Part of the joy of eating is discovering new ingredients. They don’t have to be exotic (like fiddlehead ferns), just different.

We always walk down the produce aisle looking for something we haven’t tried before. Then, we look at all the ways we can use it to add fun and flair to our dishes.

We love the miniature bell peppers that have gotten broad distribution over the past couple of years (we found them at Costco).

Their tiny size and bright colors—green, orange, red and yellow—bring a smile to our faces. Their flesh is sweet and crisp. They’re so cute, kids will look forward to eating their veggies.

And they’re very versatile. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t chop up something that’s been miniaturized, but check the price tag: The minis can be less expensive per pound than regular bell peppers.

We’ve been using them for:

 
How would you use them?

What are your favorite produce “discoveries?”

Find more of our favorite veggies and recipes in our Gourmet Vegetables Section.