Introduction
When the sun shines in Newfoundland, everybody takes note. This is a story of our first experience with Newfoundlanders and sunshine. The Anonymous Gourmet starts by describing how, after the holidays and holiday left-overs, she starts to look around for reasonably priced fresh vegetables. When she finds some peppers that are reduced, she is in business and includes two recipes for “stuffed” peppers.

Why does this remind me of how desperately we are waiting for spring, for a break in the weather, for sunshine? Perhaps, because this is the worse winter in my memory, flights canceled; three days trying to get home from North Carolina with one night in the Toronto airport and the next night at Moncton, arriving home mid-February only to find Costco and the local convenience store was out of salt. Then, came one or two days of sunshine, flirting with our sensibilities, then a onslaught of snow, freezing rain and fog. Many years ago we didn’t understand why one or two days of sunshine put everyone in a state of euphoria, like houseflies suddenly coming upon a beach of dead caplin, but we understand it now.

Mike accepted a position at Memorial in late spring, 1975. We sold our house in New Orleans, put our furniture on the moving van and set off in tandem, an overloaded Oldsmobile wagon and a yellow tin can looking Volkswagen 412, trekking through Tennessee, New York, Amherst, Massachussets, finally meeting the Ferry at North Sydney on the last day of June. We drove off the ferry on the morning of July 1st, made it into St. Johns with our three children, then all under six years old, by early afternoon. We drove around to get the lay of the land, so to speak. First the campus - student dorms and a few connecting streets around Allandale Road, Elizabeth Avenue, Churchill Square. On campus, we found young women clad in bikinis, laying on towels and blankets. They were scattered here and there, like on a beach, sunning themselves in and around the dorms. As we drove around toward the Arts and Culture Centre and what we learned later was The Faculty Club, there were several gray headed men, laying on newspapers, on the grassy banks. They were situated forty or fifty years apart, not particularly taking note of each other and not necessarily friends, but each had an identical appearance; they had their pants legs rolled up, shoes and socks still on, disclosing sections of legs with white, withered, not weathered skin. They laid square on their backs, shirts off, relaxed, their chests, some hairy, some not, open to the sun. No hats, no umbrellas; they were breathing in warm air. Around another corner, on what might be Allandale Road, Maple Street, maybe even Rodney Street, we drove past middle-aged women in short shorts and tank tops, chatting at the edges of their yards as they leaned against their lawn mowers. Even though we found the air chilly, some had more body parts showing that we were accustomed to seeing behind the swinging doors of Bourbon Street. It was an amazing and puzzling sight.

Later, in the afternoon, we met up with a Psychology Professor, whose house we planned to rent. He explained that everyone was coming out of hibernation; that this was the first day of sunshine of the summer season. Over the years, we have come to understand why the Anonymous Gourmet and other Newfoundlanders tend to hibernate over these long winters, y the fire, eating soups and stews made from left overs. This is certainly how we coped this winter. We also appreciate more and more those first days of sunshine, even though they are far and few between this time of year. (Melba Rabinowitz)

The Anonymous Gourmet writes:
There has not been much happening in the last couple of months. We are all too tired of making merry and eating too much. Much too much. Not just during the holidays, but the leftovers afterwards. As delicious as they were, it's time to trim the waistline and the budget. Most of the time, our meals consisted of whatever festive food was still left in the freezer with some fresh veggies, or if I could find reduced peppers at the supermarket, then a lecso or stuffed peppers. It makes a great winter meal. I will give you the recipe now for both.


LECSO

Allow about one large pepper per person.

Clean and core peppers. Green, yellow, orange or red, or a combination of them. Cut into strips.
Chop a large onion and sauteed in a little oil. Do not let it brown.

Add a large spoonful of paprika, ground black pepper, sliced peppers and about equal amount of chopped tomatoes. Again, don't use your best tomatoes, save them to eat fresh. Buy some reduced, or use canned.

Add a couple of cloves of crushed garlic. If the tomatoes were not too juicy, you might need to add a little water. Salt to taste.

Add a handful of rice and simmer with a cover on, till rice is tender.

You can serve this as a vegetarian dish with some garlic bread, or over pasta, or you might slice a sausage or two into it.

Leftovers? How wonderful! Use as a base for soups or stews, or scramble an egg over it for breakfast or lunch. Lecso also freezes well.

STUFFED PEPPERS

Use a large pepper per person.

Again, buy any colour of peppers, preferably at the reduced table. Clean and core peppers.

In a bowl, mix ground pork, paprika, ground pepper, salt, marjoram, savoury, a couple of eggs and a handful of rice.

Stuff peppers. Stick the handle of a wooden spoon onto the middle of the meat stuffing. This will allow the rice to cook evenly and to expand during cooking, otherwise, peppers may split. Put peppers into a roaster or a baking dish, pour enough tomato juice over it to just cover.
Sprinkle a couple of spoonfuls of sugar over it, cover and bake at 350F till rice is done in the stuffing. Serve with cubed, boiled potatoes or garlic bread.

I usually make enough for several meals, and use the turkey roasting pan for baking. It freezes well, and it's not harder or more time consuming to make a large quantity. It will come in very handy on a busy day.