LITTLE THINGS: ROASTED BELL PEPPERS

(the peppers are out of control at the farmers' markets right now -- awh glorious summer!)

I have always enjoyed roasted bell peppers -- strips on a sandwich, mingling on top of a pizza with some red onion or just straight from the jar, as I ponder the fridge for something 'real' to eat. For some silly reason, I didn't make them very often, as I associated the method with fire, setting them directly over a flame and for so long, D and I had an electric -- my beloved roasted pepper seemed just out of reach. Foolish girl I was!

Well, all that changed when I decided to fire up the oven (duh) to broil or about 450 degrees, whatever you feel comfortable with, put about 4 down on a pan and listen to 'em pop and crackle. They turned pleasantly dark in a matter of about 30-40 minutes, I rotated them with a pair of tongs about every 10-15 -- just casually when I noticed they were really poppin. Then, I slipped these charred beauties into a bowl with a lid and let them sweat for about 5 more minutes, then they were ready to be skinned and cut into slivers-- that's a bingo!

So easy and much tastier than those from a jar. You could throw a drizzle of olive oil on them and they'd keep for a while in the fridge, just waiting to be thrown into a pasta, pureed into a sauce, grace a piece of avocado toast (such a good combo!) or, as I so aimlessly do, while staring into the fridge looking for inspiration. It's the little things like this that you can have on hand that make a piece of toast into a meal -- not just an afternoon nosh.