Merry Christmas

Hi!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Regards,
  Mats

Ginger bread chile pepper cookies - chilepepparkakor

Hi!

It's mid December, and not much is going on with my chile pepper plants. What amazes me is that even the ones without extra light are producing flowers. And pods. The good thing is that we can have fresh habaneros for Christmas :-)

It's not that it's the brightest time of year. Just a little more than 6 hours of daylight per day now.



This weekend we made som ginger bread cookies, with chiles. Here are my samples of Capsicum Zingiber officinale :-)

 

I made the powder from a mix of bhut jolokia and peru yellow. Just to get the right instant heat, together with a fruitier one. Actually quite a nice mix. I like the chile pepper shape of the cookies. We bought the cookie cutter in New Mexico (of course :-) many years ago.

Here are some traditional old fashioned Swedish ones. Pigs and goats.

 And more New Mexican cacti :-)

Hot regards,
  Mats

Congo yellow

Hi!

The first week in November has passed, and my Congo yellow, that is VERY late has started to flower again. It looks pretty healthy, so I hope it will make it through the winter.

Wishing you all a great week!

Hot regards,
  Mats

Carolina Reaper

Hi!

Phew! I received a gift from a friend. A hot sauce. Not just any hot sauce. It was the Reaper Squeezins.

How hot could it be? Carl and I had a sample of it on a teaspoon, and I can guarantee it was a hot one :-) Patricia used a potato tester, and even though we couldn't see any sauce on it, she was burning.

Phew, I don't know how to handle this one. One drop at a time maybe :-)

Hot regards,
  Mats

Burning fingers and fantastic smell

Hi!

I've been slicing chiles half afternoon, in order to put them in the dryer. I'm going to make chile flakes and powder of them :-)

Here is what I'm going to make. A mix of green dedo de moça, and green peru yellow.

And another mix of trepadeiro werner and piriz.

 And som red habaneros.

The smell from the dryer is fantastic. I wish it was possible to make a recording of it, so I could share it with you. :-)

I didn't use any gloves while working on the chiles, so my fingers are on fire right now. So a friendly advice - if you're going to do this at home - remember to protect your fingers. 

Wishing you a great week!
  Mats

(Final) harvest - almost

Hi!

A small harvest for lunch. On the top, there is CGN 21500. A very nice C. chinense. Good heat, and fantastic flavor that fills your mouth. Clockwise, we have dedo de moca, immature trepadeiro Werner, Peru yellow and ripe trepadeiro.

I have kept the plants out on the balcony until now. The warm autumn has done wonders for the peppers. They were all very late because of the slow start of the summer, but now we are in sync :-)

Here are some that I picked today. Will get back with better pictures. Clockwise. Top - trepadeiro,  piriz, aji dulce and dedo de moca.

Not everything is about chile peppers. We have the Chinese Navy visiting Stockholm. It's been a wonderful day. I think everybody was out in the warm weather :-)

Wishing you all a great hot weekend!
   Mats

Mango habanero salsa

Hi!

Today I made a mango + habanero salsa to go for dinner with salmon and potato.

The recipe
One fresh mango, sliced
One or two habaneros
Fresh onions, chopped
One fresh lime, squeezed
A lot of cilantro, finely chopped

It's really a delicious salsa. Maybe I made it a little too hot, so we were completely melting at the end of dinner. But it gave us a good laugh. As always when it comes to chile peppers :-)

Have a great weekend!
   Mats

Chipotle

Hi!

We were happy to find this chipotle sauce today. Tried it for dinner. It was really good with the (sort of) patatas bravas that I made. A nice addition to my hot sauce "collection".

Hot regards,
  Mats

Xnipec

Hi!

Harvest time. Today, I made a salsa. My favorite habanero salsa. It's called xnipec. Inspiration from Dave DeWitt's habanero cookbook, here is my recipe.

