Sawyer's 2013 Glog - Last Harvest/First Sauce

Penny · Dec 4, 2013

Wow.......that looked sooooooo good!! :party:

Jeff H · Dec 4, 2013

I'm hungry just looking at that pork. Fantastic.

Devv · Dec 4, 2013

Second batch of marmalade looks as enticing as the first for sure.

Nice job on the pork plate too!

It's getting cold here too tomorrow...but dang single digits? That must be Sat. we're forecast 34° as a high.

Stay warm brother!

Sawyer · Dec 6, 2013

Penny said:
Wow.......that looked sooooooo good!!

Jeff H said:
I'm hungry just looking at that pork. Fantastic.

Devv said:
Nice job on the pork plate too!

Thanks! It was pretty tasty. Didn't really plan it, either. There was a sale on pork loins, so I thought, "Why not?" Might have been better with potatoes, carrots, etc laid 'round, but the turnip is what I had. And a few shallots.

Devv said:
Second batch of marmalade looks as enticing as the first for sure.

It is very tasty, and just the right amount of heat to share with the chili-curious. I had a little trouble with the hot water processing. Didn't tighten some of the lids quite enough and got a little water infiltrating the jars. One in particular (top left in photo), but that's the one I used for the pork, so no loss.

I've got lemons and maybe enough yellow pods on some OWs to make one more batch.

Devv said:
It's getting cold here too tomorrow...but dang single digits? That must be Sat. we're forecast 34° as a high.

It's been around 20ºF (-6.7ºC) for over a day now. It started yesterday morning with freezing rain and sleet, then switched over to snow. Several inches of accumulation already, but it should taper off by early afternoon. I hear an occasional automobile pass by slowly on the road, so those aren't impassable, yet. As it clears, the temperatures are predicted to drop, getting close to 0ºF (-17.8ºC) by tomorrow morning. Brrrrrrrr...

I did till on Wednesday the part of the garden I mowed Tuesday. Started the day in shorts and a t-shirt, ended with long pants, t-shirt, and a flannel shirt, with my breath very visible on exhalation. Only took a little effort to get the tiller started, even though it hadn't been started in over two years. The engine started with only a few pulls, but the various levers required lubrication and persuasion. After tilling, I broadcast winter rye and hairy vetch over the whole of it. The rye should germinate easily with just a little warming; the vetch is a gamble on a significant warming spell.

PIC 1 · Dec 6, 2013

Wow !
I've been missing out on all the wonderful action here !............lazy me.................I snooze, I lose
Beautiful processing photos, I can tell you've been spending some prime time in the kitchen. Your pantry will be filled will goodies through the winter.
I'm digging that pork loin.............my stomach's growling right now. The last thing I ate was a NagaBrain last night with a bunch of pints of Guinness .
Now I'm really starving....lol...and ready for lunch.
John, thanks for sharing the awesome food shots, once again !

btw...I saw some bad bad weather conditions on the news this morning....how are the conditions out your way ?

Sawyer · Dec 6, 2013

PIC 1 said:
Wow !
I've been missing out on all the wonderful action here !............lazy me.................I snooze, I lose
Beautiful processing photos, I can tell you've been spending some prime time in the kitchen. Your pantry will be filled will goodies through the winter.
I'm digging that pork loin.............my stomach's growling right now. The last thing I ate was a NagaBrain last night with a bunch of pints of Guinness .
Now I'm really starving....lol...and ready for lunch.
John, thanks for sharing the awesome food shots, once again !

btw...I saw some bad bad weather conditions on the news this morning....how are the conditions out your way ?

Thanks for stopping by, Greg. I know, there are just too many worthy glogs to keep up with them all. A NagaBrain with Guiness... I like the idea, but I'm pretty sure my body would go into full revolt if I tried that. :shocked:

You ask about the weather. This is what it looks like out my front door:

Those are #5 nursery pots just to the right of center.

With the northern hemisphere season finished (for most of us), and the southern hemisphere season just starting, how about some December pod pics from my OWs? Here's a BJ Brown:

A couple of 7 Pot Browns:

Some Jigsaws (worst color rendering I've ever seen with my camera. These are actually bright red.)

Some yellow something or other:

A BJ Orange that doesn't look like it's going to make it past yellow:

And something unknown. I'm calling it my Christmas tree:

Here's hoping everyone is keeping warm and safe. (Or cool and safe for you southern folks.)

