red pepper flakes

Braised kale with bell pepper and bacon

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Looking through our recipe archives, I don’t think that we have nearly enough bacon recipes.  Not only that, but with the discount on bell peppers, I wanted to give you one more recipe to use them up while they’re in season. (Check out our other bell pepper recipe here), and don’t forget the shishito peppers, also in season and on sale (recipe here). The following recipe is from celebrity chef Guy Fieri and serves 4

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces slab bacon, diced
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 bunch curly kale, stemmed and cut into pieces
  • Pinch red pepper flakes (or more if you like it hot)
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Render the bacon until crispy in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate. Add the onions and bell pepper to the pot and sprinkle with salt. Stir to combine and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the kale and red pepper flakes and toss to combine. Allow the kale to wilt, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and toss in the apple cider vinegar. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Miso-Glazed Eggplant

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The following recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, which I cook from regularly. Mielle Chenier Cowan Rose’s Piece of My Heart is filled with simple whole food nutritional meals that a discerning pallet will appreciate, and a picky kid would gobble up.

Did you know eggplants are sexed?  Male eggplants have less seeds, are sweeter, and have a better texture than the females. To pick out a male eggplant at the store, Mielle recommends checking the seal on the booty.  A circle indicates a female, and a male will have more of an oval or a line.

She also shares her trick for reducing the natural bitterness in eggplants: toss raw slices with salt and let stand for twenty minutes, then blot dry before cooking.

 

Yields 4-6 servings

This is awesome with rice or noodles. It will win over even the die-hard eggplant aversion.

Preheat oven to about 400 degrees.

Combine in a small bowl:

  • 2 Tbl miso
  • 1-2 tsp honey or other syrup
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 Tbl rice vinegar
  • 3 Tbl water
  • Pinch red pepper flakes, optional

Set Sauce aside.

Combine in a baking dish:

  • 4 Japanese eggplants (but we recommend trying the new local eggplants from the garden!), cut into large diagonal chunks
  • Olive oil, to coat
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Roast for about 25 minutes, then stir in sauce (above) and return to oven for 5-8 minutes more.

Garnish with toasted walnuts and enjoy!