Peppers are Done

I cleaned the peppers out of the high tunnel last night. The plants have all been bit by the cold and were pretty wilty.

Looks like I need to make some jalepeno pepper jelly. I think fajitas will also be on our dinner menu this week (and next).

Peppers on My Pizza

You're looking at one frozen pizza covered in cubanelle peppers. They were fabulous!

I am not, I repeat NOT, a green-pepper-on-my-pizza kind of gal. But these were good.

I wanted to pick these peppers weeks ago when they were light green. But Bill at the Extension told me to wait. He said they were a sweet frying pepper and "really good when allowed to turn red."

And right he was. Imagine that.

Pepper & Sausage Saute

Here's an old family favorite. Mom used to make this for breakfast or dinner. Goes very well with cornbread on the side.

1 lb smoked sausage
1 large green pepper cut into strips
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 T soy sauce

Cut sausages into chunks and brown in skillet. Pour off fat. Remove sausage. Put remaining ingredients in pan and cook until peppers begin to wilt. Add sausages and cook at low temp until syrup thickens, stirring often.

*I like this with way more peppers.

Pickled Peppers

Oh my goodness...I can't believe I've been gone from the blog for a whole month! We had a health thing pop up in my family, so I've been spending a lot of time away at the hospital. Looks like all is well now. I am so thankful to everyone who kept my loved one in their prayers.

I've still been managing to water the garden this past month, but harvesting and cooking and preserving have been a whole other thing altogether.

Photo above is from the beginning stages of some pickled peppers. I know...far more green peppers than I would have liked...but that's what I had. That and lots of jalepenos and a few banana peppers.

I thinking the men folk in the family will enjoy them chopped up on brats and such. Me...I'm not so good with hot! My husband, on the other hand, will go to an Indian restaurant and request the highest heat (and then ask them to bump it up a little). Ugh.

SAFE Salsa Recipe

Okay folks. I led you astray with my salsa recipe. Apparently, there is not enough acid in my recipe to prevent botulism. Thanks to reader joe-il for alerting me to my mistake. Read his comment under my original post.

Note: The original post has already been modified somewhat, altering readers to its unsuitability for canning.

I checked with the Extension folks, and they sent over a new recipe (below). Also, I've been informed that salsa should only be canned in pint jars.

Tomato/Tomato Paste Salsa l

3 quarts sliced tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped
3 cups onions, chopped (3 medium whole)
6 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
4 long green chilies, peeled, seeded, and chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 12-ounce cans tomato paste
2 cups bottled lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon ground cumin (optional)
2 tablespoons oregano leaves (optional)
1 teaspoon black pepper

Yield: 7 to 9 pints

Jalapeno peppers do not need to be peeled. Peel and prepare chili peppers.* To peel tomatoes, dip in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds or until skins split, then dip in cold water to remove skins. Core and chop tomatoes. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and heat, stirring frequently, until mixture boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle hot salsa into clean, hot pint jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe jar rims and cap with properly pre-treated lids. Process in a boiling water bath canner. Process time in a boiling water bath canner for hot pack pint jars at the following elevations:

0-1,000 feet 15 minutes

1,001 – 6,000 feet 20 minutes

My sincere apologies. (Sigh.) Not a fun post to write.

On a lighter note, the red pepper above weighs a whopping 14oz.

Five Little Peppers

Did you read any of the Five Little Peppers books when you were little? No? Well me neither. But I know they were some of my mother's childhood favorites. Maybe it's time to visit them.

These are five dark purple peppers harvested from the garden yesterday. Most of the plants from our "rainbow" mix appear to be purple. And they're going gangbusters right now.

So far I'm only seeing two other colors -- one yellow plant and a few green. Those green better be turning some shades of orange and red, or I'm going to have words with the seed folk. Colorful words.

Purple Pepper

This little guy is making himself known in one of the outdoor beds. So excited for my rainbow peppers to start making an appearance. Here's hoping I get some orange and yellow and red ones too! But no green. Blech! (Sorry Kermit.)

Dirt Therapy

Today was a day. You know what I mean?

Back to back client meetings, deadlines looming, email inbox growing... Inhaled lunch (and then some) and before I knew it, it was 4:00 with barely enough time to return this morning's phone calls. Left for the garden tired and cranky with my stress showing clearly between my eyes.

And then I got down on my knees and dug in the dirt. Yeah.

Had NPR streaming through my earbuds, mud on my jeans, and fresh air in my lungs. Suddenly I felt sorta relaxed. Not totally carefree mind you, but appreciably lighter.

Planted 18 pepper plants in raised beds outside the high tunnel tonight. The extension beds are full of luxurious, soft black dirt. Rich with tons of wonderful compost, I'm sure. Didn't even need a trowel. Just dug my hands in and pushed the dirt aside. Awesome.

Kind of makes me think about kids and sandboxes. Think that's good for stress too?