Sawyer · Dec 6, 2013

PS - I often notice a very large number of unregistered guests perusing this, and other, glogs on this forum. Firstly, I hope you find inspiration here to further your own interests in chilis. Secondly, I encourage to join THP and share your own experiences with the community.

Thirdly, though, I hope that none of you are planning to appropriate any of the images in this glog for your own commercial use. All images in this glog are my own work and I retain copyrights. I have avoided placing watermarks or copyright notices on the images, because they are not required by law. According to the Berne Convention, to which the USA is a signatory, copyright is automatic and the "use of a copyright notice is now optional in the US". Furthermore, the images posted here are reduced resolution images of the much higher resolution originals which I also retain. Should a conflict arise, my possession of the high-resolution originals will support my claim as owner.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled glogging.

Penny · Dec 6, 2013

Glog away......

capsidadburn · Dec 6, 2013

Nice pods John! Snow, yuck! We have a little ice right now. Lots of clueless drivers down here.

Have a great and warm weekend!

Mike

Devv · Dec 6, 2013

I too like the pod shots, but will pass on the snow...unless it's Monday, then school would be closed

0°, now that's just crazy! The coldest day here since '89 was Christmas eve. of that year, high of 15°

I don't envy your weather right now.

Stay warm!

gnslngr · Dec 8, 2013

Well, I finally made it here...
1) Greg summed it perfectly......been missing a lot of good action!
2) Bhuts: A) Orange: I 've round filed all of em, B)Yellow: The upper one looks to be the REAL THING(enter the old "Coke is..." theme music LOL!I am suspicious of any smooth "bhuts"...or more accurately NOT BHUTS.You may have said, but where did they come from?
C) Whites:Whats the verdict? I've yet to see a bhut looking one-I've tried 3, none were keepers,smooth skin, not much heat,kinda grassy.Still lookin' though....
3) I tried to skip page 37, and was immediately turned around by Penny:Wow.......that looked sooooooo good!! :party:

;So, Penny if you read this, ThankYou

!

4) I was looking at that pork roast pic(first one) and kept rereading the earlier posts ..."What in the heck is that pink stuff on top?"...Just so used to everyone ruining their pork these days by cutting off the fat :rolleyes:

LOL. If that is not the case.....then just what is that under the marmelade? :woohoo:

LOL
5) Cover the pyrex with foil, and make a cut out for the pork roast-it'll brown ,and the turnips will get "juicified"(which,since I just made that one up :shh:

, means:slightly steamed and saturated with meat juice :dance:

).
Have a good one-
DJ

Sawyer · Dec 8, 2013

Penny said:
Glog away......

Hey, Penny, LOL, more like Slog away with all the ice and snow out there since Friday.

capsidadburn said:
Nice pods John! Snow, yuck! We have a little ice right now. Lots of clueless drivers down here.

Have a great and warm weekend!

Mike

Thanks, Mike. I'll be picking all the yellow pods later today for a batch of lemon-pepper-ginger marmalade. Pics to follow.

I haven't been on the roads since Friday, but I was surprised at how reasonable most drivers were. Of course, it's a lot easier to drive on snow than it is on ice. There'll be trouble in a couple of days when it starts melting during the day, then refreezing at night.

Devv said:
I too like the pod shots, but will pass on the snow...unless it's Monday, then school would be closed

0°, now that's just crazy! The coldest day here since '89 was Christmas eve. of that year, high of 15°

I don't envy your weather right now.

Stay warm!

I don't know about tomorrow, yet, but the University was closed both Thursday and Friday last week. Only affected me to the extent I missed the Friday physics colloquium. It didn't get nearly as cold Friday night/Saturday morning as predicted. The coldest I noted was 10ºF, which is plenty cold. The high yesterday was about 20. It's been in the high teens to mid 20s since. It's warm enough inside right now, but I don't look forward to my next gas bill. I really should set up my wood heater... the chimneys are already there.

