What to do With an Abundance of Hot Peppers

We love hot peppers and grow a bunch of them every year.  This year someone offered us some free hot banana peppers - five plants, actually.  We have the normal jalapenos and anaheims that we normally grow.  We had a strange arrival, too.  One of the seeds that was in the shishito package was NOT a shishito pepper.  It was a brilliant orange pepper and this bad boy was hot.  So what do you do with a bunch of peppers that are too hot to just eat plain?

Well, we'll show you what we do.  First we enjoy the electric colors of the hot peppers.  Makes a pretty basket, doesn't it?

Then, after washing them, I cut them in half and removed the seeds and the ribs.  This is the point at which you want to remember NOT to touch your eyes or your face.  Not even after washing your hands.  Ask me how I know!

Load onto the rack of the dehydrator and put on the 'vegetable mode' and run that baby until the peppers are shriveled up and dried completely.

Then we put the dried peppers in the food processor and run until the peppers have been ground into, well, ground pepper.  I wish you could smell this!  Wonderful, rich, aromatic!  Sprinkle just a dash onto your food and it livens up the dish nicely.

We always make Emeril's Essence Seasoning using the following RECIPE.  If you click that link, it will bring you to the recipe.  In place of the 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper, we substituted our mystery hot orange pepper.  We'll call it Emeril's Very Hot Essence!  We'll be making a lot more as out pepper supply seems limitless this year.  That's a good problem to have.  Stay spicy, my friends!

A Little Hot Stuff

We grow a lot of peppers.  All different types.  Jalapenos, Criolla Sellas, Anaheims, Sweet Bells.  We start them from seeds in early January.  Once it cools off in the fall before it freezes, the peppers have a last burst of productivity.  We harvest and freeze lots of them.  We dry them and make chili powder.  One thing we did this year was dried jalapenos and then ground it up to make Jalapeno Pepper powder.  It's good for adding to anything like you would black pepper.  This just has an added punch to it.

We also like hot sauce.  We like Crystal Hot Sauce and Tabasco Sauce.  Benjamin and I decided to make our own Jalapeno Hot Sauce this year.  We gathered all of our ingredients:  Jalapeno peppers (1 pound freshly picked), 3/4 cup white vinegar, 1/3 cup water, 1 cup onions, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 garlic cloves, and black pepper.

We picked the freshest jalapenos off the plants in the garden and washed them in water.

Then I de-stemmed the jalapenos.  I left the seeds and everything with the peppers.  Tricia said she could really smell them when I started cutting them.  I made a note to NOT put my fingers anywhere near my eyes.  I learned that lesson before.

I sautéed the onion and garlic in some oil in a dutch oven.  Once translucent I added the oregano, salt and cumin and allowed to cook for a minute.  Then I added the peppers, vinegar and water and brought to a simmer.

I poured all that into a food processor and added some sprigs of fresh cilantro on top.  Then I pulsed it until smooth.

We poured it all into a quart jar.  You ought to smell it.  Powerful stuff!

It'll keep in the fridge for about a month.

We just spoon out a dollop of it on top of our food.  This morning I mixed a tablespoon of it into my bowl of grits for breakfast.  It added a nice little kick!  But that's just one idea.  Really, we'll put it on anything except maybe dessert.

Three Mile Island Pepper

Last week we showed you how we dehydrated jalapeno peppers and then ground it into pepper that we use to flavor dishes.  I used a lot of it today on top of some purple hull peas & sausage over white rice.  It added some flavor depth - hot, but not swell up your tongue and watery-eyes hot.

Our son, Russ, saw what we had done and wanted us to try to dehydrate and grind into ground pepper some of his peppers.  He had a very productive habanero pepper plant or two this year.  He put up four gallon-sized zip loc bags of habaneros in his freezer.  This week he brought over two of the four bags for us to process.  He had already cut them into rings so they'd fit better in the freezer.

We poured them onto the trays of the dehydrator while they were frozen and then used a fork to spread them out evenly so they would dry in a uniform fashion.

Pretty soon we had every rack filled.  We would have to do this in two separate batches.  I was a little concerned about them being frozen, buy they dried just the same.

The habaneros shrunk up to half its size in no time as all the water was removed in the drying process, leaving just the heat.

While hot and dry, Tricia put them into the food processer and gave it a whirl or two.  Here's the part where we wanted to be really careful.  That red dust in the air would be really painful to get in your eyes.  It also would not be pleasant to breathe it in.

