Week 25--Sweet Peppers

Summer at the farmer's market brings many of our favorite fruits and vegetables:  Sweet peppers, squash, peaches, nectarines, cherries and corn.  This year I will be buying few to no cherries, corn, peaches, or nectarines unfortunately.  Organic varieties of these are difficult to find and can be quite expensive.  The reason for that is because these crops are very prone to pest infestations and thus are heavily treated with toxic pesticides and fumigants.  Furthermore, most sweet corn on the market is now genetically modified :(

I love peppers!  I can't say that with enough emphasis.  I especially love sweet red peppers in all my cooking.  I use them quite a bit in salads as well.   Sweet peppers are also difficult to grow organically.  Here is the reason why:

This is a perfectly good pepper, but it has imperfections.  Our society has come to appreciate and value  perfection in our produce (as in everything else!).  We demand glossy, perfectly shaped peppers when in reality peppers are bumpy and not perfectly even in texture.  And so our demand drives the suppliers to either source genetically modified versions of the seeds they work with or to rely heavily on pesticides.  Organic produce may not always look beautiful but it is so much better for you, in nutrients, and in the pesticides that are spared (for our bodies, the farm workers, and the environment).

Sweet peppers are rich in vitamins and nutrients.  Red peppers contain lycopene and higher levels of carotene than green peppers (9x more). Red peppers also have twice the vitamin C of green peppers.  (Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_pepper#Nutritional_value)  In my experience, sweet red peppers are more easily digestible for people with gastrointestinal disorders. 

This week I prepared a Korean style salad with bulgogi meat.  Here is what you will need:

Ingredients

4 to 6 cups of organic salad greens or spinach

2 to 3 cups of broccoli slaw (I bought the prepackaged organic broccoli slaw from Trader Joes)

1/2 organic red onion thinly sliced

1 oganic sweet red pepper julienned

1 large hot house cucumber, seeded and cut into strips

3 organic scallions, sliced

Dressing

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

2TB liquid aminos (or soy sauce)

1TB sesame oil

1 inch ginger, peeled 

3 to 4 cloves of garlic, peeled

2tsp brown sugar

Juice of one lime

Directions

1. Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl 

2. Place all dressing ingredients in food processor and pulse until smooth.  Pour over salad greens and mix. 

3. Serve immediately.  

4. Optional:  top with bulgogi style Korean bbq meat

5.  And if you so desire, serve with wontons :)