Bye Bye Bells

We had a frost warning last night... and although the parsley and oregano and other herbs seem unaffected, the Bell Peppers definitely succumbed.  So I harvested the last of them.  I think the Cayenne has jumped ship, too, but I am going to give it a day or two to recover (no signs of frost in the next week) before I pick the rest of them.  I should have harvested them all and taken the plant in, but it was the last thing I felt like doing.  If it recovers, then I will.  If it doesn't, then it's one less thing for me to nurse this winter.  I think I'd like to try growing Tabasco peppers, instead, just to try something different (and because they are absolutely beautiful.)

It's Official...

I am TOTALLY OFF MY ROCKER!

It's a beautiful day, sun shining, 65 degrees, and I am sick as a dog.  But I decide that some Vitamin D can't hurt, and I can't spread my germs to anything out in the garden, so off I go.


First thing on the to-do list?  Preparing the Jalapeno for over-wintering inside.

Yes, you read that right.  I have been complaining about all of my peppers and here I am, unwilling to let the thing just die... committing myself to care for it all winter long.  Why, you ask?  Just to see if I can. 

Growing up in New England, peppers were treated as annuals.  But they are indeed perennials, and I truly had gorgeous plants (for which I can take zero credit.  They were here when we bought the place.)  It would be a shame to not even TRY to save them.  I did a bit of research last night on the internet, and decided to take this approach:

First, I harvested most of the jalapenos and then pulled up the plant.

Next, I went ahead and trimmed the roots.  Supposedly, this is supposed to encourage more root growth, but mostly I had to do it in order to get the thing into the pot I prepared for it.

Then I trimmed it back.  Way back.  And nestled it into it's new home for the winter.

And trimmed it back some more.  (When Hurricane Irene came through, it got blown around and started growing funny, so I decided to trim off the crooked branches.)

Apparently, all it needs is to be near a window for the winter, so we'll see.

The Cayenne is next, but it still has too many peppers on it.

Peter Piper...

I was insanely excited last night when I hopped on Craigslist and found that someone had just listed canning jars for $25.  I was all out of empty ones, so I'd intended to buy new ones this week.  I came home with 6 cases of quarts, 4 cases of pints, and some 12 oz jelly jars for $25!

The first thing I needed to tackle were the peppers (have I mentioned how many we have?  We only have 2 bell plants, one cayenne, and one jalapeno plant, but they are STILL blossoming!)  I decided I'd try pickling some of them for Dad's for Christmas, since I am running out of ideas.

While searching for recipes, many people mentioned that canning them turns them to mush, so I decided NOT to process them and simply store them in the fridge.  I used this recipe (scroll down for the Marinated Refrigerator Peppers/)

While the jars were getting washed and sterilized, I chopped the peppers.  I used a mixture of jalapeno and cayenne.

Then, I brought 5 c white vinegar, 1 c water, and 1 TBL pickling salt to a boil.  Then, turn it down to a simmer for 5 minutes.

Fill jars with peppers, packing tightly.  Then, fill with the brine, making sure all the peppers are covered in liquid.  Place lids on, but not bands.  Let cool. 

Screw on bands and store in the fridge for up to 6 months.

They really are beautiful, and with the red and green they will be perfect for Christmas!  This recipe made 4 12-oz jars, so that would be 6 pints or 3 quarts.  

Hotter than Hades Pepper Jelly

I'm ready to cry uncle with the Cayenne peppers.  I've picked and picked and STILL there are blossoms on that plant!

I've dried a ton and turned them into crushed pepper flakes.  But we just don't eat a lot of hot things, so I am at my wits end.  I decided the only way to get rid of a ton of these at once is to make Cayenne Pepper Jelly.

This recipe caught my eye, so I gave it a whirl.  Only I refused to waste the time seeding all the peppers when I wasn't even going to eat any of it, anyway.  So I left them all in and decided to call it "Hotter than Hades".

I weighed out 12 ounces of Cayenne peppers, but basically it was enough to fill the food processor.

Pour in 1 cup of cider vinegar and process.

Transfer to a large saucepan and add another cup of cider vinegar and 6 cups of sugar. 

Bring to a boil and, stirring constantly, boil for 10 minutes.

Add two packets of liquid pectin and return to a rolling boil for one minute.

Transfer to jars and process in a boiling water bath.

