Friday, May 3, 2024

Preserve--Hot, Hot, Hot

     Amy Johnson Crow has a 52 Ancestors Week blog challenge which I have decided to join.  I am hoping it may help me to pinpoint someone or something that I have researched and not blogged about on Flipside.  AND push me to blog about family each week in 2024.  Sometimes I get lazy. 😁  Let's see how well I keep up.

     Week # 19 (May 6-May12) is Preserve. 

     In the spring of 2021 I decided to jump into the world of vegetable gardening.  As readers know, I do have an issue with herds of deer roaming into my backyard and I do have a fairly decent tree canopy.  


     Thumbing through my favorite gardening magazine, I happened upon a free standing garden that I could put on my deck.  Away from deer and in a spot that is sunny most of the day.  Enter one, and then a second, wooden vegtrug.  Another selling point for me was that I could stand and garden.  A real plus for this arthritic seventy years plus gal.

Carolina Reapers

Scotch Bonnet

     My son, Garrett, twisted my arm to plant hot peppers in the garden and we were off and running.  The peppers ran from mild hot to scorchers--Jalapenos to Carolina Reapers--Serrano's to Scotch Bonnet.

     Once the peppers were harvested, we began the process of making and canning salsa.  I was a novice at canning.  I wish I had taken some photos of this.  Store bought tomatoes and onions were prepped.  Hot peppers were seeded using gloves to prevent burning to the fingers.  Canning supplies were purchased, prepped and boiled.



     A very simple salsa recipe was used.  I gradually added the hot peppers to the salsa and Garrett was the taste tester.  We wanted some salsa that was not so hot that sweat would form on the brow.  😅



     First time out, the salsa was tasty, the lids all sealed on the jars and many were given as gifts to friends.  My favorite was the serrano salsa.

     The harvest of hot peppers in 2022 was poor.  Last year we harvested a bumper crop.  We froze them until I could get around to making the salsa.  And here we are in 2024 with a freezer full of hot peppers.  I have added them to many homemade Mexican meals; however, never got around to doing any salsa or canning.  


     We did have a little fun with it all.  Personalized labels.

 

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© 2024, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser


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