Highalt's 2012 Grow Log

stickman · Oct 26, 2012

Holy Crow! Snow already?! That's where we were last year... after lots of flooding in September, we had our first heavy snow in mid-October. Our first tropical storm is supposed to work its way up the coast to us this weekend, and when things cool down enough, the tail end of hurricane season gives us our first heavy snows.

roper2008 · Oct 26, 2012

Is that early snow for you Bonnie? I bet it gets pretty there in the winter. We have been having beautiful weather, in
the 70's, and cool at night. We are suppose to get a lot of rain Sunday. We are lucky here, we seen to dodge a lot of
the bad weater, but not always.

romy6 · Oct 26, 2012

Dang Bonnie I would be the fattest lad in all the land if I lived with or near you. Just some amazing stuff going on in the kitchen. And outside. Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr :rofl:

gnslngr · Oct 26, 2012

What is it that I always end up dropping by when I'm absolutely starving? LOL! Really enjoying C Amarillo powder

!

PaulG · Oct 26, 2012

+1 Jamie! I am jealous!

highalt · Oct 26, 2012

Not to rub it in or anything, Jamie and Paul, but check out what I made this morning for a women's get-together at church tonight.

Caramel Fudge Brownies

Rick, the weather typically changes right before Halloween. Not too unusual for there to be snow on the ground when the kids are trick-or-treating. Last night it got down to 20 degrees. It's supposed to warm up a little bit by the weekend though.

This mornings view out my front door.

This picture really doesn't do it justice. We just ended up with a dusting, but the mountains in the distance are covered in snow. If I had a wide angle lens you could get a better sense of how big the mountains look in person.

gnslngr said:
What is it that I always end up dropping by when I'm absolutely starving? LOL! Really enjoying C Amarillo powder!

Glad your package arrived safely, Dave! Those powders aren't hot, but they have a nice flavor.

ColoradoRonin · Oct 26, 2012

I'm jealous, front door mountain view.
Good thing your on the other side of the divide, otherwise I'd be knocking on your door for some of those brownies.)
Good cookin!

PaulG · Oct 26, 2012

'Caramel Fudge Brownies'!

You're killin' me. Bonnie!

stickman · Oct 26, 2012

That's one way to keep the small talk to a minimum, eh?

Those brownies looked seriously good Bonnie! Do you have a link?

stc3248 · Oct 26, 2012

I'll send my addy right away and expect some deliciousness to arrive in a few days... WOW those look fantastic! I just ate and I'm hungry again already!

Sanarda · Oct 26, 2012

Your killing us all Bonnie. Honestly how do you make someone hungry when they have just eaten because they know there is going to be deliciousness on your glog. I almost licked my screen. Beautiful mountain pic. Now thats living.

highalt · Oct 26, 2012

If you like that view, Ronin and Pia, you might like this one even better. This is on the back side of my house. Took this from the driveway.

As you can see, the snow has melted already.

So after I finished making brownies, I made another batch of Peach Habanero Jam.

It almost didn't happen though. I had already washed the jars, and had a pot of water on to boil to help peel the peach skins off. When I opened the bag of peaches I bought last week, they were molded. I was pretty bummed until I remembered that I had bought a couple of bags of frozen, sliced peaches for making yogurt smoothies. It was just enough for the recipe! Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket, 'cause I'm feeling pretty lucky today. :rofl:

Almost ruined the jam a second time, when I started to add this Chocolate Habanero to the mix.

This was off the same plant as that crazy Brain Strain looking hab. I took a small bite, and at first didn't notice much of anything, including flavor. Then the heat hit hard. The kind of hot where you feel the need to walk around, like that's going to help or something. Burned for a long time, even into my chest, and I felt when it hit my stomach. It might just be the hottest pepper I have ever eaten. Of course, I haven't tried any fresh supers yet. I decided that would be way too much heat for the jam, seeing as how it already had 15 Peach Habaneros in it! Now I don't know what to do with the rest of the pod. That thing is SCARY!!!

stickman said:
That's one way to keep the small talk to a minimum, eh? Those brownies looked seriously good Bonnie! Do you have a link?

Yep.

http://www.bettycroc...12-dfb9084540d3

FOLLOW UP:

Just had the leftover jam that was in the pan on some toast. Holy crap that stuff is hot! Man am I glad I left that Chocolate Habanero pod out, or it would have been unedible for most people. Maybe it will mellow in the jar ...

:fireball:

stc3248 said:
I'll send my addy right away and expect some deliciousness to arrive in a few days... WOW those look fantastic! I just ate and I'm hungry again already!

You can send me your address, but those will be gone before the day is done. I'd be happy to send you some of that flamin' hot jelly I made today though.

stickman · Oct 26, 2012

If you're looking for something to do with just one or two pods... you could put them in a bottle of really good olive or toasted sesame oil and let them flavor the oil. If you want to saute with the oil, use one that has a higher scorch temperature like peanut or canola. Capsaicin is fat soluble, so it'll spread throughout the bottle and be thinned out as well.

highalt · Oct 26, 2012

He looked a little lonely, so I let him join a few of his friends ...

This is all of the Chocolate Habaneros (both kinds) and the rest of the Peach Habanero crop, ready to go in the dehydrator.

So I ate a small piece of the crazy Brain Strain looking Chocolate Hab, and a bite of the regular Chocolate Hab. to compare the two. Both were extremely hot (to me, anyway), and caused excessive salivation, to the point where I began to wonder if I was about to throw up. Thankfully, the pain subsided before that could happen. Not sure if I really noticed much flavor with either one of them ... I was in too much pain. They are both way hotter than a regular habanero. Not sure what's up with the need to get up and move around when the heat hits, but I could not stay still. When I went to wash the knife and cutting board, I was still wearing the nitrile gloves, and when the hot water hit them, the fumes made me cough uncontrollably. Makes me even more leery of eating a raw super.

stickman · Oct 26, 2012

I'm with you Bonnie... much as I like the burn, I want it to be with food.

HillBilly Jeff · Oct 27, 2012

Love the views. Makes me think of elk and mule deer hunting lol.

Nice looking brownies and jam

highalt · Oct 27, 2012

Thanks, Jeff! My husband doesn't hunt, but lots of my friends become "hunting widows" this time of year.

Not pepper related at all, but one of my favorite canning projects of the year, because I do it with the kids, making homemade applesauce.

Getting started

Honeycrisp apples cooking

Cutest helper on the planet

My helper plunging apples into the fruit/vegetable strainer

Applesauce in canner

14 lbs of apples = 9 pints, plus some leftover for the kids to sample.

ColoradoRonin · Oct 27, 2012

Ahhh.. Honeycrisps..
I get these huge mutant sized honeycrisps from King Sooper out here on the front range.
They make a soda can look small.
Great apple.
Another tasty post!

highalt · Oct 27, 2012

Yeah, that's where I got them, except here King Sooper's is called City Market. They had them on sale last week. It's my favorite apple. The perfect combination of tart and sweet!

stickman · Oct 27, 2012

Hi Bonnie
I see you've got a pixie to help out in the kitchen... She's probably easier to work with then elves...

Sent a pm about some seeds I thought you might be interested in. Cheers