gnslngr said:
Well, I finally made it here...
1) Greg summed it perfectly......been missing a lot of good action!
2) Bhuts: A) Orange: I 've round filed all of em, B)Yellow: The upper one looks to be the REAL THING(enter the old "Coke is..." theme music LOL!I am suspicious of any smooth "bhuts"...or more accurately NOT BHUTS.You may have said, but where did they come from?
C) Whites:Whats the verdict? I've yet to see a bhut looking one-I've tried 3, none were keepers,smooth skin, not much heat,kinda grassy.Still lookin' though....
3) I tried to skip page 37, and was immediately turned around by Penny:Wow.......that looked sooooooo good!! ;So, Penny if you read this, ThankYou !
4) I was looking at that pork roast pic(first one) and kept rereading the earlier posts ..."What in the heck is that pink stuff on top?"...Just so used to everyone ruining their pork these days by cutting off the fat LOL. If that is not the case.....then just what is that under the marmelade? LOL
5) Cover the pyrex with foil, and make a cut out for the pork roast-it'll brown ,and the turnips will get "juicified"(which,since I just made that one up , means:slightly steamed and saturated with meat juice ).
Have a good one-
DJ

Hey, DJ, thanks for stopping by. About the bhuts, I potted up four orange plants to #1 or larger pots (the one above is in a 3.5" square pot). Two of them had smooth pods like the picture above (but much more orange color), one turned into the Christmas tree pictured above, but one had somewhat bhut-like pods. I'm afraid I mixed seeds from that one in with seeds from the two smooth-podded plants, but I'll grow them at least one more year. They have a good heat, though not bhut-level, and I really like the color, one of the few true orange-colored pods I have.

I got the seeds for the yellow bhut from PepperLover (I think) and almost all of them were the smooth-podded type. I'm not sure of the derivation. The "real thing" yellow bhut pictured a couple of pages back is actually a "not white" bhut. I got the white bhut seeds from PL, also, and most of them produced the as-advertised smooth white shape. A few folks here grew them and most of the pictures look similar. They derive from a cross between the yellow bhut and the giant white habanero. They have a more habanero-level heat. I don't remember the flavor, but they are a true-white when ripe and, as such, have earned a repeat position in the line-up for next year.

The "real thing" yellow is one of my favorites. Out of a dozen or more white BJ plants, two had bumpy, yellow pods. Of those two, one had pods looking like a true bhut. It has an immediate and long-lasting front-of-the-mouth burn and a fragrance reminiscent of banana. Even when I was bagging up some of the dried seeds, I still got a much fruitier odor than from the rest of the seeds. I'll definitely be planting this one next year, in the hope the phenotype will persist.

That's a good tip with the cut-out in the foil to keep the veggies covered while exposing the roast for browning. Usually I have more liquid in the pan and a mix of veggies, so the drying isn't as pronounced. Yes, that is the fat under the marmalade. As I'm sure you know, it melts during cooking and seeps into the meat, keeping it moist and delicious. After browning, all that is left is a nice, thin crispy layer on top. Dang... now I'm hungry again...

Pinoy83 · Dec 8, 2013

wow good thing i live hawaii...i only encountered snow when i got stationed in virginia beach when i was still in the service...and now im back home with the beautiful hawaiian sun... those pods are awesomeee it will keep you warm the whole winter season for sure :fireball:

...

Sawyer · Dec 8, 2013

I would say, "don't rub it in", but actually, I don't mind this all that much. A good hard freeze helps keep the bugs in check and when this snow melts, it will slowly soak into the ground, just what the garden doctor ordered. Plus, I just planted winter rye and vetch the day before the storm got here. The vetch will be iffy, but rye can germinate and grow at temperatures as low as 33°F. Since the ground was somewhat warm before the storm, I half-way expect the rye to germinate before the snow cover is completely melted.

I went outside a little while ago, with one purpose being to take some pictures. Got side-tracked sweeping the snow off the pickup and putting the trickle charger on it, then following the various animal trails. Forgot to take any pictures. Maybe later.

Back to the kitchen...

Edit: "rye can" not "can rye"

Devv · Dec 8, 2013

I always use rye to OW the garden, it grows nice and lush. I usually do 2 plantings, if I let one grow to long the root system created makes for the tiller skipping across the top and not digging in. This is my first try with a nitrogen fixing crop, thanks John, you and Rick inspired me.

gnslngr · Dec 9, 2013

PM if you wanna swap something for those Bumpy Yellow Bhut seeds

!

