Kate's Garden Kitchen

I have reached that point in the gardening season when I am no longer growing chile peppers. I am managing them.

They are everywhere.

They sit in bowls on the counter, bags in the refrigerator, and trays in the dehydrator. I have given them to friends, neighbors, visitors, and anyone who makes the unfortunate mistake of saying, “Your peppers look great!” Apparently, in gardening, that is an offer to take some home.

The trouble is that I grow both sweet peppers and chiles, and I try hard to keep them separate when harvesting, but at this point in the season they all began to look suspiciously alike. Now, when I reach into the pepper basket, I have to pause and consider the consequences.

I may be holding a perfectly innocent sweet pepper.

Or I may be holding a chile with an entirely different agenda.

This has led to the occasional culinary surprise. You think you are getting a sweet pepper. You take a bite, expecting something mild and crunchy. Instead, you get a chile. There is a moment of disbelief before the heat arrives and you grab a glass of milk to cool your mouth (water doesn’t work).

And then you are standing at the kitchen counter picking out all the peppers you chopped into the salad for dinner.

I would like to say there is a sophisticated system for keeping the peppers straight. There is not. There are labels, occasionally. There are different baskets, sometimes. Mostly, there is optimism. And optimism is not a reliable pepper identification system.

Still, I can’t complain. There is something wonderful about having more peppers than I know what to do with. It is one of those gardening problems that sounds suspiciously like a blessing.

So I will continue to share them, cook them, roast them, pickle them, freeze them, and occasionally misidentify them.

And if I offer you a pepper, I have only one piece of advice:

Proceed with caution.

It could be sweet. It could be hot. And if you’re lucky, I might be able to identify it.

Grilled Stuffed Sweet Heat Peppers

• 20 Sweet Heat or other mild chile peppers, sliced lengthwise into halves, seeds and membranes removed (they look best if the stems are left on)
• 2 slices bacon
• 1 c. cream cheese, softened (or ½ c. cream cheese and ½ c. goat cheese)
• ¼ c. shredded cheddar cheese
• ¼ minced chives
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1 T. chopped fresh thyme

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Cook bacon until crisp and drain. Crumble bacon and add to rest of ingredients. Stuff pepper halves and place on grilling rack coated with cooking spray. Grill covered about ten minutes, until peppers are charred. Remove to serving platter and sprinkle with chopped, seeded fresh tomatoes.

Muhammar(a) Sauce

A wonderful Middle Eastern sauce to serve on grilled meats, roasted vegetables or as a sandwich spread.

• 2 large roasted red bell peppers, peeled and seeded (if you are brave, substitute one spicy chile pepper)
• 1 cup walnuts, toasted
• ½ cup breadcrumbs
• 1–2 garlic cloves
• 2 Tbsp pomegranate molasses (not easy to find – substitute 1 T. balsamic vinegar and 1 t. honey)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp cayenne, or more to taste
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp salt

Toast the walnuts until fragrant; cool. Put everything except the olive oil in a food processor. Pulse until fairly smooth but still a little textured. With the processor running, slowly add the olive oil. Taste and adjust with more lemon, pomegranate molasses, salt, or cayenne.