So Maybe I Can't Grow A Pepper....

Guest Blogger, Katy Davis, Community Advocacy Manager at Hunger Free Vermont

Peppers are amazing vegetables! Yellow bell peppers have more vitamin C than any other vegetable or fruit. I swear, more than oranges, kiwi or dark leafy greens! If you don’t believe me then google it, you’ll see. But beyond their nutritional content they are a vital ingredient to so many dishes from around the globe.  I know many people who find great pride in their ability to eat the hottest of hot peppers and coat each dish that comes before them with fiery hot pepper sauces. While I may not be in any sort of hot-pepper eating competition any time soon I appreciate a flavorful hot sauce and have trouble  backing down from a ‘you can’t eat that whole pepper’ type challenge.

I haven’t had too much luck growing peppers in Vermont. Maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s the short growing season. Maybe it’s not enough intense heat when they need it most. Maybe Peter Piper came into my garden and picked a peck of them when I was there….The rare times that a few little peppers have sprouted it has taken all that I have to not gobble them all down as I pick them from the plant, so peppers grown by my own hand rarely make it to the dinner table.

In the winter months peppers can get pretty pricey at the grocery store. It is then, as I wait for spring to spring, that I turn to the pickled pepper. While it doesn’t have the same glorious fresh crunch when you bite into it, adding diced pickled jalapeno to my favorite (Bob’s Red Mill) cornbread recipe does a little to quell my cravings until the frosted ground begins to thaw and goes great with any stew or chili.

Golden Cornbread
Ingredients

1 cup coarse grind cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
½ teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
1 egg
1 cup milk
¼ cup butter
½ cup pickled jalapeno

Directions

1.       Sift together dry ingredients into a bowl.

2.       Add egg, milk and butter. Beat until smooth, about one minute. Do not overbeat.

3.       Fold in diced jalapenos.

4.       Preheat oven to 425°. Bake in a greased 8-inch square pan for 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with butter and a beaming smile.

Makes 9 servings.