The Joy of Cooking tells you to buy squash that are heavy for their weight. I tried it and was completely sold. The thicker layer of squash on the inside means you can scoop out big spoons of squash and then scrape the skin, whereas when you buy a squash that is light for its weight, it's all scraping. More work, less squash.
And for these peppers, there is also more pepper for the same amount of slicing. But there is also the novelty and intense pleasure of biting into such an enormously thick slice of pepper.
And it isn't just thick - it's fresh. Because it's local. I'm totally hooked on local. My super simple food preparation methods, necessitated by my food issues, are not a hindrance to me when cooking with very fresh food. It seasons itself. And when I do season it, I need just a pinch.
Red bell peppers taste like strawberries when they're really fresh. Well, they taste like strawberries would taste if the world ended, a time capsule was found, and a Strawberry Shortcake doll was used to re-create the flavor of a strawberry. None of the yucky tartness of a real strawberry.
Although, my bitterness that real strawberries do not taste like a Strawberry Shortcake doll smells, was recently reduced considerably. I got my hands on local strawberries. At first I was kind of pissed off because they were too tart for human consumption. But then I remembered the sugar bowl -- people who didn't grow up with my calorie-phobic parents do this funky thing where they dip fruit in sugar before they eat it. So I got my zylitol and started dunking. Homer-Simpson-inspired-drooling. Much, much more similar to the doll than ordinary strawberries. Though a fresh red bell pepper is still a closer match.
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