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Stickman's 2014 Glog- That's all folks!

Hi All,
   I've got Manzanos sprouted and my Bhuts, Lotah Bih and Donne Sali seeds planted so it looks like time to leave 2103 behind and begin to concentrate on 2014. Last year I started some of my late-season varieties right after New Year's Day, but our season was too short to bring the pods to full ripeness so this year I started 2-3 weeks earlier.
 
Manzano seedlings...
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Fruts and Bhuts ;) ...
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There are many more varieties yet to plant in the proper turn, and I have 4 overwintered pepper plants from 2013 that I'll report on later. Have a great weekend all!
 
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The wax peppers in the oil/ vinegar should last a long time on the counter or cupboard . The key is that you didn't heat up the oil in a processing method. Pepper infused olive oil sits on my counter...a half year is about the run of it....any longer and it would start to turn rancid.
 
PIC 1 said:
The wax peppers in the oil/ vinegar should last a long time on the counter or cupboard . The key is that you didn't heat up the oil in a processing method. Pepper infused olive oil sits on my counter...a half year is about the run of it....any longer and it would start to turn rancid.
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Thanks Greg... that's a great tip! I didn't know that if oil is added to a pickle that it shouldn't be cooked. I knew about the time limit on infused oils. The "oily" pickle is such a great one for mildly hot peppers... they're great on sammies, antipasto plates and as mezze.
 
Much as I don't want to see it just now, the signs are out here that the end of the season is getting close. While I was driving down I-91 yesterday, I noticed the tops of the trees are beginning to put on their autumn colors. With that in mind, I potted up my wild Texas Pequins to hand off to the guy who'll be over-wintering them. I have a pint of dried pods from them, which should be enough until next year... especially with all the frozen, dried and sauced peppers I already have put away. I'll be setting up a low row cover over the supers in the raised bed out back, but when the Annuums are killed by the frost, that's all for them.
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Cheers all!
 
Feeling of Fall here, too, Rick.
 
The Tepins look great.  Mine are just now starting to ripen up.  
It will have to finish in the greenhouse, I'm sure.
 
Nice grow season, my friend   :clap:
 
Yeah, we're even seeing signs here. We don't get much fall color here, but leaves are starting to drop, and it's getting cooler. Not your cool weather but cooler.
 
And like Paul said "Nice grow season, my friend   :clap: "
 
You make it work where most don't!
 
I see a lot of solar gear in the pic, added or came with the purchase? And how well does it work? One thing we have is lots of solar energy here!
 
PaulG said:
Feeling of Fall here, too, Rick.
 
The Tepins look great.  Mine are just now starting to ripen up.  
It will have to finish in the greenhouse, I'm sure.
 
Nice grow season, my friend   :clap:
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Thanks Paul... you ain't doing too shabby either... 25-30 pounds, really?! It gets cold enough here during the winter that unless it was a heated greenhouse, it wouldn't do any good, so I've negotiated a place inside for a Manzano plant for the winter and I'm finding homes for some of the rest. The Habaneros and Scorps have pretty much shot their bolt... just a few pods on each to finish ripening, but the surprise for me was how many  pods set on the Bhuts. All 3 varieties are still loaded with green pods, and I hope to ripen up most of them before the season ends.
 
 
Devv said:
Yeah, we're even seeing signs here. We don't get much fall color here, but leaves are starting to drop, and it's getting cooler. Not your cool weather but cooler.
 
And like Paul said "Nice grow season, my friend   :clap: "
 
You make it work where most don't!
 
I see a lot of solar gear in the pic, added or came with the purchase? And how well does it work? One thing we have is lots of solar energy here!
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Back atcha Scott! It's just as hard to pull the plants through a season as hot and dry as yours, but you're doing it well! :clap:
 
The solar features on these houses were all original equipment... 15-18 PV panels for electricity, 2-3 passive solar collectors for hot water, R-43 blown cellulose insulation in the walls and R-50 in the ceiling, high-E glass in all the windows... triple glazed on the north and west side, and double glazed on the south for maximum solar gain. The house is so tight that you have to really tug on the door to get it to latch with all the windows closed.
 
As hot as it gets out your way, if you were going to install a solar collector to generate your hot water, you should make sure provisions are made to dump excess heat or run the hot water often to avoid a blowoff or acidifying the glycol in the system.  Cheers!
 
stickman said:
 
:)
 
Well... we're back on the roller-coaster again... warm and humid weather for the next few days. I hope lots of green pods take advantage and ripen up. Meanwhile, I finally filled a quart-sized ziplok bag with ripe Frutascens peppers... processed them into a mash with a quarter cup of lemon juice and 3% salt by weight. They'll sit and age down cellar for a few months before making sauce with them. I've nearly filled a quart jar with the smoked, dried and powdered Chinense pods too.
 
Have a great Sunday evening all!
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Home canned pumpkin puree? Awesomesauce :)
 
miguelovic said:
 
Home canned pumpkin puree? Awesomesauce :)
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Not yet Mike... ;)  My wife is from New Brunswick, CA and she makes a pumpkin preserve from a recipe that came to her from her mother in St John. She cuts the pumpkin into chunks, sprinkles sugar over it and lets it sit in the 'fridge overnight before adding spices and canning it. I'll set one aside for making hot sauce though... RocketMan's fermented "Flaming Pumpkin" sauce last year kinda got my attention, and I'm gonna try my hand at a similar recipe with my next quart of Frutascens pods.
 
