Anastasia Akasha Kaur: MY MOTHER'S KITCHEN (in my kitchen)

Friday, September 3, 2010

MY MOTHER'S KITCHEN (in my kitchen) - STUFFED PEPPERS WITH EGGPLANT

My mother has been visiting for the last two weeks, so there has been a flurry of activity in the kitchen. The farmer's market is overflowing with seasonal vegetables we don't see around these parts most of the year, so I've been very excited to bring home treats to make all my summertime favorites with. Luckily mom is here to help with all the work.

Her willing hands were also very useful when I had the hugest urge to go wild blueberry picking last week. A couple of years ago there was a big forest fire alongside the highway not too far away from where we live. I was sad to see all the trees burn away, but a part of me was looking forward to the idea of prime blueberry growing conditions that are subsequently created as a result of a big burn. So there we were, out early in the morning, me with my big baby belly, and mom with her allergy congestion. We weren't there for very long, just enough to pick blueberries to make two lovely pies. That same day we made sweet and sour pickles, and Spanakopita. We were tired by the end of the day, but well fed.

To take a break from all the cooking, we've been busy sewing baby stuff. And going to the beach to cool off during this heat wave we've been having. When we get tired of that, we haul ourselves back into the kitchen to make other delicious treats like homemade pasta, which my son helped us make, and stuffed peppers. Wow, I'm getting tired just writing about it all. By the way, sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I find myself low on patience and energy during this pregnancy. Thankfully, mom took these pictures of supper tonight, and so here I am sharing it with you.

STUFFED PEPPERS with EGGPLANT

1 medium organic eggplant, sliced in half and hollowed out, reserve the meat and chop

6 organic peppers, any colour, tops cut off and hollowed out

2 cups partially cooked organic brown rice

1/4 cup e.v olive oil

1/2-3/4 pound organic or pasture raised ground beef

1 can organic whole tomatoes, crushed by hand

1 organic onion, diced

1 organic leek, thinly sliced

2 large cloves organic garlic, chopped

1/4 cup Bulgarian feta, crumbled (I bought this type because it comes in bulk from a metal can instead of a plastic pail! woo hoo)

1/4 cup organic parsley, chopped

1/4 cup organic mint, chopped

sea salt and pepper to taste

1/8 cup grated romano or parmesan

1/4 cup organic breadcrumbs

2-4 organic potatoes, cut into large wedges (to hold all the peppers upright in the pan)

Method: In a large saute pan, cook onion, reserved eggplant, and ground beef over medium heat with half the olive oil until onion is soft and beef is browned slightly. Stir in the tomatoes and let simmer for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat, add cooked rice, feta, herbs and seasonings.

Preheat oven to 350*. Fill peppers and eggplant. Cover the peppers with their lids. Brush olive oil over the peppers and any of the exposed eggplant. Combine the romano and bread crumbs together in a bowl and then sprinkle on top of the peppers and eggplant. Place the peppers and eggplants in a baking dish, and use the potatoes to keep the peppers upright in the pan, wedging them between the vegetables. Bake in the oven for about 1 1/2 hours or until nicely browned and cooked through. If peppers brown too quickly, cover with parchment paper.

Faegan insisted on being the official pasta machine cranker. He had a lot of fun helping, but eventually he decided he'd rather cut the pasta into little bits which inspired us to make a quick lunch of leftover pasta bits boiled in water and then smothered in salty butter and freshly grated romano cheese.