Here's what a habanero looks like whole.  It's candy-apple red and has a pointed tail.

Two gallon-sized ziploc bags of peppers yielded this much ground habanero pepper.  We have two more to process and then we'll be done.

I haven't worked up the boldness to try this yet.  I can handle jalapenos.  I just don't think I could do habaneros.  These things are just really hot.  Radioactive hot.  I think we'll label this container, "Three Mile Island Pepper."  It'll put hair on your chest, for sure.

Picking Pecks of Peppers

We always plant our peppers from seeds on January 1st.  We've eaten plenty of peppers all throughout the year.  Unusually high rainfall earlier in the year sickened our peppers, even causing some of them to die.  It hurt their yield.  Now that cooler weather has set in, the peppers are very happy and they are producing peppers faster than we can eat them.  That's a good problem to have, I guess.

We picked two buckets full of jalapenos the other afternoon.  We have a mild jalapeno and a hot jalapeno.  I planted them too close together and they have cross pollinated, so they are all very hot now.  Even as we picked the larger ones, the sheer weight of the smaller peppers weighed down the branches.

We've cooked with them, dried a bunch of them and eaten a whole lot of them.  We'll make jalapeno poppers again pretty soon.  That's our favorite thing to do with them.  I'll have to check our inventory of Pepper Jelly in the pantry to see if we can make more.  That's a good snack!

The sweet bell peppers are producing nicely, too.  Just the other night, we had "dirty rice" for supper.  The next evening, Tricia picked some nice bell peppers, stuffed them with the leftover dirty rice, baked them, and we had stuffed bell peppers for supper.

The Lilac bell peppers are very healthy now, too.  We like colorful things in the garden and these fit the bill nicely.  Named lilac for their purple color, these peppers are just beautiful.  They are sweet, so the taste resembles a normal bell pepper.

The peppers are full of blooms and will continue producing until the first freeze kills them.  Until then we'll continue to enjoy.  Long about the time the freeze kills the mature plants, we'll plant replacements for them from seed on January 1st and start the process all over again.

Thoughts on a Thursday

This afternoon was a busy one.  When I got home from work, I weeded the three rows of green beans.  All the weeds were thrown over the fence and the chickens and goats happily disposed of them for me!  This green bean experiment may be an exercise in futility.  I was told by a master gardener at church that you aren't supposed to plant green beans until mid-August as green beans don't like hot weather.  Since our spring green beans didn't produce well due to excessive rain, I'm hoping that these produce.  If not, I'll plant again in a month.

I moved the cows to the next paddock in the pasture.  Every two days I move them into the next paddock and close off the one they were just eating on.  This gives it a little over a week to "rest up" and re-grow.  The paddock on the right below has been eaten down.  The side on the left has tender growth.  The cows recognize the sound of the electric fence reel.  They equate it to fresh grass and come running.

Then I walked out to the barn to get my small animal trap.  Last night I spotted a possum in the yard, but by the time I went inside to get my rifle, the possum was gone!  I'll set the trap in the yard and hopefully catch him.  I baited the trap with dog food and will check in the morning.  I hope I don't catch our cat in the trap.  In the past I've caught many possums, but have also caught the neighbor's cats from time to time.

While I was at the barn, Oreo's two baby twins, Salt and Pepper, were playing in the wagon.  I tell you, these goats get into everything.  They were playing in the wagon!

Pepper figured the wagon was as good a place as any t take a nap.  Salt was too antsy to rest.

As it turns out, it was a good thing I went back out to the barn to get the trap.  I discovered that after we separated the bulls from the mommas, Clarabull had escaped and had rejoined the herd in the pasture.  It is a good thing we noticed or we would have gotten no milk at all tomorrow!  Crisis averted.  We captured the escapee and put her back in the corral.

Antlers of Ridicule and Scorn

Well, the other afternoon, we heard a familiar sound.  A goat was crying.  We knew exactly what had happened.  It is not the first time it happened, or the second, or third, or fourth.  Or fifth, for that matter.  Salt is one of Oreo's twins.  Salt is not too bright.  Her brother, Pepper, is not a Rhodes scholar, by any stretch, but he's smarter than Salt - although Salt does not set the bar for intellect very high.

