Hungarian Hot Pepper Mustard

This year in our garden we planted several pepper plants. The four Hungarian Wax peppers have been loaded with peppers. Not able to eat them fast enough, I wanted to make something. I found this recipe for Hot Pepper Butter that sounded like a good fit.

Here is the adapted recipe I used:

~50 Hungarian Wax peppers (enough for 5-6 cups blended)
1 quart vinegar (1 cup Apple cider, 1 cup white, 2 cups red wine)
1 quart prepared mustard (I used French’s classic yellow)
3 cups sugar
1 cup flour mixed with water to make a smooth paste
Red Cayenne Pepper powder (if more heat is desired)

1. De-stem the peppers and removed the seeds/membranes if desired (use gloves – the pepper oils will make your skin burn)


2. In small batches, blend the peppers until smooth


3. Cook peppers, vinegar, mustard, and sugar in a stockpot and cook over medium heat (add Cayenne pepper to taste)


4. Add the flour paste, stirring constantly (mine was clumpy so I pulled out the hand blender and smoothed out the mixture)


5. Using a jar funnel, I ladled into hot jars and sealed.


6. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 min


7. Remove using a jar lifter and let the jars cool in a draft free location (you should hear popping sounds as the jars seal)

The mustard is a nice bright orange color since most of the peppers I used were orange and red. It is quite spicy (enough to make my lips burn), but I think a little will add a lot of flavor.

Chicken Update

The chickens are all grown up. The white ones (Light Brahma breed) are much larger than their brown sisters (Ameracauna breed). Lately we have been letting them out to free range in the backyard. Here is a picture of the two breeds next to each other:

All four chickens are still very friendly. They will come running over to me and stand next to my feet. One even walked under my leg when I was sitting in a lawn chair. It is fun to see them run, even if it is more of a waddle with an occasional burst of flight.


We went on vacation a couple of weeks ago. It was that week that the brown chickens laid their first eggs (at 20 weeks of age). By the time we got home, there were several. They are a greenish blue color.




My husband decided to eat some, and the first one he opened was a double yolk.





Over the last week, they have been laying nearly every day. I kept wondering when the white chickens would start. Today I got my answer, our first brown egg:



At least we know one of the white chickens is laying (at 22 weeks of age). Maybe there will be another brown egg tomorrow.

The Elusive Quail Family

Three days ago I saw them for the first time. They weren't much more than little balls of fluff with legs. A group of baby quail were darting from plant to plant in the vegetable garden with their mothers. I tried to get closer for a picture, but alas they were quick to scurry and escaped the lens.

Today I saw them again. First thing this morning I saw the family walking across the street heading for the garden. Again I tried to get a shot, but they excel at hide and seek and I missed out a second time. Finally, this afternoon as I was sitting here working, they came walking across the front porch. I was able to snap a few shots before they disappeared again.

The cute baby quail living in our garden (and taking occasional strolls on our porch).

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day July 2009

Wow! It's the 15th already. Where has the time gone? Most of the blooms right now are in the vegetable garden. Here is an overview shot. We transplanted the seedlings on April 25th and have been harvesting a steady stream of tomatoes and peppers.


Last month I highlighted some of my marigolds. They continue to flourish. Mixed in with the marigolds are some sweet basil and parsley. They are cheerful greeters to the rows of tomato plants. On the lower right is our German Chamomile. I dried some last week (but haven't had a chance to post it yet). If you are interested in my results, check back soon.


Moving away from the vegetables, I discovered that another one of our citrus trees is blooming. This one is the Midknight Valencia Orange. The harvest season is late spring which is why it is lagging the other citrus blooms.


This flower is from an aloe plant. It is nearly finished blooming, but the hummingbirds have been enjoying it's sweet nectar for almost a month. The plant is just outside our kitchen window so I have caught several glimpses of the hummingbird land and drink from the flowers.


To see other blogger's July Blooms, head over to May Dreams Garden.

Tomato Salsa

Now that the tomatoes are here, I can’t think of a better reason to make our favorite tomato salsa. This is the basic combination we use to dress our fish tacos. I went out to the garden and picked all the necessary ingredients (the tomatoes on the counter were from the store - the last ones we will buy this season!).


Ingredients:
Tomatoes
Peppers (can be mild or hot)
Onion
Garlic
Cilantro
Lemon juice

There isn’t a fixed quantity of each ingredient. Tomatoes are the largest contributor (tonight augmented our homegrown with 6 medium store bought), followed by equal parts peppers (1 bell, 1 med, 1 hot) and onion (6 small ones which are roughly the equivalent of 1 medium), a few cloves garlic, cilantro to taste and lemon juice to bring out the flavor in the mixture. Dice everything up and put in a bowl. Stir to combine.


The salsa can be served right away or chilled before using. It will keep in the refrigerator for 1-2 days in a covered dish (although ours rarely lasts that long). In addition to tacos, this salsa can be added to a salad, served like bruschetta on toasted bread, or over pasta.