Mrs S. has become very adept at growing chilli peppers this year...
Over the last few years, she's experimented with growing our own, saving seed from various types and planting them with interesting results. This year, she went the whole hog and bought some serious 'heat' to see what happened...
Hellfire...!!!
That's what's happened; they are fantastic, and becoming very addictive! I didn't know until I read Annie Hawes' fabulous book, 'Extra Virgin', and the sequel, that peppers become a necessity in much of the Italian (and presumably the rest of the Mediterranean) diet! They can then become addictive, they're pretty good for the system and, presumably, the 'Ring of Fire' is a by-product...
I spent a whole day in a darkened room recovering from peeling one of these, and accidentally touched a spare eyelid. Absolute agony, and it even hurt the next day, although it was well worth the pain.
Mrs S. instructs me, (from behind an Atomic Bomb shelter with eight inch glass) to decant the ordinary olive oil into a special bottle with pourer (thanks to the King of Oil, 'Tuscs', it is a great pourer still...), and then the heat builds up!
And up...
And up...!
They apparently become a serious habit, because the desire to try something hotter/stronger takes over, and eventually, you get to a point where only the most volcanic will do, and even then, that's not enough!
You'd think I'd just stick to red wine wouldn't you, but there again, on the downside, we've had a problem with the poor old tomatoes.
Late blight (here, this is what you look like you bastards...") has struck with a vengeance. We've lost about 25 plants, and only saved a few pounds of toms from them! It is the same strain which brought Ireland to it's knees, helped of course by the government and the landowners...
Nonetheless, we'd planted loads more, spread all over the Turrets Estate, and they'll keep us in the buggers for a few weeks yet...
Next year...plans already afoot...
23 comments:
When I lived in Africa my gardener planted about ten different varieties of chill/peppers ranging from no heat to the mini here comes the sun variety... But as I don't eat them most of them were given to local members of the office staff.
My doc mate tells me that chillis are actually an irritant to the taste buds and throat linings and will do you no good in the long run. However, if you don't like the taste of your own cooking there is nothing better at completely disguising the delicacies of what you may have cooked than a few jalapenos.
Finally, according to Discovery Channel the best antidote for chilli-mouthburn is a glass of milk rather than water. Bon appetit.
I love just green bonnet peppers Scrobs. They do a wonder dish in Spain of them, salted and fried in olive oil, delicious
The primitive Mexicans make a paste of red chilli peppers and use it to ease rheumatic and arthritic pain.
I've never tried it but, I have read somewhere, that it is very effective.
At your request, part two of the Beatles saga is up on my site.
'Pantomime days to follow'!
I tried to comment yesterday, but blogger wouldn't let me. Too hot to handle!
OUCH!
We got the grand total of 3 tomatoes from 3 plants after the blight spoilt the party...:-(
I've got a great friend who ate the hottest dish ever prepared in an Asian eaterie in London.
They asked him to sign the vistor's book, which was nice.
They really can hurt Reevers!
It was a fairly mild 'Apache' today, which is actually very pleasant - its the others that make me come out in a sweat just thinking about them...
Trubes - will be over asap...
"salted and fried in olive oil, delicious" best idea to date...
Lis that's sad news, your green fingers don't deserve that.
Did it take over in a matter of hours - it did here...
Iders, it always means something when they have your name, mainly so they can instruct Mr Rajiv to prepare the case for the defence...
The government helped but I wasn't aware of the landoweners helping much.
Anyway, have you tried a touch of chilli and chocolate? I got some drinking chocolate from Whittards which I'll try. A touch of chilli with choc is supposed to be nice.
Sorry to read about the toms.
To be honest some veggies must be worth more effort that others. A good chilli pepper for one !
The boys and I find the small punchy variety most addictive - to tell you the truth, they must get to the point where they verge on poisonous.
I grew a marvelous potato plant this year - expecting to yield a dozen or so.
Just one ! So baked it and had it with some butter and beans accompanied by much ceremony.
Yes Scrobs, a beautiful crop was there one morning and by the afternoon it was trashed.
But I think Kev wins the Amateur Blogging Gardener award for...one potato! Well done Kev :-)
WV = quiters
The children grew one tomato (circ=1.5cm approx) and one wild strawb. We are having better luck growing fleurs - the snails ate the chilli peppers :-(
We need chickens - that would annoy the neighbours :-)
Pips - chilli with chocolate sounds like Marmite with Brobat...but as it's you, I'll give it a try...
How on earth did that one surface then?
Elecs; your spud is the epitome of a good guy, it's a bit like working for this government...
...you invest so much of your own effort and money to free up food for the welfare masses, and your result is one tuber.
Better than nothing eh?
Wasn't a handout either!
Lils we said B******s and binned them!
Plenty more elsewhere anyway, but I was rather looking forward to a two-pint Ailsa Craig smoothie with three measures of vodka and crushed ice...
Never mind, the Lambourne apples are in as from this evening!
Pips - chickens are always the subject of one of our Corbieres discussions...
Couldn't let them go ever; and they would...
Just couldn't, because they'd all have names by then!
Scrobs, it wasn't me with the chilli and chocolate thing, I may have heard of the Aztecs doing that but I'm guessing it was more likely the chocolate man on channel 4, that docu-choco-mantery thing. Who may have eaten an Aztec bar in his time.
I'd love to keep chickens and you could just eat the eggs and not the chickens. I liked 'The Good Life' calling their cockerel 'Lenin'.
Pips, didn't 'Aztec' change to 'Marathon'?
What has a hazel nut in every bite?
Squirrel s**t...
That's terrible, and I'll remove it forthwith...
Lenin was our favourite too! We still talk about Margot, who left messages around! One thing Mrs S and I still say is that if we want to leave each other a note, like if one of us is out with JRT, we will mention that it has been 'Sellotaped to the handle of your pickaxe...'
Priceless!
For you and Mrs S
One of my ex's said I was just like Margot. The newspaper is just like me. My last ex relied on me to tell him what to do all the time. I hated that. Pathetic trick - don't do anything and then you can't be held responsible for your actions and when you make any it's her fault. Hm. Funny how different people see you differently; one as confident, another as shy etc., without taking into account that you are reacting to them and how they are. It's an amalgam. I'm reacting to a news item on my blog and hope you will excuse the language. Imagine Margot's accent when reading and it may soften the effect.
The Hotter the better. I have a chili sauce here. It comes in a hand made bottle with a skull and crossbones on it.
You have to sign a wavier to by it as it is on the dangerous hot scale 2.5 million plus. You only need to put a toothpick in it and the residue on the tooth pick would do a whole pot of chili.
There is a tomato rot? Hmmm I have just the home for it. Marinetti longed to change the diet here, tomato rot is a good start.
Fortunately Australians eat tomatoes on toast for breakfast. Or we'd have gone under (sorry).
Hats, it was a bit of a disappointment, and was probably my fault for watering over the top instead of down at the roots.
Once it gets a hold, it'll take over in days, and the green ones we did save went off very quickly!
Next year, we're going back to the old routine of pots all over the place (four walls etc), and that way there's no problem...
...we hope...
I've also got a tomato addiction as well as a chilli one too...
Tarfers - that sounds pretty good, any chance of a contact number...?
Have you read Annie Hawes' book by chance...
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