Freezing green and other bell peppers

When the bell peppers come in to season here in New England, as they are doing right now, I'm known for picking up 2 – 4 peppers per week at the farmer's market, seeding and slicing them prior to putting them in the freezer. I've found that green and other bell peppers,--red, yellow, etc.,--freeze well and cook up nicely in a stir fry, a dish of sausage, peppers and onions, black bean sloppy joe, mushroom, peppers and onions, fajitas.

As I begin to re-stock my freezer with bell peppers, I thought I would share with you the steps I follow for freezing and using peppers I get at the farmer's market:

To freeze bell peppers, you’ll need:

Sandwich size ziploc storage bags,--one bag per pepper

Gallon size freezer safe ziploc storage bags,--one bag for every 4 peppers

Knife

Cutting board

Wash and dry peppers.

Slice and de-seed peppers, placing slices in ziploc sandwich bag. One bag should contain the slices from one pepper. Repeat as many times as needed.

When all peppers have been sliced and bagged, seal sandwich bags. Put sandwich bags into freezer safe gallon size ziploc bag. You should be able to fit 5 – 7 bags of peppers into one gallon size bag. Seal freezer safe gallon size bag and put in freezer.

The peppers will keep for about 6 – 12 months and can be used in stir fries, fajitias or any recipe which calls for cooked or sauteed peppers such as black bean sloppy joe. Keep in mind, the longer the peppers are in the freezer they more likely they are to lose flavor.

When ready to use, remove the number of peppers/bags from the freezer. Let thaw on the kitchen countertop for 1 – 3 minutes. Break peppers loose by pressing heel of hand on peppers while in bag on countertop. Open bag and add peppers to recipe.

Two versions of Cucumber Salad

Pickling cucumbers were in abundance on the last visit to my local farmer's market. As I decided how many to buy, I thought about the cucumber salad recipe I tried in 2011 as one of my twelve new recipes as I knew these cucumbers would work well in this recipe.

I found this recipe in my revised 13^th edition of The Fanny Farmer Cookbook and is a great summer recipe as its taste is very cooling to the palette. Per the cookbook, this is a sharp cucumber salad, maybe too much for some tastes—if so add a little sugar. I used pickling cucumbers which I did not peel as I like cucumber skin, I substituted onion powder where I did not have scallions, I skipped the vinegar, I reduced the amount of dill and used the directions as a guideline. These changes most likely softened the flavor.

This recipe will serve six if using 3 medium cucumbers,--2-4 if using 3 small pickling cucumbers. The cookbook's version as well as mine are listed here.

Cucumber Salad - From the revised 13^th edition of The Fanny Farmer Cookbook (serves six)

3 medium cucumbers

Salt

4 tablespoons sour cream or mayonnaise

3 tablespoons minced scallions

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons vinegar

½ teaspoon dry mustard powder

1 tablespoon minced dill or parsley

Peel the cucumbers and slice thin. Spread them over the bottom of a colander and sprinkle salt on top. Let them drain for 30 minutes, press gently to remove excess liquid, then chill. Blend the sour cream or mayonnaise, scallions, lemon juice, vinegar, and dry mustard together. Add salt to taste. Toss the dressing with the cucumbers. Sprinkle the dill or parsley on top and serve cold.

Cucumber Salad – Julie's version based on recipe from the revised 13^th edition of The Fanny Farmer Cookbook (serves two - four)

3 small pickling cucumbers

2 - 4 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tsp onion powder

1 teaspoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon dry mustard powder

1 teaspoon dried dill

Wash, dry and dice the cucumbers.

In a medium bowl, blend 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise, onion powder, lemon juice, dry mustard and dill together. Add cucumbers and toss until cucumbers are coated with dressing. If needed, add mayonnaise, ½ tablespoon at a time, until cucumbers are coated. Serve.