FRESH VEGETABLE PLATTER
Green, red, or yellow Bell Peppers
Carrots
Cauliflower florets
Radishes
Green Onions
Asparagus spears
Cucumber
Cherry Tomatoes, unpeeled
Fresh Mushrooms
Zucchini
Whole Green Beans
Broccoli florets
Rinse and dry vegetables. Remove core and seeds from bell peppers and cut into strips. Scrub or peel carrots, cucumbers, and zucchini and cut into slices or sticks. Slice mushrooms. Prepare radish roses. Arrange these and remaining vegetables on a platter.
Serving suggestion: Try a Recipe Search for Appetizers and Snacks to find great AHA dip recipes.
Recipe from Delicious Decisions
American Heart Association Cookbook
USDA ARS Image Gallery
There are two ways to save pepper seeds.
You can save them from dried peppers or you can save them from fresh peppers too. You need red peppers as they are the ripest and the seeds are generally mature in them.
To save them from dried peppers:
I take the ripe peppers and place them uncovered in single layers on paper plates. I then put them in a warm and dry location and let them air dry for a period of a few weeks, the peppers and their seeds inside will desiccate (dry out). When the pepper is quite dry and leathery it is ready and can be saved for cooking, or you can give them as holiday gifts for cooks. You run a needle and thread through the dried pepper and tie it onto a gift package as a decorative ornament. You can store the peppers threaded and hung together on a string. The seeds can be then collected when the pepper is cut open and used for cooking.
(If you live in a warm and arid climate you can string the ripe peppers together while they're fresh and hang them outdoors to allow them to desiccate in the warm breezes. )
To dry the seeds of ripe fresh peppers:
Cut open the pepper and remove the seeds from the inner white membrane using the end of a kitchen knife to scrape them from the membrane. Place the seeds on an open plate and let them dry for a few days in an out-of-the-way safe location. Stir them every now and then to assure that the bottom layer of the seeds is exposed to the air and that the seeds are evenly dried. After they dry you can store them in paper packets.
I urge you to please be cautious when working with hot peppers. Wash your hands several, SEVERAL times with a good strong detergent after touching hot peppers or their seeds. The capsicum oil in the hot peppers can burn the soft tissues of your body, it will hurt very badly if you accidentally rub your eyes and that capsicum oil is still on your fingers.
You may also use disposable gloves when preparing hot peppers, toss them in the trash after your done in the kitchen, and then wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.
Good luck with your peppers seeds!
by W. Hardy Eshbaugh
p. 132 - 139
In: J. Janick and J.E. Simon (eds.), New Crops. Wiley, New York.
Center for New Crops and Plant Products
Purdue University