Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Pepper Day At Almost Heaven South

As I mentioned in Tuesday’s post, Monday was tomato day and before storing, I used them as a backdrop for Tuesday’s  pepper day.

When you look at them, the green or small yellow ones are unripe, the red ones are ripe, and the olive green ones are in the process of turning.  Across the front from left to right are Pepperoncini, a Yellow Bell with Jalapenos (chile) behind, Giant Marconi (swt), and Big Bertha (swt - that ripe one is huge).  In the back row, the first few are some type of thin wall horn pepper (swt), then Sante Fe (chile), California Wonder (swt bell), and a mix of Big Early Bell and Bonnie Green Bell (both swt and very big).  This is my best mid summer crop ever and I'm surprised based upon our early hot weather, so I can only assume it was because we were still having cool nights.

Here’s what will happen to the ones we keep and preserve.  Unless specified otherwise, the frozen ones will be seeded, julienned, frozen on a jelly roll pan, and stored in vacuum bags.

Pepperoncini – pickled in a gallon jug and stored in the fridge
Yellow Bell  - frozen
Jalapeno – frozen whole – I have plenty sliced and pickled
Marconi – frozen
Big Bertha – frozen
Thin wall horn – sliced and fried in olive oil for lunch
Sante Fe – Frozen hole and in half pieces
Cal Wonder – Stuffed for dinner
Big Early & Bonnie Green – frozen

The Sante Fe’s are like a big Jalapeno and will be used to cook with and in salsa.  Since the Pepperoncini’s are new to me, I didn’t know what else to do but pickle them and here they are headed for the fridge.  I could have canned them and kept on a shelf, but didn’t want to cook them.  So I poked a hole in each one and added it to the jar along with 4 cloves of garlic.  Then I poured in the boiling brine mixture of:

6 cups water
6 cups white vinegar
2 Tbsp canning salt

I added 4 cups of the brine, let them set a while then pushed down with a potato masher to force the air out of them and added more peppers, mashed, added more for a total of three additions.  Then I reboiled the brine and filled the jar to the top, came back twice more to mash down.  Here they are ready to store.
We love pepper sandwiches and Bev asked today why we didn’t have one everyday – good question.  Our sandwich consist of thin walled peppers (they fry better), good bread, such as ciabatta, and mayonnaise – nothing else.  I cut the peppers lengthwise into 2 or three pieces in such a way as to provide maximum pan contact and start them over low heat, skin side down with a lid on the pan so they’ll soften faster.  When they brown a little, I flip them and push them down to flatten as best I can them I flip them two more times.  I like to have them pretty soft, but not mushy, with some brown on at least one side – but being careful not to burn them.  
Apply mayo to both sides of the bread and add the peppers to one side.
Add the top, cut in half for Bev and me and dig in.
I might could have added more peppers but it would have been hard to eat and keep together.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Breakfast Mac & Cheese

Larry

11 comments:

  1. Wow, what a crop of peppers Larry. That pepper sandwich looks so good, but watch out. They can be slippery fellows with a little mayo, so hold on tight to that sandwich.
    Sam

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  2. Oh my goodness, Larry.. I gotta say, I haven't seen that many peppers in a one room in a long time :) And the variety.. I think I might be jealous!

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  3. What a beautiful harvest - I've already been drooling over your tomatoes and now you display such glorious peppers. Please enjoy and relish every mouthful of it - fresh and preserved/canned. My tastebuds will be following along, lol, Michelle xxx

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  4. What a photo Larry & Bev! Laurie here...

    You both are so industrious & it makes me feel like I should be more productive when it comes to doing things like pickling & making tomato sauce, etc. Let us know when your next batch of pepperoncini is ready & we'll attempt to pickle some peppers! Sounds like fun & great eating!

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  5. I am in love with the photo of your canned tomatoes and prolific peppers!! Beautiful colors and flavors going on there. The pepperonchini look great, I love your technique. Never thought of a pepper sandwich but man it sure looks good!

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  6. AMAZING! You really make me want to have a garden!!! The pepper sandwich looks wonderful.

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  7. Wow, that's quite a selection of peppers. I love how you have conserved them for later this winter. And I'll take one of those pepper sandwiches too.

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  8. You two are the King and Queen of Peppers. Who knew so much about peppers? Never heard of a pepper sandwich ---but there are two sandwiches which I do love: a cucumber and mayo sandwich AND a fresh homegrown tomato and may sandwich... Add a little sea salt --and it's yummy...
    Betsy

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  9. Look at that impressive bounty. So colorful and gorgeous. And glad to see that coke can! I'm impressed with all the work that goes in to all of this before, during and after the harvest. Wish I were there to help, taste and feel the satisfaction.

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  10. I like the tip about freezing them before vac sealing them, I didn't know that.

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  11. Beautiful! And I hope to try the pepper sandwich soon. Love the jar of pepperoncini, too.

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