Editor’s Note: Arrias rang in this morning with a sober and riveting rhyme this morning of young men who placed their time on this planet in service to an idea filled with passion. It is not about some lofty concept of “territorial integrity” but something much simpler. It is about protecting the ‘family’ contained in the idea of representing a nation. In saluting them, there came a need for something joyful and primal contained within the idea of family- of partners in this life raising simple foods and transforming them to something sublime and filled with the life and vigor that makes our brief lives precious. Enjoy!

– Vic

Marlow’s Coastal Empire Cookbook: past, present & future peppers

A shipmate and I during the past weekend were electronically chatting about aging and how things now appear off kilter to us (see below), when I shared with him a brief photo story of W’s and my first spring 2022 harvest of garden peppers. Here’s a bit of our chatter, the photo story, and the recipe behind these pix.
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We old ducks never keep much to our present, as if we did, when we were young. We fondly recall the past, anticipate the future as if we find it too slow in coming, or we recall the past as if to stay its all too rapid flight into the receding maw we see in our rearview mirrors.

Unwise perhaps but still comforting, as rituals go.

We wander about in times that do not belong to us. The fact is that this present hurts. We push it away since it distresses us as we fuss over how to influence, perhaps to arrange, these tangled things over which we have no control (did we ever?).

And now onto today’s initial spring 2022 harvest for some Park Avenue stuffed jalapenos.

Ciao. It’s chow time with stuffed peppers, Smiling Bob’s Fish Dip from the Keys, white crackers and Saddleback Chardonnay.

-Marlow

Stuffed Jalapenos Recipe

Ingredients

10-12 medium fresh jalapeno peppers
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 package (8 ounces) shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves from the garden
3/4 cup fine Panko breadcrumbs
If desired, 1 to 1 & 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions

While prepping, preheat BBQ grill to 450+ to 500°. Coat aluminum foiled cooking tray with a small drizzle of lighly garlic’d olive oil. After rinsing, cut jalapenos in half lengthwise leaving stems whenever possible as handles; de-seed and de-rib the membranes. Consider doing this de-ribbing and de-seeding step under running cold water from the kitchen faucet while wearing mask covering your nose and mouth. Allow to drain dry again. In a large bowl, fold together softened cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, oregano (and Worcestershire sauce if added) until smooth. Spoon a teaspoonful plus into each jalapeno until lightly mounded. Press each cheese’d top into panko crumbs to coat. Arrange on your oiled grilling sheet.

Place grilling tray on your pre-heated BBQ and cook until filling is melty, Panko is starting to brown, and bottoms of pepper skins are blackening. 10-15 minutes for small peppers; 15-18 minutes for medium peppers and 22 minutes for the large jalapeno peppers as herein pictured.

Lastly, some of our local, fellow, stuffed pepperheads like wrapping their stuffed peppers in bacon, or dotting their panko crusts with lightly cooked pepper crumbles before placing on the grill. With adding meat to this recipe, cooking times and your mileage may vary a bit.

Bon Appetit!

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