A small chuquisac harvest

I'm definitely not spoiled to harvesting chiles this year. But today we had two ripe Chuquisac pods.

Two nice pods. They were mild but with very nice taste.

Now I hope that the warm weather for the season continues, so the rest of the pods will turn yellow.

More chuquisac pictures here: http://petterssononline.com/habanero/peppers.php?action=variety&id=1238

Hot regards,
   Mats

What Went Wrong?

I'm cleaning up and removing old files on the computer, and just found this old favorite. I think it is so good so I want to share it with you. :-)

---

This is the story of four people: Everybody,
Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done, and
Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.

Somebody got angry, because it was
Everybody’s job. Everybody thought that
Somebody would do it.

But nobody asked Anybody.

It ended up that the job wasn’t done, and
Everybody blamed Everybody, when actually
Nobody asked Anybody.

---

Regards,

  Mats

Rocoto paste

I did not grow any pubescens this year, so I was extra happy when I found this one! Good stuff!

I think it could more or less be used on anything!

Regards,
  Mats

More orange baccatum

I'm home with Carl today, since he has caught the flu. So I could go out on the balcony to pick some fresh peppers.

Three of them are still out there because of all the aphids. We don't want the mess inside.

The nights are getting cooler and I think it's down to 8-9 degrees C and I would expect the aphids to go away. I think that the plants would be shocked if I bring them inside now, so I will simply leave them out there.

Usually I never keep the plants out so late in the season, but what strikes me is that the pods do not seem to mature the same way they usually do. This is my orange baccatum, and they matures over a more green colour than earlier in the season.

Pods picked today:

Pods picked over a week ago. You see that these ones have a deeper orange colour.

There is nothing wrong with the heat. I believe they are even hotter than the ones that mature earlier in the season. I wonder why. One reason I can think of is that the capsaicin is used to protect the chiles, and they think that they need better protection because of the cooler climate. Any other ideas?

Wishing you a great week!
   Mats

Pickled malaguetas

My malaguetas didn't make it this season. But we found this nice bottle the other day.

The malagueta taste is great, and they mix perfectly well with the vinegar.

Hot regards,
   Mats

Jelly and powder

I got these two delicacies from my friend whose chile plants I took care of for a week.

This is great! In case you haven't tried it, I think it's a nice jelly! Wonderful with cheese on crackers or crisps.

And this is another favorite. I use pimenton in many dishes, but especially in meatballs and mashed potato. So by now Carl knows that I'm not making typical Swedish meatballs, but he gets so surprised if they lack the heat.

Anyway, not only the content is good. Also the cans are nice. Unintentionally I'm working on a collection. You can check it out here. http://chilesinstockholm.blogspot.com/2011/04/it-was-never-my-intention.html

Wishing you all a nice weekend!
   Mats

Another favorite - orange baccatum

This little fellow is saving my season :-) Without it I would not have much to harvest. But this one is productive. Very nice one. With good heat and nice taste.

I think that I will pick the ones that are ripe during the weekend, so the plant can focus on the immature ones. The outdoor growing season is definitely going to an end..

More pictures here: http://petterssononline.com/habanero/peppers.php?action=variety&id=1241

Regards,
  Mats

In the mix...

Time flies when you're having fun. So I'm really behind with publishing some pictures. This wonderful mix ended up in our stomachs last weekend.

Thank you Patrik for saving us :-)

Hot regards,
   Mats

Aji limon

This seems to be a nice Capsicum baccatum!

Still only immature pods, but they look great. Thick and heavy. I think I might stuff them with feta cheese and bake in the oven when they are ready. My mouth waters when I think about it :-)

I will get back later with more pictures when they hopefully turn red. This one is also left on the balcony, so I hope it won't be too long...

More pictures here: http://petterssononline.com/habanero/peppers.php?action=variety&id=1242


Regards,
  Mats

Florida bird pepper

Well, this is nice. Maybe the plants get stressed by the chilly nights, but finally some pods are turning red :-)

I haven't tasted them yet, but they look good! I'm sure they will be fine either dried, fresh or in an oil.

