Click:Yellow For Bri/ Potato -Bell Pepper Stir Fry

Yellow is the sign of hope...the sliver of light that signifies the sun rising after the darkest hour of the day. If happiness had any color denoting it, it would definitely be yellow. Doesn't the picture of a field of sunflowers brighten up your day? Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer.

Cancer is a somber subject, the full extend of which can only be understood by people affected by it, directly or indirectly. I am not informed enough to say anything about it here so I won't try. But I can introduce you to Bri, a fellow blogger fighting cancer, for whom the June edition of CLICK is dedicated to.

I came to know about Bri only through Jugalbandhi's efforts. About her strength, about her courageous fight with cancer and thru her blog, you also can see her uncynical outlook towards life which makes me ashamed to complain about the silly things in life.
I like to think I can help in my small way....by publicizing her story, by admiring her courage and by supporting her.

This is an appeal on behalf of a group of food bloggers who are friends of Briana Brownlow @ Figs With Bri.

Bri was diagnosed with breast cancer two and half years ago. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and two years of relatively good health later, the cancer is back. It has metastasized to other parts of her body. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. Now, she’s waging her own war against breast cancer. More about it here.

She is going through intensive chemo and other treatments and needs to focus single-mindedly on healing and finding what treatment works best for her. Her health insurance, unfortunately, does not cover holistic alternatives which she would like to try. Bri and her husband Marc have enough on their plates right now in addition to worrying about her medical bills.

The team organising the JUNE edition of CLICK at Jugalbandi has organised a fund raiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR.

CLICK is a monthly theme-based photography contest hosted by Jugalbandi. This month’s theme is: YELLOW for Bri

Yellow is the colour of hope. Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer.

The entries can be viewed HERE. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. The fundraiser will extend until July 15, 2008.

The target amount is 12,000 U.S. dollars. We appeal to our fellow bloggers and readers to help us achieve this. Bri deserves a chance to explore all options, even if her insurance company thinks otherwise.

There’s a raffle with exciting prizes on offer. After viewing the list, you may make your donation HERE or at the Chip-In button on any participating site.
Your donation can be made securely through credit card or Pay Pal and goes directly to Bri’s account.

This month’s photo contest also has some prizes. Details HERE.

You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicizing this campaign.

So, please get involved as you can and help Bri - because every little bit counts.
Potato -Bell Pepper Fry..



For the click , I made this extremely simple stir fry which ended up a mellow yellow..yellow bell peppers with potatoes.

Three Pepper Fajitas

It's always fun to sit back and smile as the guesses pour in just to see the versatality of everybody's imagination. Jackfruit in a fajita..the prize of originality goes to Sra while Nandita came the closest with yellow peppers. Still, thanks for being a sport.

Its a veggie fajita filled with sauted peppers, onions, cilantro, grated cheese and the optional sour cream and gaucamole. Yep, I did make some quesadillas too with the peppers and chicken but that's next on the posting list.

I buy the multicolored bell peppers from the price club on a regular basis just becacuse they look so good and they are so good for you. Every time, I go there the red, yellow and orange peppers just whistle charmingly to me as I walk past them, their colors making them stand out in the midst of all the vegetables. I force my eyes elsewhere, figuring I can go for a couple of weeks without them. But no,at the end of the shopping, there they are in my cart, and I am already conjuring up new ways to cook them.



So how good are they for you?
Brightly colored bell peppers, whether green, red, orange or yellow, are rich sources of vitamin C and vitamin A (through its concentration of carotenoids such as beta-carotene), two very powerful antioxidants. Red Peppers also contain lycopene, a carotenoid which aids the body in warding off cancer. Additionally, they are low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol, and Sodium while being high in fiber, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Potassium, Manganese, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folate, Pantothenic Acid and Magnesium. For more info, click here. Did I get any converts? Don't eat this if you aiming to gain weight coz as you read above, they are low in fat.

Sweet peppers are plump, bell-shaped vegetables featuring either three or four lobes. They usually range in size from 2 to 5 inches in diameter, and 2 to 6 inches in length. Inside the thick flesh is an inner cavity with edible bitter seeds and a white spongy core. Bell peppers are not 'hot'. They contain a recessive gene that eliminates capsaisin, the compound responsible for the 'hotness' found in other peppers. When sauted or grilled, they are sweet with a fruity flavor. Here I have sauted them for multiple uses.