Salt has been getting her head stuck in the fence.  Repeatedly.  The grass is indeed always greener on the other side of the fence.  The fence, in this case, is a 4 x 4 "hog wire" and the goats love to poke their heads through it and eat the tender grass on the other side.  The predicament they find themselves in is that they have horns that prevent them from getting their heads back through.

Help me!

The ideal thing to do is that when the goats are a week or so old, you get a de-horner and de-horn them.  We got busy with other things and didn't do this in time and the horns are too long.  Those horns have proven to be troublesome for Salt.  I think if you look at her below, she's kind of embarrassed to be stuck yet again.

Okay, I know it's like the tenth time, but can you get me out, please?

I searched for ideas.  We've used rubber band emasculators before on Annie in order to de-horn her, but she grew scurs (partial horn re-growth).  I found people that had success with something I'll call the "Antlers of Ridicule and Scorn."  The cost for installation is negligible.  All you need is a length of PVC pipe and some duct tape.  Every redneck has that laying around somewhere.

You simply lay the PVC pipe horizontally against the front of the goat's horns and apply the duct tape numerous times in a 'figure-8' around the horns and PVC until secure.  When you are done, it will look something like this:

I am so ashamed!

The Antlers of Ridicule and Scorn work because they prevent the goat's head from being able to fit between the 4x4 spacings in the fence.  Although it is July, looking at Salt reminded me of Christmas, specifically this guy: (Don't you see the resemblance?)

Image Credit

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch...  Salt did not like her antlers.  The duct tape held them on tight and no amount of shaking her head would shake them loose.

Salt saw that it was futile to try to remove her antlers and tried to accept her new accessory.  She tried to act normal, but I believe she knew how ridiculous she looked to us and her barnyard friends.

What are you looking at?

Her twin, Pepper, approached her and inspected her antlers between spasms of laughter.  I'm pretty sure I witnessed Pepper laughing uncontrollably.  Salt's confidence was shaken.

You look mahvelous! (cough, cough, snicker, snicker)

But here came Oreo.  It was suppertime!  Salt and Pepper ran to Oreo to nurse.  Then the craziest thing happened.  Oreo would not let Salt come near her with the antlers.  Oreo began to head butt her away.  I don't know if it scared Oreo.  I do know that Salt and Pepper aren't weaned yet and with the Antlers of Ridicule and Scorn installed, Salt would be on an involuntary hunger strike if I didn't take action.

I reluctantly removed Salt's antlers.  I have them stored away for safekeeping.  In a month, when it is time to wean Salt, I'll re-install the antlers.  Until then, we keep our eyes and ears open for Salt.  She doesn't seem to learn her lesson and I'm sure we'll have to pry her head out of the fence another time or three...

Making Ground Criolla Sella Pepper - Spicin' It Up!

Before the freeze zapped all the peppers, Tricia went out and harvested all of the Criolla Sella Peppers off of the plant.  Criolla Sella peppers come from Bolivia.  They are a chili pepper that is mild in terms of heat, with just the right amount of spice to liven up any dish.  I was introduced to them by a buyer who wanted me to grow them for a restaurant.  I had never heard of them, but grew them excited about the prospects of having a 'cash crop.'

The cash never materialized.  Ha ha.  But I grew the peppers for personal consumption.  The way we determined we liked them best was to dry them and grind them into a chili powder and use it as a seasoning.  It is tedious work, but the dividends pay off, I think.  We've streamlined the process over the years.  First, we lay out the peppers in a dehydrator and turn it on to let them dry for a couple of days.

You know the peppers are done when the peppers are like parchment paper - dry and crinkly.  At this point, we carefully take a pair of scissors and cut them down the middle, scraping the seeds out, trying hard not to make the brittle pepper crumble.

The peppers with all the seeds removed are put into a ninja blender and turned it on.  We shook it while chopping in order to make sure that all the the peppers are ground into powder form.

It doesn't take long.  That is a powerful little blender.  One thing I wish this blog post could convey is fragrance.  I wish I could tell you how good the aroma smells.  Criolla Sella peppers have a "smoky" aroma, I find.

We pour the freshly ground pepper into an older pepper shaker that holds 8 ounces.  The rich color and flavor of the ground pepper complements any dish.

We'll use this to add another layer of flavoring to whatever Tricia cooks up.  Tonight I shook some on top of some homemade duck gumbo    Talk about good!

Spices Don't Get Any Fresher Than This

Each year we plant a couple Criolla Sella Pepper plants in the garden.  I raise them from seed normally, but this year a couple plants came up volunteer from last year so I just transplanted them where I wanted them.  They produce prolifically and keep us busier than Peter Piper harvesting the peppers.

