Highalt's 2013 Grow - End of Season Wrap Up

Pulpiteer · Jul 31, 2013

Way to give it a shot Bonnie! Just keep working at it, bit by bit, piece by piece, and next thing you know you'll be posting a video of a super hot taste test. Just build that tolerance.

JJJessee · Jul 31, 2013

^5, Bonnie. You're way braver than I am.
I'd dry it and powder it.

highalt · Aug 1, 2013

Pulpiteer said:
Way to give it a shot Bonnie! Just keep working at it, bit by bit, piece by piece, and next thing you know you'll be posting a video of a super hot taste test. Just build that tolerance.

I'm eating peppers every day now, so my tolerance should be up some by the time the season's over. I actually thought about you after that second piece. Can't remember which super you were trying in the video, but I just remember that you didn't keep it down. That made me think twice about taking another bite! A runny nose, and some pain is one thing, but I hate throwing up!!!

JJJessee said:
^5, Bonnie. You're way braver than I am.
I'd dry it and powder it.

Hmmm, braver or stupider ???

stc3248 · Aug 1, 2013

Great...you went from chickening out to caving to peer pressure! :rofl:

Haha...I feel like such a bad influence! No more about the taste? Any hints of sweet...or was it a bitter pod. I can tell within the first couple seconds (after that forget it) what the flavor of the pod is. You gotta search in those few fleeting seconds for the pods purpose...before the heat kicks in. I have lost my sense of taste for a couple days after some pods, but if I caught something in that first few seconds maybe I can figure out a good use for the pod. Powder is always a good bet for crazy hot stuff...then a little sprinkle on your burger or chile goes a long way...and you can adjust how much you use. One or two of these pods mixed into your favorite BBQ sauce may be a hit once you've gotten it to mingle and tame it a bit...

Oh...and it was a Brain Strain that Andy ate...lotta great vids last season, but that one was my favorite! Hahaha..."All you guys that say you taste this or that...you can't taste anything, just HOT" or something along those lines...then the whole "My parishioners were over when I did this" decision was a classic!

You were very smart to empty the room when you did it...I so wanted to throw some folks out of a window during a couple of my reviews!

Pulpiteer · Aug 1, 2013

Shane's right on, it was a brain strain. One of Jamie's. And boy did it hurt.

And I don't know if this makes it better or worse, but throwing up was by far not the most unpleasant aspect of that whole ordeal. Thinking that your throat was having a hole seared in it was. The parishioner who was over for that is trying to get me to do one of those again, so there can be an upside to having a crowd. It makes an impression.

highalt · Aug 2, 2013

Hey Andy, thought of you when I was making this jelly, because if I remember right you planted a currant bush.

This year's twist on my traditional Cranberry Jalapeno Jelly.

Rovada Red Currants

An assortment of Fresnos, Santa Fe Grande, serranos, a couple of Birgit's Locotos, a Hung. Hot Wax, a mystery (NOT Jam. Hot Yellow), and one huge Biker Billy.

A little mingling

Everyone's getting happy in some unsweetened cranberry juice.

Straining out all the seeds and pieces of pepper, since this is a jelly not a jam.

Red Currant Jalapeno(ish) Jelly

I think the next batch will be something with some yellow peppers as the base.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!!!

Sawyer · Aug 2, 2013

Nice looking jelly. That's a handy contraption you've got to hold the strainer over the pot.

Pulpiteer · Aug 3, 2013

I love it. My currants are just getting established, looks like yours are doing great! I look forward to using them for jams and jellies. I bet it tastes wonderful!

stc3248 · Aug 3, 2013

That looks fantastic Bonnie! Hmmm.....that's something I haven't done! Time to learn how to make jelly!

stickman · Aug 3, 2013

Hi Bonnie,
Boy, a lot's been happening out your way in the last week! Good on ya for tasting that Not Fatali and you took it like a trooper! Pods and jelly are looking super! The orchard just down the road is starting to pick Peaches, so I'll probably get a peck of the seconds and make some Peach salsa and can up some Peach-Serrano jam for the winter. I made 4 cases of pint-sized jelly jars last year.

The pods on your Peruvian Purple look a lot darker than mine, but that's probably because of the more intense mountain sun. I pinched back all the primary nodes on my PP a month back, and the leaf canopy has bushed out quite a bit to roughly the size of a basketball, and it's covered with flowers and purple pods. My Ochsenhorns are also very compact plants, so I don't think the "punk cat" chewing on them is what made them that way.

Most excellent that your NuMex and Chinense varieties are ripening now! That's gotta be a relief for you even if it means getting even busier to process them. Cheers!

highalt · Aug 3, 2013

Sawyer said:
Nice looking jelly. That's a handy contraption you've got to hold the strainer over the pot.

That contraption is older than I am! It was my mother's, though I am pretty sure she never made jelly, so not sure what she used it for. When my dad passed away about 5 years ago, my siblings and I were going through their belongings and ran across it. No one else seemed interested in it, so it became mine. Now I am happy to be using something that was my mothers. I also have a nut grinder that I remember her using to make cookies when I was little. Not worth a lot of money, but priceless to me.

Pulpiteer said:
I love it. My currants are just getting established, looks like yours are doing great! I look forward to using them for jams and jellies. I bet it tastes wonderful!

The flavor is tart, and similar to a cranberry, so I figured it would work well. Only got to taste what was left in the pan, and I thought it was very good. Not hot, but I really wasn't going for that with this batch.

stc3248 said:
That looks fantastic Bonnie! Hmmm.....that's something I haven't done! Time to learn how to make jelly!

