when you've got red pepper, asparagus, and a random can of pineapple

You can throw them together for a fabulous sauce!
No, really. This isn't just end-of-summer CSA insanity born of one too many nightshades.

Well, maybe it is a little bit. But! This sauce really worked. Roasting red peppers gives them that seductive smoky roasty flavor. Asparagus, either roasted or grilled, brings a fresh green bitterness. And pineapple, very surprisingly, mellows them both and brings them together. And, like the earlier roasted veggies recipe, it was really easy to make.

Here's my cooking-by-intuition recipe:

- Preheat oven to 400 F.

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- Toss some sweet red peppers with olive oil. Pierce each with a knife and lay on a cookie sheet covered with parchment or foil or a Silpat. (I highly recommend just getting yourself a Silpat and saving the money on all that parchment or foil.)

- If you don't already have grilled asparagus left over from dinner the night before like we did, go ahead and toss your asparagus with olive oil too.
- Let them sweat in there for, oh, 25 minutes? Until they look roasty. If you're cooking in shifts and going to try and get work done while you cook, set your timer for 15 minutes and check in on 'em.

- When the peppers look good and scorchy, and the asparagus look bright green and crisp-tender (which might happen earlier, or might not, depending on the size of both your peppers and your asparagus), take it out and turn off your oven because you're all done with that.

- Let everything cool a bit. Then pull off the peppers' stems, squeeze out the seeds, roughly chop the asparagus, and throw them in a food processor. Add a splash of olive oil and a dash of sea salt.

- Then! Behold your can of Trader Joe's pineapple chunks in juice. Eye it the way I eyed our already-open can. Think about how badly you want to bring out the roasty goodness of the red peppers. Then have no fear in tossing in 5-8 pineapple chunks into your food processor.

- Whir it up until only somewhat chunky, kind of smoothish.

- Dollop onto pizza. Serve with chicken. Stir into vinaigrette salad dressing. Add to sandwiches. Stir into hummus. So many possibilities!

What we did was to dollop onto Trader Joe's organic three cheese pizza. Along with a broccoli-tomato puree I had made a week ago. And extra shaved parm and asiago on top. Not a bad dinner.

And we USED UP our CSA share of peppers! Until I get more tomorrow. :)