< A Peck of Pickled Peppers

Before the evil white flies annihilated our jalapeno bushes, we harvested quite a few peppers.  If you've never tried them, fresh jalapenos are HOT. Really HOT.  I like the flavor of them, but don't enjoy pain (while eating at least). My favorite way to eat them is pickled.  You can put them on nachos, tacos, or even pizza like we did in my last post.  With the yield from our bushes I was able to make two jars of pickled peppers.



Here is how I channeled my inner Peter Piper:

I started with a handful of fresh picked jalapenos.  Below are just a few mixed in with some other sweet peppers that were ready to be picked that day.

 I found this recipe and started chopping.

I strongly suggest wearing gloves for this part.  No matter how many times you wash your hands there is still the danger of getting some hot stuff in your eyes (or nose you gross pickers).

The recipe (in case you didn't click on the link) calls for water, white vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic, and oregano.  You bring all those ingredients to a boil and then stir in your pepper rings.  Turn off the burner and let them marinate and cool for 10 minutes.

All you have to do after that is spoon the peppers into a jar and top off with the liquid from the pot.

 TA DA!!   

Store in the fridge until you're ready to add some heat to your next meal.

Even pickled these baby's have some kick.  Next time I make them I will probably cut back a bit on the sugar because they have a bit of a sweetness to them I wasn't expecting.  Maybe I will let them cook a little more to try to mitigate some of the firepower, too.

Side note:

Before the pest invasion those pepper plants were the most successful and low maintenance part of our garden experience this year.  If they hadn't been beat up by the flies they would probably produce all summer long.