If you decide not to, I'd be glad to hook you up with some.

Here is today's harvest from the community garden:

First ripe beefsteak tomato, Amazon Chocolate. Didn't mean to break off that green one, but it should ripen just fine on the kitchen counter. Also the first ripe Black Cherry tomatoes.

Galina's Yellow Cherry tomatoes are really coming in now. They are meaty, not too much gel in them, and have a nice, mild, non-acidic flavor.

NOT Yellow Fatalii

Costeno Amarillos and Aji Chinchi Amarillos. They look so much alike that I quit trying to separate them. Guess I'll have to if I decide to save any seeds though...

Group shot

After I came back from the community garden, I decided to make some Lemon Basil Jelly.

Mrs. Burn's Lemon basil

Threw in 4 - 5 of the Costeno Amar. / Aji Chinchis but should have used more like 10 - 12. I wasn't trying to make it hot, just a kick at the end, but I undershot it. There is no discernible heat.

Lemon Basil Jelly

Wish it made more than 4 half-pints! The kids love this stuff and so do my nieces & nephews. Hopefully they'll be enough basil in a couple more weeks to make another batch.

stickman · Aug 6, 2013

Hi Bonnie,
Someday I'll have to try making some lemon-basil jelly, but we love pesto so much that all our basil goes to that now. Your jelly looks great!

I tried a ripe Cheiro Recife pod after supper tonight, and was impressed by the taste... sort of tangy and fruity I thought, with good heat but not overwhelming. Roughly the equivalent of a ripe Jalapeno. You could certainly eat these in front of the kids and not have to worry about losing it. I think they'd make good sauces and powders, and even jams and jellies too. Cheers!

highalt · Aug 10, 2013

Sorry to take so long to respond, it has been a busy week, and it's about to get even busier. It looks like I will be starting a new full time job, which is more in line with my education and work experience. Very excited about it, but not sure how I will manage with all the kids school activities, things I am involved in at church, and still keep up with the garden. Getting the harvest processed is going to be a big challenge. Guess it's a good thing I have a deep freeze.

Rick, I usually make a couple batches of pesto every summer, and freeze it in ice cube trays. Once they are frozen I put them in freezer bags. That way, I just pull out however many cubes I need for the recipe I'm making. Each cube is an 1/8 a cup. I grow sweet basil for that, but the lemon basil I use for jelly. One year, I made a jelly using the purple basil and orange juice, but the cloviness (???) was overpowering. I love the smell of lime basil, but the leaves are so small it takes forever to have enough to make anything with it. I can never have too much basil!

Put my first tray of NuMex type chiles in the dehydrator yesterday, but haven't done much else with peppers this week. I did make a pasta sauce with fresh tomatoes from the garden the other day that was pretty awesome, and have been grating/freezing quite a bit of zucchini for bread making over the winter. There's a few cukes coming in finally, but not really enough to make a batch of pickles yet. Shouldn't be too long before the first batch of salsa gets canned. So much work, but so worth it!!!

Sawyer · Aug 11, 2013

Congrats on the new job, Bonnie. Hope it works out for you.

Your strainer contraption jogged something in my memory, so after a little searching I found this. I hear you about sentimental value; I have a number of things like that.

HillBilly Jeff · Aug 11, 2013

Nice harvest.

Devv · Aug 11, 2013

Wow Bonnie!

Doing great things with your harvest's!

The jelly's look marvelous!

Congrats on the new job!

highalt · Aug 11, 2013

Sawyer said:
Congrats on the new job, Bonnie. Hope it works out for you.

Your strainer contraption jogged something in my memory, so after a little searching I found this. I hear you about sentimental value; I have a number of things like that.

Thanks for posting that link, Sawyer! I hadn't seen anything like it before. Mine was missing the wooden pestle, and I had to search around quite a bit to find a replacement.

So it has been pretty cool here for early August. This morning it felt kind of fallish. Turns out it got down to 47 degrees last night! That's cool even for us this time of year. Our highest lows are usually in July and August, typically in the 55 - 65 degree range. Sure hope we don't get an early frost this year!!!

highalt · Aug 12, 2013

Yesterday's harvest:

Ancho Gigantia (making stuffed poblanos for dinner tonight.)

El Oro de Ecuador

First ripe Barro do Robiero

First ripe Lemon Drop pods with Aji Chinchi Amarillos in the background

Mutant Bishop's Crowns.

Bowl of cherry tomatoes

I'll try and get back with a foodie pic later ...

highalt · Aug 12, 2013

Well, #%^@*^! I am supposed to be out walking this evening with my women's group. Instead, I am sitting here with my foot propped up with ice on it. Walked out the door to water the containers, and 5 seconds later felt that familiar red hot poker feeling in the side of my big toe. Stupid paper wasps!!! I don't care how beneficial those things are, they drive me crazy this time of year. They are extremely aggressive and there are so many of them, I can hardly walk out my door in August and September without getting stung. They think the grapes and apples, etc. are theirs!

Tried the baking soda paste technique with no success. Also took a Benadryl. By morning it will probably be swollen all the way to my knee. Anyone have any home remedies that actually work???

Anyway, on a happier note, here was tonight's dinner.

Thankfully, it was already in the oven when the unfortunate wasp incident occurred!

Spicegeist · Aug 12, 2013

highalt said:
Mutant Bishop's Crowns.

Kind of reminds me of this guy: