Stolen peppers / poivrons volés

I'm angry. And sad. Yesterday we had about twenty peppers (capsicums) growing, nice big ones which were turning red. I was leaving them to ripen. A few more days, I thought, and they'll be perfect. This evening they weren't there. Someone had climbed over our fence and taken them all. Just a few small green ones remain.

It seems a betrayal of the spirit of the gardens that someone could do this, although we know it has happened before to others

.

Je suis en colère. Et je suis triste. Hier nous avions environ vingt poivrons qui poussaient, des beaux gros poivrons qui devenaient rouges. Je les lessais mûrir. Quelques jours de plus, j'ai pensé, et ils seront parfait. Ce soir ils n'etaient pas là. Quelqu'un a sauté la clôture et les volé. Il n'en y reste que quelques petits verts.

This morning I used the peppers I picked yesterday as part of a giardiniera - Italian pickled vegetables.

Giardiniera

4 small artichokes / petits artichauts

2 green or red peppers / poivrons rouges ou verts

8 long green sweet peppers / poivrons verts longues

2 red chilli peppers / piments rouge

1 aubergine

4 carrots / carrottes

1 courgette

12 cloves garlic / gousses d'ail

750 ml vinegar (preferably white wine vinegar) / vinaigre blanc

500 ml water or white wine

bay leaves, rosemary, thyme / feuilles de laurier sauce / romarin / thym

12 peppercorns / grains de poivre

12 juniper berries / baies de genévrier

salt

50 g sugar

Remove the outer leaves of the artichokes and quarter. Leave the long green peppers, the chilli peppers and the garlic whole. Slice the other vegetables. Bring the vinegar, water/wine and sugar to the boil and add the vegetables and the herbs and spices. Simmer for about 20 - 30 minutes until the vegetables have softened but still keep their shape and crispness. Put in a sterilised jar. I had some dried cherry tomatoes so I added these to the mix in the jar. The pickles can be eaten straight away or can be kept for several months.

We tried some straight away and they were a nice sharp accompaniment for some aubergine fritters.

Enlevez les feuilles extérieures des artichauts and coupez-les en quatre. Laissez entiers les poivrons longues doux, les piments rouges et l'ail. Coupez les autres légumes en tranches. Faites bouiller le vinaigre, l'eau / le vin et le sucre et ajoutez les légumes et les herbes et épices. Faites cuire à feux doux pour 20 - 30 minutes. Mettez les légumes dans un bocal sterilisé et couvrez-les du vinaigre et vin. J'avais des tomates cerises séchées, donc je les ai ajouté au melange dans le bocal. On peut manger la giardiniera toute tout de suite, ou on peut la garder pour quelques mois.