Peppers aren’t something I cook with all the time. However, a friend of my daughters has a pepper farm in her backyard. Yes, a pepper farm. She brought home two shopping bags full of sweet and hit peppers.

After slicing the hot peppers 1/2 inch, I placed the peppers on a clay baking tray in the oven, on dehydrate (120 degrees) – they will be in the oven for a good 6-8 hours. I will use them for a skillet dish and/or pulverize them and use for chili.

Sweet Peppers

The sweet peppers I cut up into rings and jarred them. They yielded about 2 cups, so I boiled the following:

I boiled 1 cup of white distilled vinegar, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar (I used Swerve), 1 tsp mustard seed, 1/8 tsp celery salt. After placing slices of peppers in mason jar, I poured liquid over, sealed and will ferment over night and then refrigerate. The liquid will not cover all the peppers; after the night they will shrink to fit the liquid. If you want more liquid up front, add another 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar.

Guacamole!

I have several different recipes for guacamole since it depends on what I have in my fridge. Traditionally, it has onions, jalapeño peppers, tomato, lime juice, and avocado. When I serve it with salmon, I use avocado, walnuts and lime juice. This recipe called for the following:

1/2 avocado, tsp diced red onion tsp diced jalapeño pepper, 1/8 cup diced tomato, salt and pepper taste, and lime juice to taste. I like lime, so I use more than what a traditional recipe would call for. I love the tang. You can double this resize for two people, and increase the recipe depending on how many in your party. TIP: seal with lime juice and plastics wrap so it doesn’t turn brown after refrigerating. For the chips I used a toasted almond flour chip tortilla.

Cucumber Salad

Garden fresh tomatoes are the best for this dish. If you don’t have garden fresh, purchase heirloom tomatoes if in season. I also use a fresh cucumber from the garden. I diced up enough for myself, however you could double or triple the recipe depending on how many people. I did the following:

1/2 cucumber diced, 1/2 large garden tomato diced, five leaves oregano chopped, as much feta cheese as you like. I also chopped up fresh banana pepper (1/8 tsp) and added for a kick. Add salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with a little olive oil. I added a dash of herb spice for additional flavor.