Neglected

I'm back on a food kick, so I thought I'd pop in. If you haven't noticed, The New York Time has been on a slow food kick and practically berating its readers for not cooking at home. While I am single which perhaps lessens the homemaking burden I am curious at the feasibility of all home cooked meals. My tally for the last week was mostly at home with one dinner at a Frisch's and three lunches out during the work day. My at home dinners were simple, my most elaborate a weekend preparation of roasted turkey legs and vegetables, and my simplest smoke salmon, cheese, crackers, and a lettuce salad. Twice I resorted to old standbys, a quesadilla and a pizza made on a tortilla. Tonight I made stuffed peppers, fruit salad, and cheating rice using the sort that goes in the microwave.

Rice is super easy and microwaving it seems insane, but I'm trying to clear my pantry of less used items. I replaced my stove last winter and for several weeks I was microwave only and seemed to have collected numerous packets. My microwave then gave up the ghost, and I didn't replace it for months. Now I have both appliances working, and, well, ninety second rice is fast.

Stuffed peppers are not in my regular repertoire, but they came out OK. The rough recipe follows. I'm not a measurer.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly blister the poblano chiles over the gas flame. Assume you will need one per person. I short changed this and only slightly softened mine. I think this step could be skipped if you don't have gas.
Cut chiles in half and remove seeds.  Lay in backing dish.

Filling:
splash olive oil or other cooking oil
1/4 large onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
roasted green chiles chopped 3 or to taste
several tomatoes chopped
1 can beans rinsed and drained
cumin to taste
Mexican oregano or Mexican spice mix heavy on oregano to taste
handful of cilantro minced

Brown the onions in the oil.
Add the garlic and the spices. Toast lightly.
Add tomatoes and roasted green chiles before you burn the cumin.
Add beans.
Salt if needed. My beans were heavy on the salt, so no salt added.
Heat to a simmer and allow to blend for 5 plus minutes.
Stir in cilantro. Cook an additional minute and turn off heat.

Assembling:
Fill the pepper shells with the bean, chile, and tomato mixture.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and pepper is tender. If you're more successful with the flames than I was and blister the skin, less cooking time may be needed.

Serving:
I served mine with rice and yoghurt. I'm not a sour cream fan, but that is an option. My green chiles were medium, but if you have mild chiles, you could top with salsa for more spice.