Difficulty Level Easy

While I was busy canning tomatoes last week, I also had a huge box of red peppers that needed to be preserved as well. I was fascinated by the store where I bought this supply of vegetables. There is no indication from the street that they sell vegetables, until the late summer and early fall when the bushel of tomatoes appear on the sidewalk.

Step inside the store though, and you have entered the world of the canning pros. There are boxes lining the walls with more types of peppers than I knew existed. They had an astonishing array of eggplant and even more bushels of tomatoes, with elderly Italian men tasting from each bushel, in order to choose exactly what they wanted. They sell pots that come up to my waist and four foot long wooden spoons that look like they belong in a fairy tale about giants. A nonna would have to get onto a step ladder to stir her tomato sauce.

I felt like a complete canning novice among seasoned veterans. Well, I guess I am. They cheerfully loaded my car with the single bushel of tomatoes and the single box of peppers and said "that's it?" Next year I'll know better and I'll be prepared to add more peppers and some eggplant to my repertoire.

I've been making a lot of things from Well Preserved by Eugenia Bone, and I decided to try her recipe for Marinated Red Bell Peppers rather than repeating the recipe I used last year, although it was delicious and quite popular. Doing the peppers isn't the least bit difficult, but seeding them can be a bit of a chore if you do a lot of them like I did.

You can use your peppers for an antipasto plate, or with grilled chicken or shrimp, or make a simple pasta sauce.

INGREDIENTS