My slightly modified xnipec

2 habanero peppers
2 tomatoes, chopped
Fresh onion, chopped (amount approximately one onion).
juice from one lime
A bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
Instead of salt, I use capers

The name Xni-pec comes from the Maya words ni (nose), and peek (dog), referring to a dog’s wet nose. This salsa can be made so hot that your nose will start dripping. That's how I like it.

The name “Xni-pec “comes from the Maya words “ni” (nose), and “peek” (dog), referring to a dog’s wet nose, since this sauce can be so hot that your nose will sweat like a dog! - See more at: http://www.mexicoinmykitchen.com/2014/06/xnipec-salsa-recipe-habanero.html#sthash.U1n4ow3H.dpuf

I used the red habanero that I grew this summer.

The salsa was delicious and hot. It's funny how Patricia reacts when the salsa is hot enough. Goose bumps :-)

Now we're all sneezing :-)

Have a great hot weekend!
   Mats

Tepin amarillo

Hi!

I was really surprised to find this tiny pod. The plant has been in the corner behind bigger plants, so I have not been able to really look at it.

I hope it stays healthy, and is able to mature. Time will tell.

 

Hot regards,

  Mats

Chiltepe from Guatemala

Hi again,
  this one is really late, and it's great to see that the flowers are being pollinated. But I wonder if it will make it all the way. I will probably move the plant indoors in a week or so. The days are still pretty warm. The nights are cooler.

Anyway, aren't they a good looking bunch?

Only one pod on the plant.

Hot regards,
  Mats

Habanero yellow

Hi!

A short update. My yellow habanero is still out on the balcony. The nights are getting cooler, but the days are warm.

Haven't tasted the pods yet. But they look yummy :-)

Have a great week!

Hot regards,
   Mats

Mid September reflection

Hi!

Almost mid September, and the chiles are really late.

This is the time of year, when I realize that the new flowers won't turn into pods. So I've started to take away some plants. Always a little sad, because it marks the end of the season.

But, I'm happy to be able to pick some fresh pods for lunch. Here we have 3 dedo de moca, 2 peru yellow and 1 trepadeiro werner.

All of them are Capsicum baccatum. The dedo de moca this year, seems to be hotter than usual. Peru yellow is an old favorite of mine. It's so crisp, so it's a great feeling to have a bite of it :-) Trepadeiro is the one with least heat, but it has a great taste.

The remainings of some harvested peppers. Drying the pots... Before putting them away.

But, hey, wait a minute. The season is definitely not over yet. There is actually a massive amount of peppers on the balcony. So, there is more to come for 2015 :-)

Wishing you a great weekend.

Trepadeiro Werner, different levels of maturity

Hi again!

The trepadeiro werner is worth mentioning an extra time. Really nice variety. It grows very big, and is all over the place. It's more or less impossible to separate it from the closest "neighbors" on the balcony.

Here are some immature pods.

Here are some that are starting to shift colours. It's really beautiful.

Here you can see the different levels of maturity. Beautiful colours.

 

And some more.

All my trepadeiro werner pictures are here => http://petterssononline.com/habanero/peppers.php?action=variety&id=1268

Wishing you all a great week!
   Mats

My good old peru yellow

This is one of my old favorites. I think I have grown it since 1995 or something like that. It's a very nice baccatum. Quite compact compared to the bigger ones.

The heat is moderate, the taste is good, with a citrus flavor. And I like the crispy feeling, when having a bite :-)

Not many ripe pods yet. It's becoming a race against time.

Summery regards,
  Mats

Orange malawi

The orange malawi is a new variety for me. It has the typical attributes of a Capsicum chinense.

It's a nice plant. And I can't wait for the pods to turn orange. :-)

Because of the late summer, it is in full bloom now. Autumn is approaching, so there is not much time. But there are some pods, that I hope will turn ripe soon.

Hot regards,
  Mats

CGN 21500 - Capsicum chinense

The name is quite anonymous. But. What a fascinating variety! The pods go from deep purple to this wonderful warm colour.

I think that it's one of the most beautiful varieties that I have grown.

 

Plenty of pods!

