Can you believe it’s almost April? I was checking the weather yesterday and noticed that last year on March 28th the temperature was 74 degrees - no wonder the crocus were blooming. We haven’t seen any sign of them this year but they will be here soon.
The 2022 gardening season is not far away and now that I am retired I have all day to work outside (as opposed to half days like last year). Our new neighbors put up a 6-foot plastic white fence which will most definitely block the sun on 2 of our beds. I could be mad (and initially I was) but it is their yard and in the end, it gives me an opportunity to do something new. So we’ll move the two beds and the fence over and carry on.
I’ll be working in the Hopkins Community garden this summer as part of my Master Gardener volunteer hours and I’m looking forward to it. I’m also teaching a class on growing and harvesting herbs and I’ll be hanging out at the Golden Valley Farmers Market on some Sunday mornings.
We're still working through last year's harvest - tho we can start to see the bottom of the freezer. We still have some zucchini and summer squash, tomato sauce, pesto (lots of pesto), and hot peppers to use up. I have one last head of garlic before I need to head to the store.
When I was a kid my mom often made stuffed green peppers - usually with ground turkey and they were a favorite. While turkey is not on the menu these days lentils definitely are.
Ingredients:
3 peppers - any color
1 onion - diced
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 T tomato paste
1 cup chopped tomato
1.5 cup vegetable broth
1 cup uncooked red lentils
salt to taste
pepper to taste
feta cheese
Instructions:
Cut peppers in half length-wise and remove the stem, seeds, and core. Place on a microwaveable dish and cook at full power for 4 minutes. Remove from microwave and set aside.
In a medium pan saute onions in 1T of olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and cumin and cook for one minute. Add veggie broth, lentils, tomato paste, salt, cayenne pepper, and paprika. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook until the lentils are done (red lentils will turn yellow and get mushy when done).
Preheat the oven to 350. Place pepper halves in a baking dish and fill with lentil mixture. Sprinkle with feta and bake for approximately 15 minutes until the mixture is heated through and the feta is starting to brown.
Serve with a salad and enjoy!
