from this to that..

In our travels this past weekend, my husband and I stopped in Clovis to see a friend's garden. That Central Valley soil, along with the heat of the summer (actually it's pretty warm there year round) creates prime growing opportunities for a bounty of summer veggies.

This gal doesn't have alot of space in her back yard since they designed and put in a lovely pool and sitting area, but she's designed the yard for optimum use, included in the design,

a little putting green!

Instead of one contained vegetable garden, my friend has put her veggies and herbs around the perimeter of the yard that gets the best sun.

There's a bounty of tomato's along the fence, basil next to the pool (yes! they can smell it while they swim!) Italian peppers tucked next to the lavender and squash basking in the sun sharing a space with a rose. As we strolled around the yard chatting, she grabbed a fist full of peppers, a healthy looking yellow squash and passed these gems on to me.

So, home once again, I plucked the two banana peppers in my garden and perused my books looking for a delicious idea on what to do with the peppers and squash, and this is what I came up with:

Tessie's Italian Peppers

• Take a handful of Italian peppers, slice up a shallot, whack 6 garlic cloves
• Grab a large skillet, add a generous pour of your favorite olive oil and turn up the heat
• Add the peppers, garlic and shallots, a good dose of salt and pepper
• Cover with another heavy (but smaller) skillet to weigh it all down
• Cook for a few minutes then check for caramelization (you might want to pull the garlic out..don't let it burn!) While the pepper mix is browning, slice the squash 1/4 in or so
• Continue to brown the peppers and shallot, then turn and do the other side
• Remove the pepper mix to a plate (don't forget the garlic!) and slide the squash into the pan
• Throw in some salt and pepper, turn up the heat a bit and let the squash caramelize
• Turn and do the same for the other side
• Throw in some bread crumbs if you have them, a little more s and p and there you go!