 

Typical chinense flowers.

Haven't tasted it yet. So, more about this one later.

Wishing you all a great week!
   Mats

Malagueta (middle size)

Hi!

End of August, and I'm starting to think about the next steps for my plants. It won't get any warmer this year, and if I want to keep some over the winter, I need to move them indoors really soon.

This one is weird. The seeds that I used were over 10 years old, so I didn't have any expectations really. But the plant looked OK, and it produced flowers. The flowers were pollinated, but the pods never started to grow.

Here is a closer look.You can clearly see that the flowers have dropped, and that there is like a small fruit there. Just that it doesn't grow.

More pictures here => http://petterssononline.com/habanero/peppers.php?action=variety&id=79
I realize I grew it in 2002, and it didn't produce any pods then. So the seeds are probably from 2001.

I've never seen anything like this. I think the explanation is that the seeds were old. But it would be interesting to hear about your experiences.

Hot regards,
  Mats

Habanero, trepadeiro, dedo & co and a basic salsa recipe

Hi again!

A short update from the corner of the balcony.

Here is the red habanero. It's grown really big. The dark / purple pods is CGN 21500.

 The white/yellow ones is trepadeiro werner. It's grown together with the dedo de moca (the green pods in the foreground). The peru yellow doesn't show, but it's behind all of them.

 

 Here is a closer picture of trepadeiro werner. Different stages of maturity. It turns into a delicious dark yellow tone when mature.

More habanero and CGN 21500.

It's going to be a hot autumn :-) We just sampled a basic salsa with one of the habaneros.

My basic salsa
fresh onion
habanero
tomato
capers
cilantro
a little lime juice
and a little salt

So simple. So good! Wait a couple of hours before serving.


Hot regards,
  Mats

A small harvest

Hi,
  I was hoping to take some pictures of the ripe pods today. But it's really windy, and it's more or less impossible to get a sharp image. Well, maybe tomorrow.

I picked some dedo de moca and trepadeiro werner. Perfect with lunch :-) The trepadeiro werner is new for me. I reallly like the taste and heat. A very nice baccatum.

Have a great weekend!
  Mats

Habanero for lunch

Hi!

The summer temperatures continue, and that is great for the pods!

Here is a "view" of the corner of the balcony, where I can't go anymore. The plants are so big, and totally dominates the corner :-) There are plenty of pods, with new ones turning red every day.

Today for lunch, I picked some Dedo de moca, peru yellow and a habanero.

Ready to be eaten on crisp bread with cheese. Yum :-)

Have a great hot week :-)
   Mats

Habanero time!

Hi!

Finally we have summer temperatures! The plants are loving it, and so am I.

Here is the red habanero, with some pods shifting in colour.

And here is the orange habanero. It is ahead of the red habanero with ripe pods. It's a very nice plant. This picture doesn't give it justice, and the pods are tiny. But taste fine :-)

I want to share another picture with you. It's a succulent that I started from seeds 10 years ago. The seeds are originally from my friend Allen, and I have forgotten the name. So if you can identify it, please tell me what it is.

In case you have missed it. Here is a link to my chile pepper database with lots of pictures => http://petterssononline.com/habanero/peppers.phphttp://petterssononline.com/habanero/peppers.php

Wishing you a great weekend!
    Mats

Congo yellow

Hi!

I forgot to take a picture of the only pod that was ripe. I was so eager to taste it :-)

I don't know if it's because of the cold summer (someone said that July had the same average temperature as November last year), or if the pods of this variety usually are this small.

Nice heat and good taste. Don't they look nice :-)

Wishing you all a great weekend!
   Mats

Chiles in Sweden :-)

Two pictures from our holiday.

This one is from Umeå, in the north. Along the river walk, we found this chile pepper plant. If you look at the lower right corner, there is a pod. Probably a jalapeño or similar. Totally unexpected :-)

And in Visby, in a café garden, we found a pot with a C. annuum. I couldn't identify it, but it looked fine :-)

Hot regards,
  Mats