This stuff is HOT.  As in, I tried a teeny little bit with no seeds and it had quite the kick.  I decided to let all the seeds float to the top, so that whoever ends up with these can spoon them off if they want.  Another way to reduce the heat is to mix some in with Raspberry or Strawberry jam, and then serve over cream cheese with crackers.  I actually had a commercially-made raspberry hot pepper jelly and it was really good, so don't think I'm crazy!

The batch made 7 pints and one is for Dad for Christmas (he's the only one I know who will eat anything this hot!).  The rest will be used for bartering!

Hot Pepper Jelly

So remember those peppers I mentioned before?

The ones that are producing way faster than I can use them?

Today I decided to try a new Hot Pepper Jelly (HPJ) recipe.  I am a huge fan of HPJ over cream cheese served with crackers.  It's a very easy, yet delicious, appetizer.  With the holidays coming up, I wanted to make sure I had a good stash in the pantry (and also, I'm not convinced we're growing the Jalapenos next year, so just in case I need to make as much as I can!)

The last batch I made called for only jalapenos and liquid pectin.  It gelled up almost too well, and it was mostly sweet, there was no kick AT ALL to it, so I knew it wasn't going to be my 'go-to' recipe.
I found THIS RECIPE this morning and decided to go for it, since it called for the boxed pectin AND a variety of peppers (I think the red and green will be really festive for Christmas.)

I don't know what I was thinking, but I decided to chop them all by hand.  Next time, remind me to throw them in the food processor.  If you're doing this at home, make sure you wear gloves.  Those peppers can leave lasting side effects if you don't (it's a mistake I only made once and never again since!)

I ended up using a little less than 3 cups of chopped jalapenos, two chopped cayenne, and about 1 cup of chopped red pepper.  I seeded them, too, because I figured it would be hot enough as it is with the cayenne.

Add 1 cup of cider vinegar in a large sauce pan, along with a box of pectin.

Bring to a rapid boil over high heat, stirring constantly.

Add in 5 cups of sugar and return to a boil.  Let it go for one minute, then remove from heat.

Place in jars and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.  (Check to make sure they've sealed and all that good stuff.)

All of the peppers will float to the top, which is fine by me.  But I'd read that if you turn the jars every 20 minutes or so while they cool, the peppers will be more evenly distributed.  So I decided to give it a whirl.

This batch definitely has a kick to it, but that's MY opinion and I don't really like spicy things.  It isn't too hot, though, so I think this recipe might be a keeper.

When life gives you Jalapenos...

We inherited four lovely pepper plants from the previous owners.

Two bells, a cayenne, and a jalapeno.

They are all teeming with peppers.  More peppers than we will ever use, since only one of us eats hot stuff.  I am leaving most of the bells on the plants so they will turn red.  Then I'll slice them and freeze them for fajitas this winter.  Organic peppers are crazy expensive, and I'm grateful to have them.  I've been dehydrating the cayenne peppers and then grinding them in the food processor.  Dad's getting them for Christmas.  The jalapenos, however, have me stumped.  And there's a ton of them!

A quick search of Allrecipes yielded  this recipe and I decided that I'd make a batch for the potluck we have this weekend.

Following the suggestion of others, I decided to boil the bacon first in hopes of getting it to crisp up once it bakes in the oven.  I've never boiled bacon before.

Then, I mixed up the cream cheese, ranch dressing mix, garlic powder, mayo, and shredded cheese (the recipe calls for sprinkling the cheese on top, but I figured it'd be less messy to mix it in.)

After slicing and de-seeding the jalapenos, I soaked them in water.  Supposedly it cuts the heat even more.  I remembered to wear gloves, which is always a good thing.

Then, I used an off-set spreader to fill the peppers with the cheese mixture.  After wrapping with half a slice of bacon, I secured with toothpicks and froze them until this morning.  Once thawed, I popped 'em in the oven.  I did set them on a rack so that they wouldn't be setting in all the bacon grease getting soggy, even though the goal of boiling the bacon was to eliminate some of the fat.

But this wasn't just any rack... the only thing I had that would serve its intended purpose was this French-bread holder.  The holes are supposed to crisp up the crust (I think?) while baking.  I paid a buck for it several years ago at a yardsale.  I haven't made much French bread since then and considered getting rid of it, but I'm glad I didn't.  Now that I know it has two uses, I can justify keeping it  ;-)

Here they are in all of their cheesy-bacon goodness.  I personally can't tell you how they taste because, as the husband says, "You think milk is spicy!"  But he can't resist anything with bacon, so HIS verdict (after he told me I needed to bake them longer so the bacon got really crispy) is that they are good enough to take with us.  And, despite my best efforts, he says they still have quite a bite to them.