Simple

Octo𝘣𝘦𝘳 12, 2020

I mentioned all the Jalapenos we received from our gardener friends while we were on vacation.  They also gave us several other varieties of peppers.  While I knew these were not poblano peppers, I assumed they were Ancho peppers and decided to make Chili Rellenos with them.  Rellenos are simple to make, but I found them to be labor intensive.  The simple part is the explanation to roast the peppers to remove the skins, stuff them with a piece of cheese, dip them in flour and then egg, and fry them for several minutes on all sides.  Simple!

The difficult part came in doing this.   My recipe said the easiest way to roast the peppers was to place them over a gas burner.  Since we have a gas stove, this should be simple.  In fact, it took a lot longer than I realized, almost ten minutes to roast the six peppers.  I then placed the peppers in a plastic Ziplock (as was suggested) and after they had steamed for a while, I set about pealing the skins.  While this was not difficult, it did take another 10 minutes to accomplish.  While all of this is not a long time, it began to stress me out.

The peppers were good as rellenos, but they had no heat (this has become a requirement for Melissa and me).   Melissa asked our friend and what we had been given were six Giant Marconi peppers.  When I looked these up online, they were touted for their sweet-smoky flavor and are generally served stuffed.  I enhanced the smoky flavor with a smoked pepper jack cheese we have purchased from another friend.  These are a sweeter pepper and do not bring the heat of other varieties.  They were good as rellenos, but even with the Cajun Pepper I added to the batter, the sweet came through.  I guess I am just into savory.

𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦:  There is an old adage that says, “Necessity is the Mother of Invention.”  While my cooking may not be relegated to the category of invention, it often does fall into necessity.  I often do not have the required ingredients when I (rarely) go to a cookbook for a recipe and am forced to improvise. That is especially true now when it is a decision on risking going to the store.  I did not have the Poblanos, so I used the Marconi’s.  Necessity is what is driving the race for a vaccine.  Over 37,500,000 people across the world have contracted the virus resulting in over 1,000,000 deaths.  Even as the process is being fast tracked it is estimated it will not produce a readily available vaccine until spring.  Until then we all need to follow the rules.  Not everything is simple.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.