Got Injera?

Well, if you don't, and can't seem to locate Addis Ababa, or Langano or that place behind the County liquor store or any of the other Ethiopian restaurants in the close vicinity, you are now in luck. Our own Highland Coffee, on the corner of Fenton and Silver Spring Ave is expanding and will soon be serving dishes beyond the pastries and sandwiches which they currently offer.

When I asked what they'll be serving, I was told, "Ethiopian food." Wow, thanks. I thought they'd be offering Texas-style BBQ or maybe Cincinnati chili. I mean, c'mon, if a customer comes in and asks about the expansion and what you'll be serving, shouldn't you be more forthcoming and maybe a bit more enthusiastic than what I got?

I guess I'll have to go to the Gazette, where I originally found out about Highland's plans, for additional information. According to the article, Highland will seat about 50 people on the restaurant side and will serve meat and vegetarian Ethiopian dishes, as well as lasagna and spaghetti. Really?

I am aware of the ugly past my ancestors played in what was then known as Abassinia. So I understand there is a connection to Italy, no matter how troubling it is. But do you really want to go beyond your strong suit, Ethiopian dishes, to these kind of the basic, run-of-the-mill Italian dishes. My guess, parents can come in for Ethiopian and the kids get macaroni with butter, or something like that.

I do hope Highland's has done the necessary research to understand if adding 50 seats and hiring around 10-15 new employees is sustainable in our hood. As we all know it is not hard to find this style of food in Silver Spring. I personally am not a fan of Ethiopian food, so I can't really judge. But I do live near Addis Ababa and they consistently seem to have a good crowd. But I do wish them the best and will keep a close eye whenever their new venture gets off the ground.

A couple other things to note. Norman's farm market - the one that was selling pumpkins and such on Fenton - has shut its 'doors' so to speak. Either way, they are no longer currently in business in that location, but could be back in the spring.

And I doubt I have to remind anyone, but our Thanksgiving parade is Saturday morning, starting at 9:30 AM. Time to get our annual fix of Bolivian dancers. See you there.

Backyard Bounty

While this was certainly not a banner year for me in the garden -- my cucumbers produced only for a short time, my tomatoes were terrible and my Brussels sprouts were devoured by bugs, but man, did my peppers do well.

I'm sure part of it was the heat we had this summer and this veggie loves hot weather. Even this past weekend -- in November mind you -- I'm still picking plenty of ripe peppers off the vines. I must have picked more than 100 over the weekend, a bit more that the missus and me can eat before they go bad. So the solution, canning them.

Now granted, I did plant a lot more peppers than two people can eat, but I just assumed they all would not flourish - and they pretty much all did. It seems my soil (and maybe yours) likes all kinds of varieties. I planted some Spanish padrone peppers, two kinds of Japanese peppers, shishito and fushimi, an Italian-American variety called melrose, some New Mexican peppers appropriately called Numex and then a variety similar to pablano. I bet about 20 plants in all.

So from August to the present we have not been without peppers in the house. And as long as we hold the temp above freezing overnight, these guys will likely last a bit longer. Here's one batch from weekend picking, these are a mix of padrone and melrose. As you can see if you leave them out there they do turn red.

And fortunately they don't become any hotter, because they are already hot enough. Sometimes too hot to enjoy. The milder ones, the two Japanese varieties are great for pan frying in oil. Just get them charred and drizzle some salt and soy sauce over them and they are fab. You're beginning to see this dish (shishito's) in some Japanese restaurants on the app menu with fancy salt. If you haven't tried them I suggest you do. You'll then want to grow them at home like I did.

Now you can do something similar to the melrose and padrone, sans the soy sauce, but you probably don't want to pop the whole pepper in your mouth at once. I recommend a knife and fork. You can also just fry them up in some hash browns or have them on the side with some eggs. But have toast handy just in case.

And the pablano variety are great for stuffing. I would char these guys under the broiler, let them cool, peel off the skin, seed them and then stuff them with whatever I had handy. This would always include some kind of cheese (goat works great), and then maybe shrimp, onions, meat, other veggies, you name it. After 15-20 mins in a 375 degree oven they are ready to devour. It does take a bit of work, but I have always been happy with the results.

So finally, after picking more than 100 peppers over the weekend, this is what I have to show for it. I hope they are worth it, because this was a lot of work. It was tempting to think I can drop $4-5 at the store and get a jar of these ready to eat. I know time-wise I spent a lot more than $20 getting these ready. But knowing I started them from seed, managed them as they grew, picked them and then canned will be worth it. And we shall see.