Simple Roasted Banana Peppers {in the savory kitchen}

sometimes

my garden overproduces

at 

the most opportune time

recently guests came up to the ranch for a visit

at an hour

which isn't quite lunch

while being

too early for dinner

the time of day where one begins to feel peckish

what to do?

what to do?

i went a bit spanish

using 

the abundance of banana peppers

to 

create a delicious and simple

addition to afternoon tapas

roasted banana peppers

as many banana peppers and other fresh (smallish) peppers you can gather

olive oil

sea salt

sherry vinegar

preheat oven to 400F.  place peppers in large shallow pan.  lightly coat in olive oil.  roast until the peppers begin to blister and soften. remove from oven and immediately splash with sherry vinegar. sprinkle with sea salt.

serve warm or room temperature

simple

delicious

browned butter berry bars {in the sweet kitchen}

this weekend past

we took a long drive

with no real agenda

except to explore

as we drove north

i began to obsess

a cookbook was given to me about a year ago

called

big sur bakery

while getting lost in its pages

i fell in love with the place

and began imagining each bite

while big sur is coastal

and

 we were on an inland route

a little jot west, wasn't too far off course

{it wasn't like we had anywhere to be}

so

an hour, and ten white knuckles later

we arrived in big sur

unfortunately

the bakery was hosting a wedding

which meant

it was closed

double dip dang-nabbit ugh

instead

we stopped at a half bad restaurant

for nourishment

not enjoyment

planning our return

and

when we got home

promptly made these

which are a variation of the brown butter rhubarb bars

from

the big sur bakery cookbook

using

berries we picked that morning

brown butter berry bars

(adapted from the big sur bakery cookbook)

 jam

2 cups blackberries and mulberries {or berries of your choice}

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 cup sugar

place all ingredients in a heavy bottomed saucepan.  cook on low heat until it begins to bubble and thicken.  watch closely and cook until it is thick and jammy. set aside to cool

crust

1 cup unsalted butter--melted

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 cups flour{whole wheat or all-purpose}

whisk together the flour, powdered sugar and salt.  stir in butter.  press into a 9"x 13" pan.  bake in a 375^ oven until it just begins to brown(15-18 minutes).  remove from oven and allow to cool.

brown butter filling

3 large eggs

 1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

grated zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup + 2 Tbs unsalted butter

3/4 cup + 2 Tbs flour {whole wheat or all purpose}

1 teaspoon vanilla

place the butter in a saucepan and cook on low heat until it becomes brown and nutty, careful not to burn.  whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, lemon zest, lemon juice, flour and vanilla.  carefully stir in the browned butter.

to assemble

spread about half of the browned butter mixture on the prepared crust.  dollop about 3/4 of the jam on top.  spread the remaining browned butter filling and then dollop the remaining jam.  bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges just begin to turn brown.  do not overbake, (allowing the filling to souffle). allow to cool before cutting into bars. 

delicious room temperature or directly from refrigerator.

eggplant! {in the garden}

our garden got a bit of a late start

and is just starting to throw off

eggplant

i've gathered some recipes

that are both 

beautiful

and

delicious

ratatouille

(recipe here)

eggplant parmesan

(recipe here)

eggplant involtini

(recipe here)

eggplant verde

(recipe here)

...and now a question (or two) for you....

do you have eggplant in your garden?

what is your favorite way to enjoy it?