Roasted Red Pepper Panzanella

A return to food! Oh how I've missed it. As it turns out, I like writing about food almost as much as eating it (living vicariously, nix the calories?). And last night I finally had it together enough early enough to try a recipe that I have been eyeing for a while now.

This salad came together pretty easily and quickly. I had roasted the peppers right after lunch and then let them sit until I was ready and that was perfect. Watching peppers roast is always one of those things that sounds so easy and effortless when I read about but it usually seems to takes longer than they say and I'm always afraid that if I turn by back they'll go from crisp and fresh to crisp and incinerated in seven seconds flat(not true). So if you feel you may have that tendency as well, I suggest the roasting happens early and leisurely.

4 large red or orange pepper
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1/2 small onion thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. fresh oregano and basil, chopped
1/2 loaf country style bread (I used my oatmeal molasses) torn into chunks
1 ounce thinly sliced soppressata
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, torn into pieces

Roasting the peppers:

Preheat the broiler. Rub the pepper all over with olive oil. Broil them until you've blacked the skin on four sides. You'll have to watch them and turn them a little more often as they warm up.
Transfer them to a large bowl and cover it with a plate. This will steam the peppers and loosen the skins for later. They can sit at room temp all afternoon, if need be.

When you're almost ready to eat:

Turn the over to 400 degrees.
Peel and seed the peppers. Cut them into 2 inch strips and toss them with onion, garlic, vinegar, half of your herbs, and about 4 tbsp. olive oil, in the same large bowl with some pepper juices left over.

Toss your bread chunks with a couple tbsp. olive oil and spread on a cookie sheet. Toast them for about 8 minutes, stirring them every now and them until they're crisped on the outside, but a little soft on the inside. Let them cool.

Now you can arrange everything on a platter. Toss the soppressata with your peppers and throw the cheese around haphazardly. If you like, you can out the croutons on first and pour all that pepper sauciness over them so that they absorb the flavor. Or you can arrange them amongst all the other ingredients to keep them crisp.

I served this with some pasta, soft boiled eggs, and sourdough.

Enjoy! If you tweek it your way let me know how it goes...

Pictures Of The Upstairs

After all this, I'm thinking my parents were really on the right track when they were considering living in yurts...

The houses we live in are so complicated! I really had no idea.

But the floors are down, the trim is on, and everything has been painted with at least one finished coat. Some of the trim in on it's second go around, and we hope to get the walls finished on Thursday.

We've had so much help from friends! Our friend Jonas spend two full days helping Tyson with the trim. That was huge! He had all the gear and the know-how and it was so so so much appreciated. And then we have our rogue band of painters. They just keep scheduling the next party as they're wrapping up the one they're on. They're all coming back Thursday after service and banging it out. And bringing food! What a wonderful organization! You know, aside from the essential spiritual food and all...

 

Letter From Life Down Here

Ridiculous I know, but I don't have any photos to share... for the moment. This month has been very discombobulated, but it is chug chug chugging along. The flooring has been finished upstairs, the trim is going on tomorrow, finish coat of paint Saturday and... we're done. Fire chief needs to sign off on the smoke detectors after everything is finished, so we wont be able to move anything in until next week, but that's ok. Sunday is usually a pretty tired day. I probably won't be feel like lugging a mattress and four dressers up two flights of steps anyways. Know what I mean?

Other than the house upstairs, it's been a pretty busy month down here, too. Our circuit overseer was here into November, we started the Kingdom News campaign, and Tyson and I are both pioneering. I feel like I've either been out in service, cooking for the helping workers, or in the grocery store shopping for cooking for the helping workers.

So yeah not a whole lot of creative anything going on. My sewing machine is surrounded by other exiled furniture in the basement, my kitchen has been churning out pretty standard group fare, and my sketch books haven't left the purse much. I am planning a little project of drawing different silhouettes of their choice on the kids roller shades in their bedrooms (it's looking like London wants airplanes, and surprise! Spencer wants cars). I'm thinking I'm probably just use sharpies but I'm open to other ideas...??

Hope you're all well. I'll have pictures of our painting party Saturday, maybe sooner.
Stay cool and keep warm,
Cass

Workers World

 

We have windows!



The lack of drafts was immediate. And with 20 degree nights lately that's been pretty welcome.

 
Tyson is still chipping away at the joint compound. With our circuit overseer's visit last week and both of us pioneering this month we've had pretty small snippets of time, but now that it's all insulated and window'ed it's not feeling as frantic.
 
^^See those two windows on the top?^^ That's Spencer's room!
 
This is our room. With windows! Pardon, I'm still pretty excited...
 
Some pictures of the farm...