This week’s garden inspiration: The red pepper of…?
What can I say? The garden just keeps inspiring me. And teaching me. And making me laugh!
I planted red, yellow, and green peppers back in late June. I planted two red pepper plants, one yellow, and one green. I am not a huge fan of green peppers, to be honest. I really just threw it in there for good measure and to make salsa. 😉
So, when the very first thing to grow and actually produce something was the green pepper plant, I had to laugh. As I picked off the big ripe peppers, I thought that the red (my favorite!) couldn’t be too far behind (they looked like they were growing at the same rate). I think I picked the green peppers toward the end of July. Then, I waited. And waited. And waited some more. I was also holding the green peppers in the fridge until the tomatoes were ripe enough to make salsa.
Well, the tomato plant got a case of blight and died. The green peppers weren’t going to stay fresh much longer, so I cooked them up with some strip steak, mushrooms, and provolone (anyone hungry yet??) and made my own Philly steak for a couple of dinners. All was well, or so I thought, until my daughter said, “Mom, I don’t really like green peppers. I thought you planted red peppers?” Her refusal of the green pepper on her plate really made me laugh out loud (she wouldn’t have even noticed it in a salsa!).
August came and went, and to the few people I explained about my red peppers still being green said they probably wouldn’t turn red at this point. My sis even said hers never turned red at all.
Just as I have learned in my journey to good health, one needs a lot of patience, persistence, and discipline…so I decided to wait it out. This morning, it looks like that paid off…in a much shorter timeframe than it took for me to get well. 🙂
If you’re struggling in any of those areas, be encouraged! The reward of good health is far beyond anything short term that’s tripping you up!
And oh!! Fresh roasted red peppers, here we come!
~GGF Gourmet
