This recipe my mother adapted from Adelle Davis when mom was teaching herself to cook in the 1960s. Like so many of those early recipes, mom has modified them to her taste and style through the years. This one, she rarely does exactly the same way twice. She’ll use a different set of herbs and seasoning, depending on what strikes her fancy looking through the spice cabinet. Whereas my father is a stickler for details and exact ingredient measurements, mom usually can’t be bothered, She keeps things simple and improvises as she goes along. While dad’s stuffed bell pepper recipe is terrific, it’s a little too much fuss and bother for her to make. This one is easier and more her style. If you need to cook rice from scratch, you’ll need 3/4 to 1 cup raw rice to get 1 1/2 to 2 cups cooked rice. To save time, you can use pre-cooked packaged rice. You can substitute the herbs with other herbs such as an Italian herb mix. Place the bell peppers cut side up on a steaming rack over an inch of water in a large covered pot. Bring to boil, and let steam for 10 minutes. (Note: you can skip this step if you want, but steaming the pepper shells first will make them more tender and easier to eat.) Drizzle olive oil over the stuffed peppers, along the outside of the peppers, and into the pan. Rub the oil over the outside of the peppers; it will help with browning. Sprinkle the tops generously with paprika. Serve with ketchup on the side.