Ahhh-The Giant White cross, the basis for some really good crosses.The Bhut Jolokia x Giant White is nice one as well- wicked throat burn...I one waiting to go full red in my stateroom, and its goin' down at high noon!
I have tried several whites, and ended up with a White Fatalii (NOT!!!) that turns white as well-it is a good "clean" taster, so I will keep growing it.I'm still waitin' on a REALLY hot white. I have tried a few White 7's ,and they were more likely just Giant White Habs, not close to real 7 Pot Heat.So the quest continues.....

Fat- Oh hell yes.If any diet freaks read this, remember, you have to trick your body from time to time, or you just end up with a lower metabolism working against you.REALLY.

...and you are not the only one that is hungry again!!!LOL :dance:

Sawyer · Dec 9, 2013

Devv said:
I always use rye to OW the garden, it grows nice and lush. I usually do 2 plantings, if I let one grow to long the root system created makes for the tiller skipping across the top and not digging in. This is my first try with a nitrogen fixing crop, thanks John, you and Rick inspired me.

I've been inconsistent with my winter (cover-)cropping, but I'm a big believer and proselytizer. A long time ago, I mentioned my various winter grains projects, several varieties each of rye, oat, wheat, barley, along with vetch, canola, flax, and several root crops I've selected for cold tolerance. I've long since missed optimal planting time for these, but I think I'll start some indoors now for plant-out when/if we get a warm spell in a few weeks.

Reading up some more on hairy vetch, I find the optimum germination temperature to be between about 60ºF and 70ºF. Turns out, though, planting now is a thing, called "dormant planting". The idea is that the seeds remain dormant until the ground warms in the spring, then germinate and grow even if the ground is too wet to work. That's often the case here, so maybe I didn't waste the seed.

gnslngr said:
PM if you wanna swap something for those Bumpy Yellow Bhut seeds!

Ahhh-The Giant White cross, the basis for some really good crosses.The Bhut Jolokia x Giant White is nice one as well- wicked throat burn...I one waiting to go full red in my stateroom, and its goin' down at high noon!
I have tried several whites, and ended up with a White Fatalii (NOT!!!) that turns white as well-it is a good "clean" taster, so I will keep growing it.I'm still waitin' on a REALLY hot white. I have tried a few White 7's ,and they were more likely just Giant White Habs, not close to real 7 Pot Heat.So the quest continues.....

Fat- Oh hell yes.If any diet freaks read this, remember, you have to trick your body from time to time, or you just end up with a lower metabolism working against you.REALLY.

...and you are not the only one that is hungry again!!!LOL

Heck yeah, DJ, PM to follow shortly. That White Fatalii sounds interesting. And, yeah, a balanced diet and proper exercise are the key to a healthy metabolism. Not that I'm aces on either.

Okay, I've made possibly the last batch of marmalade for awhile, a Scorpion Lemon Ginger Marmalade. Here's some of what I started with:

I had planned to use just purée for the pepper flavor and heat, but these yellow pods were beckoning. I didn't even realize I had Yellow Moruga. I actually used only the Yellow Moruga, the smaller of the two 7 Pots, and the two smaller BJs. Plus a teaspoon of yellow purée. The ginger is some I grew this year.

Of the three batches, this is the hottest yet.

It's very, very tasty. I used this basic recipe with a few modifications (reduced sugar and low-sugar pectin, for two).

Penny · Dec 9, 2013

Well done, that looks so good!! :dance:

That's cool too that you grow wheat, flax, barley. The ginger you mentioned, was that your first time growing it?

Sawyer · Dec 9, 2013

Penny said:
Well done, that looks so good!! That's cool too that you grow wheat, flax, barley. The ginger you mentioned, was that your first time growing it?

Thanks, Penny. I've grown ginger before just as a lark. This is the first time I've used what I've grown. I will say, processing it had me sneezing almost as much as processing the peppers did. Or maybe I just needed to sneeze. (we need a sneezing gif) I'm already planning a shade bed for next year to increase my production. I've read that ginger comes in white, yellow, and pink; I'd like to get some of each. Also, I had a patch of our native wild ginger growing for awhile, but it didn't survived the droughts of '11 and '12.

Penny · Dec 9, 2013

That's really interesting, I didn't know that either, about the colours. I had someone here(in my neighborhood) ask me if I grew ginger, which I don't but had been considering it, that and horseradish