year.

The other night I combined them in this simple, sweet side dish that perfectly complemented fried tofu, braised eggplant and coconut rice.

This recipe is also excellent in an omelet, or stirred into rice or pasta. It also makes a great topping for bruschetta.

Peperonata
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 red peppers, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup basil
2 tbsp parsley

Warm oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, red peppers and jalapeno. Cook briefly. Add wine and 1/2 tsp salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, another 10-15 minutes, checking to make sure it doesn't burn on the bottom.

Stir in the chopped basil and parsley. Add salt to taste, and heat through.

Eat hot, cold or anywhere in between.

Serves 4

Jalapenos

My jalapeño pepper plant is quite abundant this year.

I love being able to go out in the garden and pick a few peppers to throw in a stir-fry or a bean dish.

When they ripen to red, they have a sweetness to go along with the heat. I guess it's similar to the difference between red peppers and green peppers. The heat of a pepper is an indicator of its antioxidant level - the hotter, the healthier.

Jalapeños ripen in summer and fall, so I always make sure to freeze a few for use in winter, spring and early summer. I pick them, rinse them, dry them, and then pack them in double freezer bags.

When I need a jalapeno for a winter bean dish, I will pull one out of the bag and let it defrost a while on the counter. Then I'll cut off the stem and dice the pepper. It will have lost some of its heat, but not all of it, especially if I leave the seeds in. The flesh will be soft, so it won't add crunch to fresh salsas, but it will be great in winter stews.