An Italian Garden

What is it about Italians and their gardens? Don't believe it when they say size doesn't matter...An Italian Garden is more like a mini, suburban farm! Some of the crops are ordinary...some quite special. And EVERYTHING is picked for cooking, baking, or pickling.

Mama Melisi's garden was bigger than her house! Living on a corner lot, the home-grown fruits, vegetables, and herbs and spices wrapped around two sides of her home. There were endless rows of perfectly planted tomatoes, healthy, dangling cucumbers, and lots of sweet peppers. For a splash of color, you'll see plump, purple eggplants. Move aside those overgrown leaves, and you'll find Italian Squash, hanging like big, bold baseball bats! No wonder it took all weekend to weed back down to the rich, black soil!

Hovering along the side of the house was basil and parsley, just waiting to be yanked and submerged in simmering, fresh tomato sauce. Smiling down on them were bright, yellow sunflower plants...seeds good enough to toast, or plants pretty enough to display! As if this wasn't enough, pucker up for some rhubarb, just waiting to be transformed into a pie! And if you want to add an orchard-like flair, look up and see those fig trees, and peach trees, just dying to toss off their sumptuous, juicy fruit!

Finally, there was...the grapevine! I could still see Mama Melisi sitting outside, and painstakingly removing the stems off of each grape. She would cook the grapes to soften the skin, grind them manually to remove the pits and skin, and cook again with Certo and sugar to thicken the mixture. Oh the aroma of hot, gurgling grapes! Seal off the homemade jars with a coating of wax, and you'll never have Smuckers again!

Of course, it could get a little crazy trying to keep track of everything on "the farm"! Once in a while, there was a mishap. Take, for example, the time that the hot peppers were planted by accident instead of those luscious, sweet peppers. Tempted one summer night, a garden-stalking animal picked an entire hot pepper plant clean! I still feel sorry for that fine, furry, pepper-pickin bandit, who learned a hard, hot lesson about an Italian garden!

For those who are daring, we give you Stuffed Hot Peppers...and those not so brave, Stuffed Sweet Red Peppers. Bueno Apetito! As always, we offer it to you with love!

From Mama Melisi and Me

Stuffed Hot Peppers

Ingredients:
1 qt size jar of hot peppers
1 cup of Italian flavored bread crumbs
4 oz pignoli nuts
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
A few dashes of black pepper

Cooking Directions:

Core and remove all seeds from the hot peppers
Rinse with cold water and drain in a colander
Prepare the filling by mixing the bread crumbs, pignoli nuts, oregano and black pepper in bowl
Add the olive oil
If the mixture is too dry, gradually add a little cold water at a time until consistency is moist
Spoon the filling into each hot pepper
Lightly drizzle the tops with olive oil
Spray a baking dish with Pam
Place the peppers in the baking dish
Bake in a 350 degree oven uncovered for 45 minutes
Serve cold!

Stuffed Sweet Red Peppers

Ingredients

3 red peppers
1 lb ground turkey or chicken (Meat lovers can use beef, pork and veal combination)
1 - 10 oz package of fresh spinach
1 medium size onion
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)
1/4 cup cooked brown or white rice
Black pepper
1 can Stewed tomatoes

Cooking Directions:

Wash the peppers and cut off the tops...remove seeds
Cut peppers in half lengthwise giving you 6 halves
Chop the onion finely, and saute in olive oil
When golden in color, add your garlic (minced)
Add the spinach and cook until slightly wilted
Let this cool and then add this mixture to the ground meat of your choice
Add the cooked rice and the grated cheese and black pepper
Mix all together
Place peppers in casserole dish, and spoon mixture into peppers
Pour the can of stewed tomatoes over the top
Cover pan with foil
Bake for 1 hour in 350 degree oven

Enjoy!