Interesting Veggies

[jfain]

How do you stuff yours? I stuff mine with this rice mixture.

- 2 cups white uncooked rice
- handful of chopped fresh parsley
- handful of chopped fresh mint
- 2 zucchinis grated
- 1 large onion grated
- 2 large tomatoes seeded, skinned, and crushed
- salt/pepper
- 1 tsp cumin
- a few glugs of good olive oil.

Mix all ingredients (it will be a wet mixture, not stiff) and let it sit for about a half hour until the rice puffs up a bit, or sautee lightly. Stuff the peppers and bake covered with foil for an hour at 350 then remove foil and continue baking for another 20 minutes until desired goldenness.

I use a similar mixture to stuff tomatoes in the summer. Delicious. I never get to do stuffed peppers since DH hates them but I've been thinking lately I will just make a batch anyway and eat them all myself!

[Mapiva]

I stuff everything. Tomatoes, peppers, onions, zuccinis, eggplants, even potatoes. Just stick a couple of peppers inbetween the tomatoes just for yourself. They're great with grilled lamb by the way. The mint really brings it together.

[jfain]

Here is a recipe I tried recently. It really gives new life to the carrot side dish.

Carrot Osso Buco
Servings 4
Ingredients
1. 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2. 1 1/2 pounds medium carrots
3. 1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
4. 1 celery rib, finely chopped
5. 1 garlic clove, smashed
6. 1/2 pound tomatoes—peeled, seeded and chopped
7. Bouquet garni made with 6 parsley sprigs, 3 thyme sprigs and 1 bay leaf, tied with kitchen string
8. One 1/2-inch-thick orange slice, halved
9. Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
10. 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped flat-leaf
Directions
1. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the carrots and cook over moderate heat, turning frequently, until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Transfer the carrots to a plate.
2. Add the onion, celery and garlic to the skillet and cook over moderate heat for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bouquet garni and orange slice, season with salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Nestle the carrots in the sauce. Cover and cook over low heat, turning the carrots occasionally, until meltingly tender but not falling apart, about 1 hour. Discard the bouquet garni. Sprinkle the carrots with parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.