The current Frutascens mash "lit", and is fermenting on my kitchen countertop. The salt and lemon juice must have done the right thing because the smell that came out of the jar when I burped it is really nice. I'll definitely let it age at least until March before processing and bottling it.
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TGIF all!
 
Love the Frutascens mash you have going on there. I did two quarts back in Jan. Made some really tasty sauce out of one quart and still have the other one aging until I need it. If Tabasco ages theirs for 3 years, I should be good to go until this current sauce is used up.
 
That sounds like a great idea randy, I've been making cornbread for years (with two bought-to-purpose cast iron loaf pans) and would never have tried that :)
 
stickman said:
 
Not yet Mike... ;)  My wife is from New Brunswick, CA and she makes a pumpkin preserve from a recipe that came to her from her mother in St John. She cuts the pumpkin into chunks, sprinkles sugar over it and lets it sit in the 'fridge overnight before adding spices and canning it. I'll set one aside for making hot sauce though... RocketMan's fermented "Flaming Pumpkin" sauce last year kinda got my attention, and I'm gonna try my hand at a similar recipe with my next quart of Frutascens pods.
 
The current Frutascens mash "lit", and is fermenting on my kitchen countertop. The salt and lemon juice must have done the right thing because the smell that came out of the jar when I burped it is really nice. I'll definitely let it age at least until March before processing and bottling it.
 
TGIF all!
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Ahhhh, I see I didn't read the original post very well. Bit of a skimmer. But I wasen't far off target shooting in the dark. Sounds like an interesting process, from a good woman :P Sp33d and you have good taste in women hehehe.
 
Hey Buddy... Sauer mash is looking shweet. I have always wondered if adding like an oak block into the mash would not help enhance the flavour as would be the case doing it in an oak barrel? What is your method fro getting it started?
 
Jeff H said:
Love the Frutascens mash you have going on there. I did two quarts back in Jan. Made some really tasty sauce out of one quart and still have the other one aging until I need it. If Tabasco ages theirs for 3 years, I should be good to go until this current sauce is used up.
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Good thinking Jeff... I hadn't planned on letting mine age beyond a year, but I still have over a case of hot sauces from last year, and maybe I should let this year's batch age while I finish off the older stuff. It would also free up more woozies to put the new batch into. Cheers!
 
randyp said:
    Take a half cup or so of that pumpkin puree and add it to your next cornbread batch you will love it. ;)
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Sounds delicious Randy... a lot of the cornbread I've eaten was pretty dry, and the addition of pumpkin puree would go a long way towards addressing that I'm thinking. Cheers!
 
miguelovic said:
That sounds like a great idea randy, I've been making cornbread for years (with two bought-to-purpose cast iron loaf pans) and would never have tried that :)
 
 
Ahhhh, I see I didn't read the original post very well. Bit of a skimmer. But I wasen't far off target shooting in the dark. Sounds like an interesting process, from a good woman :P Sp33d and you have good taste in women hehehe.
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Cheers Mike. :)  Don't know if you've ever been to the Atlantic provinces, but if not, I've gotta warn ya... perfect strangers there will try to feed you to within an inch of your life. Who else would put gravy and cheese curds on french fries? :P
 
PeriPeri said:
Hey Buddy... Sauer mash is looking shweet. I have always wondered if adding like an oak block into the mash would not help enhance the flavour as would be the case doing it in an oak barrel? What is your method fro getting it started?
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I didn't do anything special to start the Frut ferment Lourens... just sanitized the jar and lid in the dishwasher, weighed the peppers and processed them to a mash in a food processor with 3% kosher salt by weight and a quarter cup of bottled lemon juice. Normally, if I was trying to inoculate a ferment with lacto bacteria I'd add a tablespoon of honey and another of kimchi brine, but this one took off on its own. Some folks sterilize the jars and lids first and cook the filled jars to get a vacuum seal, but I skipped that step since I added the salt and the addition of the lemon juice got the pH down to 3.6   After fermentation is finished the pH should be lower yet... I'll find out how much when it's done aging and I process it into sauce. I don't want to open the jar up and risk contamination before then.
 
I think it was RocketMan Bill who also suggested adding a block of charred wood to add flavor, but tannins are a migraine trigger for me, so I'll take a pass on that. I think the main reason to age in wood is for the gas exchange anyway... enough oxygen gets through the wood and into the mash to oxidize the contents over time and mellow the flavors that might be initially harsh. That's how white lightning becomes whiskey as well... ;)   Cheers!
 
stickman said:
Cheers Mike. :)  Don't know if you've ever been to the Atlantic provinces, but if not, I've gotta warn ya... perfect strangers there will try to feed you to within an inch of your life. Who else would put gravy and cheese curds on french fries? :P
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Heh, I know them. My maternal family is from Nova Scotia, and I moved out there for a year. Beautiful place. Boiling seafood on a fire in the Bay of Fundy and donairs, erh meh gawd :P
 
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