Bell Pepper Festival

This is the first recipe I tried from Molly Katzen's "Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without". I've been mixing this with rice and my husband loves it.

Pile this colorful combination of soft sweet onions and crisp, bright barely cooked peppers on top of (or in the case of rice or pasta, mixed in with) anything you want to spruce up: grilled tofu or fish, an open-faced cheese sandwich, an omelet, pasta, rice - really anything.

Place a large, wide, shallow skillet over medium heat. After about a minute, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and swirl to coat the pan.

Turn the heat to high and add 1 cup thinly sliced onion. Cook it quickly until it wilts and becomes translucent. This will take only about 3-5 minutes.

When the onion becomes very soft, add 4 medium thinly sliced bell peppers (about 1-1/2 lbs of assorted bright colours), salt and 1-1/2 teaspoons minced or crushed garlic. After about a minute over strong heat, turn the heat down to medium, and continue to cook and stir (tongs work best!) for only about 5 minutes longer. The peppers should be barely cooked. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature in any context.

This dish will keep for up to a week if stored in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator. You can use it incrementally as desired.