Meatless Monday…week 11…Bell Peppers…and Cayenne Peppers.

 

Here we are again…Meatless Mondays...

Introducing more plant-based meals into your diet can help you maintain a healthy weight if you have some weight to lose then adding more plant-based meals has the benefit of removing foods from your diet which cause weight gain.

Plants are high in fibre…this means by introducing more plant-based recipes to your diet that the health of your gut improves so you are better able to absorb the nutrients from your food… you will be eating foods that support your immune system and reduce inflammation.

Fibre can lower cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar and it’s great for good bowel management…

Bell Peppers…

Bell Peppers just make me happy so bright and shiny…They even come in purple which is my favourite colour fruit and vegetable although I have yet to find a purple one…

To say they are healthy goes without saying they start off green which are the ones which have a slightly bitter taste we then go to yellow and orange which are sweeter and finally red which is the sweetest of all and packs the most health benefits…1 x more beta-carotene and 1.5 x more vitamin C than its green sister…

The purple peppers are fully mature peppers and go from red to purple if they continue to be in the sun its a natural process BUT if you stir fry purple peppers they turn green…just a funny quirk that I have yet to try…

We love nothing better than green, yellow and red peppers stir-fried with onions and garlic with some Thai seasoning sauces just cooked to retain that little bite…delicious.

My favourite way to cook red Peppers is to roast them which brings out a wonderful sweetness…added to a tomato soup it just takes the taste to another level…Tomato and Red Pepper Soup…

My favourite red pepper sauce is very versatile and a recipe given to me by a dear friend who is no longer with us but one that when I make it I always smile and remember her with much love x…Jilly, you are so missed always and forever x

Red Pepper Sauce:

Ingredients:

  • 6 Red Peppers
  • 1 aubergine/eggplant
  • 2 garlic cloves …minced
  • Salt to season
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 sm red chilli pepper(optional)

Let’s cook!

Roast your peppers and eggplant over a flame to using a roasting dish with a wire rack and roast in the oven at 200C/400F for about 20 mins or until the skin is charred and you can see the skin slightly lifting.

Remove from the oven and cool until you can handle them…peel the eggplant and peppers and remove the seeds. Dice finely or blend. Set to one side.

Tip:  Let them steam by zipping them into a plastic bag for about 15 minutes before scraping off the skin and removing the stem, core, and seeds.

Using a large pot heat the olive oil and gently saute the garlic being careful not to burn it…if you are using chilli add it now…

Add the pepper and eggplants and stir to combine reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about  1 hour if you find the sauce is a little thick then add a little water.

Once cooked you can either blend again or pass the sauce through muslin for a really smooth sauce.

Once cooled put the sauce into sterilised jars.

Eaten with some warm Brie and freshly baked bread this is such a delicious snack or light lunch or some breaded deep fried brie and just dip and bite…..

Drizzle some over some roasted vegetable or some fresh pasta…

Cayenne Peppers:

Some like it hot if that is you then this is it!…a recipe gifted to me by my friend Susan in her own words and using Cayenne Peppers, not bell Peppers.

Now what can be better than a Smokin hot chilli sauce this recipe is awesome…Thank you, Susan, it is now my go-to chilli sauce…

Chilli- hot-red-fiery sauce

Let’s Cook!

Let me just say no recipe here just your hands…over to Susan…just looking at that image it screams hot doesn’t it?

This recipe is a sort of add how many chillies you like or it depends on how big your hands are…lol

Take a half kilo of Cayenne peppers or peppers of your choice.

A large handful of garlic cloves, peeled and blanched…it is not a requirement but the sauce will be less acrid if you blanch the garlic.

Smoke the chillies and garlic over charcoal mixed with smoked applewood for 2 hours.

Then put in a blender with a cup of organic live cider vinegar, a cup of sugar and half a tsp of salt.

chilli-hot-sauce

Just look at that lovely rich, red colour, it looks amazing.

After you have made your first batch you might want to play around with the quantities to suit your taste …but that is the fun and what cooking is all about. The high sugar content makes it great for BBQ’s and helps with the preservation.

Put the sauce into sterilized jars.

It is then ready to use as a spread on your bacon Egg sandwich, to coat your meats vegetables and is a great base for (a vegetarian)chilli or my friend Susan makes her version of Mole by adding cocoa powder, nuts, and some Mexican spices.

NOTE:

If the sauce starts to ferment, bubble up then loosen the lid and let it do its work…I wouldn’t eat the sauce while this going on and fermenting but it will settle down on its own and you will be left with a lovely mature sauce with a deeper flavour, albeit less sweet.

Have fun and enjoy!

As this is meatless Mondays I have slightly edited Susan’s eating preferences…lol x

How is introducing more plant-based meals going in your kitchen… Going well or meeting with some opposition?...

That’s all for today on my journey into eating more plant-based meals on a Meatless Monday……Thank you again to everyone who is suggesting recipes I will try them all…xx

Thank you for reading this post If you have enjoyed this post please leave a comment and any tips or recipes you want to share… I love to chat and share recipes…Love Carol xx

43 thoughts on “Meatless Monday…week 11…Bell Peppers…and Cayenne Peppers.”

