Roasted Yellow Pepper and Corn Bisque

Serves 6 to 8. Takes 1 hour, 20 minutes.

4 yellow bell peppers
3 cups fresh corn, cut from the cob
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium-size Vidalia or Walla Walla onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
2 hot chiles, sliced thin
1 yellow summer squash, cut in half lengthwise and sliced thin (about 3 cups)
3-4 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
Juice of 1 lime
1 whole nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375. Cut the stems off the peppers and pull out the seeds. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes, turning once. The pepper should be very soft and collapsed. When the peppers are done, place them in a plastic bag for about 30 minutes. This will steam them and make the skin very easy to peel away. Remove from bag, peel away the skin, and roughly chop the peppers.

Preheat a soup pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onion in the oil for 5 to 7 minutes, until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and chiles. Saute for another minute or so. Add the corn and squash, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until moisture begins to release from the squash. Add the roasted peppers, veggie broth and salt. Cover and bring to a boil. once the soup is boiling, lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, covered.

Add the coconut milk and puree the soup. Let eh soup heat through again and grate the nutmeg with a microplane grated directly into the soup. Add the maple syrup, lime and serve.

Creole Stuffed Peppers

Serves 4. Takes 55 minutes.

4 large bell peppers
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped fine
2-3 serrano chiles, sliced fine
1 cup finely diced carrots
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 dried bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
2 tsp paprika
3 sprigs thyme
1 tsp salt
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 (15-ounce) cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 x 13 inch casserole dish with olive oil. Bring a large pot of water to boil.

Cut the peppers in half lengthwise through the stem end. Remove the seeds and membranes. Submerge the peppers in boiling water and cover. Let them boil for 5 minutes, then drain immediately and rinse with cold water.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the onions, chiles and carrots for 10 minutes, until the veggies brown. Add the garlic 5 minutes into the cooking. Add the herbs, spices and salt and saute for 1 more minute. Mix in parsley.

Remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Spoon a little less than 1/2 cup of veggie mixture into each pepper half. Place the pepper halves in the casserole dish and bake for 25 minutes.