The great thing about stuffed peppers is that you can put just about anything in them.  Its a great way to use leftover rice and whatever else you have on hand.

You can make the peppers stand up by cutting a level surface on the bottom, but they will turn out just fine on their sides as well.

Ingredients:

4-5 Bell peppers or any type of pepper large enough to stuff, tops cut off and seeds removed

1-2 teaspoons canola oil

1/2 pound ground beef

1 cup yellow squashed, diced into small cubes

1 cup cabbage, cut into small pieces

2 cups rice, preferably cold leftover rice

8 oz can tomato sauce

2 egg whites

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/4 tsp rosemary

2 tsp Italian seasoning

Preparation:

1) Preheat the oven to 350

2) Heat a skillet and oil over medium high heat.  Saute the ground beef with the fennel and rosemary until cooked about halfway through, breaking the meat into small pieces with a spatula.

3) Add the squash and cabbage and continue to saute until the meat is nearly cooked through.  Add the rice, tomato sauce and Italian seasoning to the skillet and stir together.

4) Remove from the heat and stir in the egg whites.

5) Stuff the peppers with the mixture

6) Place the peppers in an ovenproof dish with about a 1/4 inch of water in the bottom.  Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes or until the peppers are slightly tender.

A stir fry is a blank slate.  I turn to it when I have lots of fresh veggies and not a lot of time.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari

2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 Tablespoon oyster sauce

1 small sliced onion

1 cup sliced assorted peppers

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon minced ginger

1/2 cup sliced eggplant

5 stalks bok choy, sliced (you can use the greens and the whites)

1 cup kale, sliced or torn

2-3 yellow and red tomatoes, diced

Preparation:

1. Heat canola oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat

2.  In a small bowl, whisk together the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and oyster sauce.  Set aside.

3.  Saute the peppers, onion, garlic and ginger until the onions begin to look translucent

3.  Add the eggplant, bok choy and kale to the pan.  Pour the sauce mixture over the stir fry and saute until the bok choy begins to get tender, about 5 minutes.

4.  Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped tomatoes.  Serve over rice or noodles.

Here are three variations on the classic vinegar, red onion and cucumber salad:  for each, simply combine all ingredients and let sit in the refrigerator for as long as you can.  If you eat them right away, they will still be good, but a few hours to overnight in the refrigerator will make them that much better.

Fennel and Dill Cucumber Salad

4 cups sliced cucumber

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

2 teaspoons crushed fennel seeds (if you don’t have a mortar and pestle, a rolling pin works just fine to crush the seeds)

1/4 cup Rice Vinegar

1/2 cup water

Red Wine Vinegar and Mint Cucumber Salad

4 cups sliced cucumbers

2 cups small Roma tomatoes, quartered

1 cup thinly sliced onion

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon crushed dried mint

pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Sesame Cucumber Salad

4 cups sliced cucumbers

1 Tablespoon and 1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 Tablespoon sesame seeds