You will need:
Bell Peppers-3, one of each color
Onion-1
Red Pepper Flakes-1/4 tsp (optional)
Garlic-1 clove
Olive oil-1-2 tsp
Cilantro- a handful
Lemon Juice-a dash
Salt to taste
Black Pepper-1/2 tsp
Grated Cheese-a handful

Preparation: Slice the peppers vertically along the edges so as to remove the central seed core. Slice them thin into equal size pieces. Slice the onion finely. Crush the garlic. Heat the oil in a skillet and add the garlic and red peppers. Add the sliced peppers and onions, salt and saute them while stirring all the while. Lower the heat to medium and cover for 2 minutes. Open, increase the heat and continue stirring. They should wilt and get cooked in about 5-7 minutes. The high heat is to evaporate the water that the peppers give out. Add lemon juice and pepper. Now they can be used as a topping for fajitas, quesadillas, or even burgers.

Fairly good flour tortillas are available in supermarkets almost everywhere. Select the ones which are 6 or 7 inches in diameter. Warm them up by on a skillet and wrap them in a cloth napkin to bring them to the table.

For assembling the fajitas: Lightly toast a tortilla on a skillet on both sides. Spread a tablespoon of the peppers on it. Add grilled strips of chicken or beef if so preferred. Sprinkle chopped cilantro, grated cheese and a spoon on sour cream. Roll or fold over..Done.

Three Pepper Turkey Chili

Fall is slowly creeping in here, lurking in the cooler temperatures in the mornings, sending the sun skittering back home earlier every day. My garden is looking forlorn, with some plants yellowing and giving in to the frost, while some are holding on, but with fatigue in their branches. The last storm was the turning point. They got so damaged; I could taste it in my bland new crop of vegetables. Not long before I will have to pull them all out.
And I have started on my “hot food” fetish. Hot as in spicy and hot as in hot. I was craving chili, a taste acquired from my colleagues and now made at home too.
Chili/Chilli is essentially a spicy soupy stew of beans(sometimes), chilies and meat cooked together. An easy recipe for the meat lovers, it is full of protein and vitamins, and it varies in taste from region to region in southern US. There is even a vegetarian version of this with tofu substituting for meat.
My first brush with chili was with a lot of trepidation, thinking it is some overly spicy concoction. It was not spicy and I was surprised when I tasted Kidney Beans ( good old rajma). “Arre, this is our rajma curry with meat in it.” But it was not just Rajma. When Kidney beans are mixed with bell peppers and celery and tomatoes, they take on a different set of flavors.
As time went by, I tasted chilis of different types and mixes and realized that the ones served in the North East are not spicy but if you travel south, closer to its Mexican roots, it starts getting hotter and has less beans. The names they go by are as interesting as their recipes-2 Alarm Chili, Texas Two Finger Chili, and Four Dead in O-hi-O Chili, Male Chauvinist Chili, Heaven and Hell Chili.
My turkey chili is a take off from different chili recipes, tried and customized to include more veggies and flavor. This time I substituted turkey for the beef, in an effort to cut down on red meat intake. We could hardly make out the difference in taste. It has three peppers in it hence the name. :) Bell Peppers, Green Chilies Peppers and Dried Black Peppers.
You will need:
Ground Turkey/ Beef/Chicken-3/4 lb
Red Kidney beans-1 ½ cup cooked
Onion-1 ½ cup chopped finely
Carrots-1 cup chopped finely
Celery-1/2 cup chopped
Any Bell Pepper(Red/green/yellow/orange)- 1 cup chopped.
Green Chilies/Any hot chili-6-8 crushed
Garlic-6-8 crushed
Tomato-about 1lb(4 medium tomatoes)or 1 1/2 can stewed tomatoes.
Coriander/Cilantro leaves-1/2 cup chopped
Milk - 1/4 cup( optional)
Salt-1/2 tsp (to taste)
Seasoning:
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground oregano
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1 dried chili pepper, crushed, seeds removed
Dry grind them all together.

Preparation:
If using dry kidney beans, soak overnight and cook in the pressure cooker for 5-10 minutes. Else, you can use canned kidney beans after rinsing it once. Add more or less kidney beans than specified depending on how meaty you like the chili to be. This is a good recipe for the crockpot for those who have it. Mix everything together, leave it cooking in the crockpot, go out and come back to a delicious chili.
Cook ground turkey or beef in a large pot, add onion, celery and stir until onions are transparent. No need for oil. The oil from the meat cooks and flavors the onions. Then add the rest of the ingredients except the milk and leaves, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Open and add milk, coriander leaves and check seasoning. Top with some cheese and chopped cilantro/Coriander.
Serve with corn bread or rice or rotis/tortillas.
Spicy Chili Recipes, Turkey Chili, South Beach Recipes