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My husband cuts up peppers and freezes them. He buys a couple every trip to the farmers' market and by the end of the summer has a pretty full bag in the freezer. They aren't good to eat raw after being frozen but they are great cooked in a dish. I once canned eggplant, basil, and grilled peppers in olive oil and vinegar. That turned out pretty good but it is way more work than the freezing.

Pepper and tomatoes are great in omelets. They are also great in a stirfry. Tomatoe and cucumber sandwiches are wonderful for an afternoon tea and a simple cucumber salad is always easy. If you roast the peppers, you can always freeze them for later use.

If you are really overwhelm by all the produce, consider donating to your local food bank or look into a local program for home gardeners growing food for the hungry.

I always use up peppers when sauteeing up some chorizo. Throw in some onions, throw it over pasta, you have a great dinner. Throw the pepper/onion/chorizo mixture on some bread and its a great lunch.

Cucumbers and tomatos (as people have said) make for a great simple salad or dip them in some salad dressing as a snack. I make a simple shrimp tomato and cucumber salad with salt and pepper and its always a hit.

How about a peck of pickled peppers? If you don't have much freezer space, and don't want to eat it all now, canning could be an option.

Chilled cucumbers are great as a snack or a compliment to a spicy curry dish.

Tomatoes are multipurpose and can be used in almost anything. Pasta dishes, burgers, baked in the oven, with eggs...

We frequently make stuffed peppers. Just make some meatloaf mix, fill the peppers, and pop them into the oven.

My favorite way with peppers (learned from Jacques Pepin): roast a panful in the oven (or any other way); cut the cooled roast peppers in strips and keep them in a jar in the refrigerator with a healthy dose of olive oil and at least a heaping tablespoonful of minced garlic. Beautiful if you have many colors of peppers. I especially love them with cold roast lamb, as in a sandwich, or one of my favorites, a salad of strips of lamb and the peppers and minced shallots, dressed with a little more olive oil and maybe some olives -- but of course they can be used in any kind of salad or vegetable dish.

Thanks Faith, and thank you all. Yes, a great majority of the peppers are green. My house is currently under renovation, so there is no heat. The temperature hovers just above 50 degrees. I’ll see about ripening some in a paper bag; hopefully they won’t find it too cold.

The tomatoes and cucumbers will go into a salad tonight. I have some chorizo in the fridge, and that’ll be sautéed up with some of the peppers.

The pipérade is a great idea (had it at the restaurant Piperade in San Francisco and loved it). After that, I think I’ll just roast and freeze the rest.

Interestingly, there are a few varieties of peppers in the basket. Some look like the regular peppers, some are long and pointy at the end, and some are shaped like a large teardrop. I’m sure there are different ways to best prepare each.

-Helen (aka practicallydone)

I echo the comments of slicing (or dicing) the peppers and freezing them in the amount you would use - I often add mine to sweet and sour chicken, or another dish where they are cooked. Another idea is to cut off the tops, blanch them for 1-2 minutes, then put them into a big freezer bag. Then make filled peppers (I use a meatloaf mixture to stuff them). I stick the filled peppers in a dutch oven with a large can of tomatoes and a 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, and cook for 45 minutes at 375. Serve over rice or pasta - YUM.

ami,

The cucumbers are heavenly. My friend's an organic farmer, and they were picked the morning that he arrived. I took a bite out of one yesterday and moaned. The flavours were surprisingly complex, and so delicious.

I have made this recipe for lamb-stuffed peppers from the Bread & Honey blog, and can attest that it is absurdly delicious and easy to make. You can also dice those cucumbers and throw them in some yogurt with garlic and lemon juice for a scrumptious tzaziki. I'm a big fan of bell pepper in any form, and will definitely try your jar idea Louie C!

practicallydone, it's very mean to taunt our lack of delicious fresh cucumbers! I think that you need to share with the rest of the class. ;)

I really wish you can all taste this. I'm working away on my computer (yes, working, only to take the occassional break to visit this site) and munching on a cucumber as I type. Soon enough, there'll be nothing left for the salad tonight.

That is certainly one way to solve the problem - just eat them all now ;-)

make a big batch of chili with the peppers or salsa, and freeze the leftovers.