Twenty Bag | Oct 5

In the October 5 Twenty Bag: Cucumbers, fingerling potatoes, beans mix, habanada peppers (sweet heat, 2 out of 10), basil, Ambrosia apples from Lively Orchards, NC, Baby Belle peppers, summer squash and zucchini.

Thank you Harleston Towles and Rooting Down Farm!

I love a platter of olive oil drenched peppers paired with a charcuterie board full of salty cured meats and cheeses; piled on a pepperoni pizza; or sandwiched on a crispy baguette between assorted cold cuts. Don’t you? So my plan for this round of Baby Belles is to stock my fridge with a batch of my own freshly made marinated peppers—for Game Day, or any day.

Sweet and crunchy, Baby Belles are high in vitamins A and C. and easy to preserve:

Cut peppers in half lengthwise, remove core/ seeds, drizzle with olive oil and roast face-down on a baking sheet at 400 degrees F until soft. Let cool, then pack in jars with olive oil, Italian herbs and garlic. Here’s a step by step for Roasted and Preserved Peppers in Olive Oil from The Spruce Eats. I’m skipping the steaming/ peeling part, since these minis are so tender.

Here’re more ideas from Food Network—a total of 10 ways to use sweet mini peppers.  

For more ideas, a quick search of sweetgrass + grits will take you to plenty more recipes—all curated with an eye toward the weekly Twenty Bag harvest.

Harleston’s storage tips: If greens of any kind begin to wilt at any point or at pick up, put them in a big bowl of ice water for 20-30 minutes.  Almost all produce is washed and should go in the refrigerator. Cucumbers, peppers, beans, apples, and summer squash should all go in a plastic bag in the fridge.  Basil in a vase on the counter, or protected in a plastic bag with paper in the fridge.  Potatoes in the pantry or another cool, dark place.  Don't leave them in the light or they will turn green.