Pickled peppers and a realization.

My goal for the day was to do some small batch canning of the peppers we have coming in. I don't want them to go bad and I haven't unpacked my dehydrator yet.

I went into the kitchen and started pulling out my equipment and supplies. Then I thought - I should record this on video for the blog. That completely changed the direction of the morning. I had to pull out the tripod - only to find out the adapter for my phone doesn't fit. Then I fiddled with the small tripod, and discovered the piece that "follows" me was dead and needed charged.

After finally sorting all of that out, I looked at my supplies covering my counter. It looked too messy on video. Measured everything out into separate bowls so it looks nice. Finally get started, and realized that a lot of the time I'm spending chopping, I'm just rambling on with no real plan. The total video time recorded was 17 minutes. I edited it. Reviewed it. Hated it. My whole day felt weird and a little unpleasant.

Here's what I realized. I LOVE blogging. I don't mind taking pictures. I don't even mind being ON camera. I dislike rambling. I like to listen to music while I work, not the sound of my own voice, desperately filling in the blank space between giving helpful info. So, the realization. For now, I'm just going to blog. Share our journey, through the written word and pictures.

Hope everyone's down for that. I also discovered (thanks Momma!) that you can't like / follow this page for some reason. I'll get that fixed right away.

In the meantime, here are some pictures and the recipes for the yummy pickled peppers and cowboy candy I made yesterday!

I made 2 jars of cowboy candy. I used both habanero and jalapeno peppers, because I didn't have enough of either one - and Jason likes it so spicy his eyes sweat.

I canned three jars of pickled peppers, these were a mix of hot and mild - so I'm calling them "medium". I may change the label later. We love to add these to our salads, pizza and sandwiches!

I also saved the leftover brine from the peppers and the syrup from the cowboy candy. I'll have plenty more peppers coming in, and I can use this up over the next week or so.

Big plans for tomorrow include making this post and starting to bring in more boxes to the kitchen. I think I finally have a plan for kitchen appliances, preserving appliances and supplies, and all of our spices! Wish me luck!

Pickled Peppers

• 1 cups water
• 2 cups vinegar
• 1/2 Tbsp salt
• 1/2 tsp mustard seed
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp celery seed
• 15 black peppercorns

Make enough of the brine mixture above to cover all your peppers. I have no idea how many I had - but enough, that once cut up, it filled three pint jars.

The thing to remember is the brine - you can add pickle spice - or any other flavors you want - but the brine should be as follows:

For every 1 cup of water, you need 2 cups of vinegar and 1/2 tbsp of salt. After that - it's a free for all! :)

Place the all the ingredients, except the peppers in a pot on the stove and bring to a boil. Once all the salt is dissolved, you can add the finished brine to the pints of peppers.

While your brine is coming to a boil, cut the peppers into rings (leaving seeds and membranes if you'd like) and add to pint jars. You can squish them down a bit, but don't smash them in there.

Cover the peppers with the brine - and I like to add 1/8 tsp of pickle crisp to each pint jar. This just helps keep them crisp. I don't like mushy peppers. This is totally optional.

Don't forget to use a chopstick or knife to push the peppers around in jars to let all the air bubbles out. Wipe the edges of the jars with white vinegar on a clean cloth, add the new lids and rings.

You can water bath can peppers in this brine - just remember to leave 1/4 inch headspace in your jars and process for 10 minutes at 1000' altitude or 15 minutes at 1000' - 6000'. I'm just over 1000' , so I processed mine for 15 minutes.

Don't forget to save your leftover brine - in the refrigerator - if you are going to have more peppers in the coming week.

Cowboy Candy

• jalapeño's & habanero's (you don't need both - it's just what I had)
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1/2 tsp celery seed
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne

Mix everything except the peppers in a pot and bring to a boil - allow to boil for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile - slice your peppers into rings. Remember if you leave in the seeds and / or membranes, it will be spicier than if you don't. It's your stomach - you decide.

Add the cut peppers to canning jars (I used pints) and push them down a bit - once the syrup has boiled for 10 minutes, pour over each pint, leaving 1/4 inch headspace, and don't forget to use a chopstick or knife to push the peppers around in jars to let all the air bubbles out.

Wipe the edges of the jars with white vinegar on a clean cloth, add the new lids and rings. and process for 10 minutes (15 if you are above 1000').

Again, you can water bath can these. No pressure canner required.

There is a school of thought - that you should "cook" these a bit. If you are a fan of softer peppers in your cowboy candy, you can add them to the syrup for the last 4-5 minutes and then ladle the peppers into the jars and top with syrup. We like our peppers firm - so we don't do that part. :)