Thursday, October 21, 2010

Habanero Gold Jelly...

As per my previous post; here's the use of frozen Habaneros for jelly. With such a sporadic harvest, freezing is the only viable option when one has enough powdered Habaneros.



Because canning jars are extremely difficult to find; I decided to use parafin for a seal after sterilizing and filling these Mason Jars. I'm going to use straight sided glasses in the future.

I've noticed as the jelly ages the heat builds and the Habanero flavor comes out in a very nice way. Excellent on toast and cream cheese and assorted meats. Cheers.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

A Very Long and Wet Rainy Season

This has been a year of The Weather and there is no end in sight.
Last summer was the hottest in 60 years and now we're enduring the worst flooding in 50 years.
North, south, and east of us is under water to greater and lesser degrees. While we're not flooded here we are getting a lot of rain every day. The plants in the ground are faring far better than my potted plants; which are in a holding pattern. I have lost a few pods to rot (2 or 3), but the rest are slow to ripen. Those that do are going into the freezer for jelly or sauce.
Unfortunately there is no immediate end in sight. Typhoon Megi has slammed the Philippines and is headed for China; we'll get more clouds and rain over the next week for certain.
A structure is in the works which will allow me to control not only the amount of sun the plants get but rainfall as well using a removable, clear, plastic tarp.