CSA Week 16

From Shana:

Roasted Red (or Yellow) Pepper Pasta

One of my favorite things to do with ripe bell peppers is to roast them. If you’re sick of eating roasted peppers, an easy dish is to roast them and then purée them in a food processor with olive oil, parmesan cheese, garlic, salt and anything else that you think would be good!  Mix with any type of cooked pasta and garnish with fresh basil and tomatoes on the top. Enjoy!

From Bob:

It seems that the “extras” box tends to go under utilized because there are always a ton of hot peppers left when I get there.  I understand they are tough to use in recipes, especially for those with young children, so I thought I would share my favorite non-food use of hot peppers: home infused chili pepper vodka.  I recommend starting with a bottle of good quality vodka – don’t use anything too cheap or too expensive for this.  I use Tito’s since a lot of people like it and it’s not too expensive.  Pour about 3-4 ounces of vodka into a clean and empty glass bottle to make room for the peppers in the bottle (you can use the extra to top off the bottle after you use some).  Wearing gloves, cut the stems off 2-3 peppers and cut in half lengthwise.  Scrape out the seeds (we don’t want them floating in our drink) but leave the ribs because that’s where the heat is.  Slice into long, thin strips that will fit through the bottle opening.  Let the vodka infuse at least overnight but it will keep weeks, if not longer, and improve in flavor.  Make sure the peppers stay covered by the vodka, use some of the extra you poured off to keep them submerged.  It makes a fantastic base for a bloody mary and is a must try for a homemade vodka sauce.  If you’ll be entertaining, use a mixture of red and green peppers as it will look great in the bottle.