Roasted Shishito Peppers

By Sarah Walker Caron
Bangor Daily News

f you’d heard the crinkle of deli wrap coming from my direction in recent months, it’s because I’d fallen into a rut — the kind that involves too much takeout being consumed. It’s also the kind of rut that means several corrugated cardboard pizza boxes were sticking out of my recycling bin on the last recycling day.

It’s funny — or I think so, at least — because I cook often. Every day, in fact. Sometimes breakfast, sometimes lunch, sometimes dinner, sometimes all three. But for all I cook, I manage to still find too many occasions to buy takeout.

Don’t get me wrong, takeout can be nice sometimes. It’s easy, fast and without requiring much work on my end. And on busy days, it can help take a little stress off. But when you find yourself in the rut of too much takeout, your wallet and your belly start to feel it.

So, I am calling enough on this not-so-good habit. I don’t need to buy lunch every day (in fact, I am happier just running home to quietly eat at my kitchen table). And on those difficult days where takeout seems so much easier, I am choosing truly easy dinners over takeout.

Of course, with those easy dinners, easy side dishes are key. Salad is always a go-to for us. It’s so easy to toss together lettuce, chopped veggies and fun toppings like sunflower seeds or candied nuts. Snow peas, served raw, can be a fun change-up from the usual cooked veggies too.

This recipe for Roasted Shishito Peppers is also a great quick and easy side dish. And it’s a step away from what you might usually do with peppers.

Shishito peppers are a small, sweet variety of peppers (well, usually … once in awhile you’ll get a spicy one) that are fantastic served browned and blistered. This can be achieved by frying them in hot oil but for a better-for-you take, roasting can do the job too. Click here to continue reading.