  1. acflory

    I’m Hungarian so I was born loving paprika 😀 Many of the traditional Hungarian recipes are ‘poor man’s food’ so either meatless – like plum gomboc [plum dumplings] – or low meat – like paprikas krumpli. If I have salami or bacon, I add it to the onions, garlic and paprika [bell peppers] before adding the potato [which is the ‘krumpli’ part of the dish]. But it tastes just as nice without any meat at all.
    I’m really enjoying these Meatless Monday recipes. Keep ’em coming. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you for the tip, Meeks its interesting…I have sourced some lovely Spanish Paprika here…I will research the recipes I like the sound of both of those…Thank you Have a lovely week 🙂 x

      Liked by 1 person

      1. acflory

        Spanish paprika is quite different because it’s smoked whereas Hungarian paprika is sweet. To me the Spanish one always tastes a little bitter.
        Happy end of March!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. CarolCooks2 Post author

        Ok, thank you… I will have to continue my hunt for Paprika. I love the differences depending on where foods are grown…Happy End of March to you..where has the year gone ….x

        Liked by 1 person

      3. acflory

        The genuine Hungarian paprika is kind of hard to get, maybe because not that many people know the cuisine. I think you’ll like it though.
        Yes. We’ve finished 3 months of 2021 already? What the…?

        Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      It is an aquired taste and I have made myself eat it, Liz only because I know it is good for me…I eat the little purple ones raw and much prefer them to cooked..but in answer to your question I have left the eggplant out…:) x

      Like

      2. acflory

        My very first taste of Moussaka [sp?] was so greasy I almost gagged. I haven’t been able to come at eggplant since. My mind says it was one bad example but my stomach says, nah ah. Not gonna happen again. 😦

        Liked by 1 person

      3. CarolCooks2 Post author

        I know the feeling but I have persevered and love the tiny purple ones they are my favourite Thais use smaller egg plants and they have different texture to the big purple aubergine…

        Liked by 1 person

      4. acflory

        lol – I’ll take your word for it. Won’t close the door completely, certainly not on the little ones. I’ve seen them every now and then so might try one next time.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Pingback: CarolCooks2 weekly roundup…21st March-27th March 2021…#Recipes, Whimsy, Music and Lifestyle Changes | Retired? No one told me!

  9. OIKOS™-Editorial

    Great for increasing the blood pressure, and feeling a little bit more comfortable, Carol. Lol Bell Peppers are always great, but i adore Cayenne peppers. After chili the best! 🙂 Thank you for sharing, and remembering on this great idea. Michael

    Liked by 2 people

  10. marisselee

    Since Covid makes it inconvenient to go to doctors and hospitals, our diet beginning March last year are more often than not fish and vegetables (or vegetables with chicken). From time to time, we go for beef. And it has been a long time since I have eaten a crispy fried pork hahaha and I do miss it (especially the skin haha). Lol!

    Liked by 2 people

  11. beetleypete

    At one time, I regulalrly ate bell peppers, usually stuffed. They were mostly stuffed with meat of course, but I experimented with assorted mushrooms, and Quorn mince too. Then in my fifties, the peppers started to give me severe indigestion, so I avoid them now.
    Best wishes, Pete.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      That’s such a shame when things we could eat suddenly cause us problems …my hubby’s is pastry and he loves his pies but has to eat them midday or he suffers at night. and not often as he used to …the joys of advancing years, Pete…:) x

      Liked by 2 people

  12. Pingback: Meatless Monday’s…Bell Peppers…and Cayenne Peppers. – MobsterTiger

  14. tidalscribe

    I love red peppers and so glad to hear they are the best. I had not heard of purple – perhaps they would spoil the traffic light arrangements of the supermarket packs of three -though I usually manage to get mine loose at the greengrocers – my favourite essential local shop!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Hi Janet…Haha..they probably would…One of my favourites as well I have a fridgeful at the moment…You can also get white peppers although I haven’t seen them or purple ones come to that 🙂 x

      Liked by 2 people

  15. petespringerauthor

    This may sound a bit weird, but hear me out. The gophers have been having a field day in our yard. We’ve got a pretty decent piece of property, and despite all types of traps, I can’t seem to catch the buggers. I don’t have the heart to poison them, and we have a dog to consider as well. Lately, the dog has had a fixation with digging. I think she’s after the gophers, but she just keeps making holes. I read that cayenne pepper discourages most dogs, and I bought a five-pound container and put it in the same area the dog has been digging. One day later, she has dug a foot down. Now I have holes everywhere and a whole bunch of cayenne pepper. 🤣

    Liked by 3 people

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      I thought you had been hacked…Thats a lot of Cayenne…You could start a takeaway service for Spicy Meat Marinades.
      Mexican Chilli Sauce chili Con Carne vegetable Soup Indian Curry.
      Mexican Hot Chocolate …a hot drinks stall gets the kids to man it…Cheese Omelettes.
      Breadcrumb Mixture for Frying … buy another freezer or just write it off to experience…Cotton wool soaked in peppermint oil in tunnel entrances…I have now run out of ideas…What a bummer …

      Liked by 2 people

Comments are closed.