It is really windy, so it doesn't help to use a tripod, but anyway, here are the sharpest pictures I took today. 

There are plenty of flowers on the way. Too bad they won't be setting fruit. Unless I move it inside soon. But before that I need to get rid of the aphids...

Hot regards,
   Mats

Autumn colours

Time flies. I took this picture last Sunday. I love the autumn colours and just wanted to share this with you. Even though it's not a Capsicum...

Regards,
   Mats

Moving out (again)

We couldn't stand all the aphids, so I moved them out to the balcony again. And now I will keep them there. No way I'm taking these aphid-loaded plants inside again.

That's sad. I was really hoping for saving a couple of plants for the winter. But I don't see how I will be able to get rid of all the aphids. It's better to start from scratch next year (again).

Well, it was a beautiful day anyway, and I'm not complaining. Here I am enjoying a beer in the sunshine :-)

Have a nice weekend!
   Mats

Dinner guests - the beginning of the chaos

The nights are still pretty warm. Just above 10 C. But tonight I decided to move some of the plants inside. In general there are not many pods on the plants, but I want to do what I can so they can mature.

It's good to have the blog. I see from last year that I moved the plants indoors on the 10th of September last year. Almost the same date in other words. I had so many more plants last year.... http://chilesinstockholm.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-have-i-done.html

I will probably throw away at least two of the plants now. There are six pots left on the balcony, but I will play the role as judge tomorrow. It's hard after almost a year's struggle, and then just throw it away.

Anyway, let's talk about more fun things :-) The one to the right is absolutely fantastic. It's my Florida bird pepper. Hundreds of fruits and flowers! It has been standing in the corner of the balcony, so I hadn't noticed that.

The one next to it, is a tepin. Not so many fruits, but quite a bunch anyway. They usually take a lot of time to mature, so I hope it will like it inside.

The others are some frutescens and chinense.

So, compared to last year, I think it will be quite OK from a plant perspective. But still. They take lots of space, and I'm sure it will be a challenging period ahead :-)

More pictures later.

Regards,
  Mats

Thanks Mia & Patrik

Thanks Mia! The Gojis are now in soil :-) I have a plastic bag over the pot, so I hope they will make it!

And thanks Patrik for the chiles! If you have the time, please tell what the varieties are.

(The one on the lower row to the right is a fresh goji berry.)

Have a great week!
    Mats

Thank you all my friends :-)

What a nice day at Bergianska!

Clear blue sky and 20 degrees Centigrade!

Party people having coffee and cakes!

It's not Halloween yet, but Carl has found a pumpkin! Do not touch!

Tres amigos :-)

Mia and me.

Two hot guys. Patrik & Rune.

Kaili doing some great artwork.

So thank you all my friends for making this a great day!

Hot regards,
  Mats

Girino

These wax like pods are beautiful. It's almost like the light slips on them, making it hard to get focus.

This is a Brazilian Capsicum chinense. The name is in Portuguese, meaning tadpole. Grodyngel in Swedish. So now I have learned a new Portuguese word :-)

Five years ago, I grew this variety, and it gave a great harvest. This year, I will not get many pods, but I'm happy for the ones that are there :-) If you want to see more pictures, you can have a look here:
http://petterssononline.com/habanero/peppers.php?action=variety&id=224

From the balcony in Stockholm :-)
   Mats

Chiltepin

Inspired by the nice weather I went out to the balcony to get a picture of one of my favorite varieties. Chiltepin. It's a Capsicum annuum

I have grown some other similar varieties. Tepin and chilipiquin. More pictures to be found here:
http://petterssononline.com/habanero/peppers.php?action=variety&id=145
and here:
http://petterssononline.com/habanero/peppers.php?action=variety&id=1203

I'm going out to Bergianska today to meet my friends from the chile pepper association. The annual autumn party. http://www.bergianska.se/index_program.php?vidare=aktuellt_hostfest11.html

Wishing you a nice Sunday! And maybe see you there :-)
Mats