At first they are green .

And then when they are ripe they are bright Jack O'Lantern orange.  That bright color against the green foliage means they are easy to spot when picking.  You can see the small white blooms next to my pinky finger.

I'll pick a bucket and bring them inside, wash them, cut them in half and put them on the food dehydrator trays and let them dry overnight until they break in half easily with  snap.

I use an old potato/carrot peeler blade to insert into the pepper and de-seed them.

Normally I'd throw them into the food processor and pulse until the peppers turned to powder, but I was feeling like doing it the old fashioned way tonight.  I pulled out Tricia's molcajete.  That is the Mexican version of the mortar and pestle.  It works nicely for grinding.

With a little effort the dried peppers are pulverized into ground pepper.  I wish you could smell the 'smoky-hot fragrance' of the freshly ground pepper.  Wonderful!

The bright orange-colored pepper against the white plate makes a stark contrast.  It kind of makes black pepper boring, don't you think?

We funnel it into pepper containers and use all year long.  We'll make batches of fresh ground Criolla Sella peppers as long as the plants produce - that will be until winter.

Sorry McCormick.  Criolla Sella fresh ground pepper beats the pants off of store bought ground black pepper.

Tomato Seedling Update 2015

Tricia and I were discussing today how time flies.  We have two "kids" in college and our 'baby' will be starting high school in the fall.  They sure do grow up fast! Time flies by in a blur.  In addition to our kids and my waistline (from winter gumbo eating), there's something else growing - our tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant.

It was about 12 days ago in This Post where we talked about getting our seeds started and placing them above the freezer in our laundry room to sprout.  Each day I've diligently sprayed the soil with water when I get home from work.  It is nice and toasty atop the freezer.  I placed a thermometer and it is 77 degrees up there. Perfect for coaxing some slumbering seeds to awaken from their nap.  The top of the freezer is also a storage spot for our egg cartons.  Since Spring is on its way the hens have started to lay a few more eggs each day and soon all the cartons will be filled with fresh country eggs.

I listened to the weather report today about the snowfall in the northeast and I remember our trip to South Dakota a month ago with the frigid temperatures. Brrrr!  It makes me feel a little guilty to think that I'm getting a shovel to dig a bit in the garden to prepare to put in our Irish Potato crop and our neighbors to the north are using their shovels to dig their way out of the snow.

Well, here are our tomato seedlings, jumping up out of the ground with vigor.  I planted about a week and a half late and I think that they are making up for lost time.  

It's Grow Time!

It looks like the germination percentage is about 95%, except for one variety (Riesentraube), whose germination is only about 5%.  I don't know what happened there.  You can see that the tomato cotyledons (first leaves) are green and healthy. We won't transplant into larger containers until they put on their first true leaves.

Tomato cotyledons

Here is a list of the different heirloom tomato varieties we planted this year:

• Pink Brandywine
• Amish Paste
• Abu Ruwan
• Riesentraube
• Organic Beefsteak
• Black Krim
• Gypsy
• Black from Tula
• Big Rainbow
• Mortgage Lifter
• Thessaloniki
• Moneymaker

They are all open-pollinated, heirloom varieties.  Our favorite, by far, is the Black Krim!  As you can notice from the picture below, the seedlings grow toward the sunlight that floods through a window in our laundry room.  I need to pull down the shade, lest the plants get too "leggy."

Growing toward the sunlight

The peppers take a little bit longer to germinate and although we planted all of these seeds on the same day, the peppers are just now popping up.  These are the pepper varieties we planted this year:

• Buren Red Bell Pepper
• Cayenne Pepper
• Sweet Chocolate Pepper
• Purple Beauty Bell Pepper
• Anaheim Pepper
• Criolla Sella Pepper
• Jalapeno Pepper

Peppers Popping out of the soil

And finally, pulling up the rear, is the Eggplant.  If you look very closely, you can see the little seedling that is about to make its presence known.

Eggplant seedling

We'll keep a close eye on our seedlings and baby them until they are ready to transplant into a larger container.  The small seed pots they are in now don't have a lot of soil and they dry out quickly.  I normally will separate the seedlings when two or more are growing and transplant them each to one pot.  Then when the plants have grown and the risk of frost is gone, I'll replant them all directly into the garden row.