Thread: Peppers and peaches

On 9/7/2010 9:22 PM, gloria.p wrote:
>
> Dear daughter and I made the annual trek to a garden center (with a
> large Hispanic customer base) to buy roasted chiles for the freezer.
> They sell by the bushel. We bought Anaheims and Anchos and spent the
> next 2 1/2 hours slipping off the skins,removing most of the seeds, and
> dividing them into vacuum sealed bags, double bagged into larger
> ziplocks so everything in the freezer doesn't taste like chiles.

I have never had a problem with one item contaminating other items
through a vacuum sealed bag. What's up with that? Also I am envious that
you can get roasted chiles locally. We can get fresh chiles and dried
chiles but that's about it. When we moved here 22 years ago there were
NO Hispanics in the area now there are tons. Maybe we will get a Mexican
market sometime soon. I know the Mexican restaurants have multiplied
ten-fold in the last two years, some good, some not.

We will
> share with her brother, too. Both of my kids cook much "hotter" than I do.
>
> I am looking forward to cooler weather for green chile, red chile,
> soups, stews and roasts. Much of our cooking has been done on the gas
> grill this summer because it has been SO HOT.

I take it you don't have air conditioning? We couldn't live here without
it so I find it strange that everybody doesn't have it.

>
> I also bought 20 lb. of small peaches which looked very ripe but
> weren't. Dear Husband helped me blanch them to remove the skin for
> freezing but even after extending the blanching and ice water bath
> only about 4 of the fruit gave up the skins easily. They were not ripe
> enough, making me glad I used a sugar and FruitFresh treatment. That
> was disappointing because Colorado peaches can be wonderful when ripe.

That's typical for store bought fruit around here too.

>
> I thought about peach jam but we have more jam in the basement pantry
> than we can use in multiple lifetimes.

Think food bank. I gave a bunch to Abraham's Tent one year, they feed
needy people. They actually brought me the jars and rings back one month
later. Really nice people at these places.

>
> My neighbor stopped by yesterday when we were working in the yard and
> offered me ALL of her Concord grapes. What will I do with mine (the
> ones the raccoons don't get?) Maybe juice. Sigh.

Well, you eat all you can, can all you can, and the coons get the rest.
Does that make sense?

>
> I thought I was done for the season. :-(
>
> gloria p

There is no season in home preserving to my knowledge, when you gets it
you cans it.

In article <i66s11$7n6$[email protected]>,
"gloria.p" <[email protected]> wrote:

> I thought about peach jam but we have more jam in the basement pantry
> than we can use in multiple lifetimes.

> gloria p

Make some peachy-pepper jam.

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
A few pics from the Fair are here:
http://gallery.me.com/barbschaller#100254

In article <[email protected]>,
George Shirley <[email protected]> wrote:

> Think food bank. I gave a bunch to Abraham's Tent one year, they feed
> needy people. They actually brought me the jars and rings back one month
> later. Really nice people at these places.

Lots of food shelves won't accept homemade food, Jorge.
--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
A few pics from the Fair are here:
http://gallery.me.com/barbschaller#100254

On 9/8/2010 10:59 AM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> In article<[email protected]>,
> George Shirley<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Think food bank. I gave a bunch to Abraham's Tent one year, they feed
>> needy people. They actually brought me the jars and rings back one month
>> later. Really nice people at these places.
>
> Lots of food shelves won't accept homemade food, Jorge.

This one probably wouldn't either but I have worked with them a time or two.

George Shirley wrote:
> On 9/7/2010 9:22 PM, gloria.p wrote:

>
> I have never had a problem with one item contaminating other items
> through a vacuum sealed bag. What's up with that? Also I am envious that
> you can get roasted chiles locally. We can get fresh chiles and dried
> chiles but that's about it.


Our garden center and quite a few other places (including temporary
empty-lot vegetable stands have big, rotating mesh drums with propane
burners under them. You can smell the roasting for blocks. When each
batch is done they transfer them to heavy plastic bags to sweat and
loosen the skins. I don't think it would be too hard to do on a gas
grill, but they do such a good job, why bother.

>> I am looking forward to cooler weather for green chile, red chile,
>> soups, stews and roasts. Much of our cooking has been done on the gas
>> grill this summer because it has been SO HOT.
>
> I take it you don't have air conditioning? We couldn't live here without
> it so I find it strange that everybody doesn't have it.


ActuallY we Do HAVE A/C. It was one of my secret criteria when we were
house hunting here, but DH doesn't like to run up the electric bill so
we use it sparingly, around 11AM-5PM when it begins to cool off
outdoors. (That's one of Colorado's benefits, it cools down ~20 degrees
as soon as the sun sets.)


>
>>
>> I thought about peach jam but we have more jam in the basement pantry
>> than we can use in multiple lifetimes.
>
> Think food bank. I gave a bunch to Abraham's Tent one year, they feed
> needy people. They actually brought me the jars and rings back one month
> later. Really nice people at these places.
>

I am sure, but the food banks are picky around here and are suspicious
of home made anything. I end up giving it to neighbors. Took jars of
apricot jam to my doc and his assistant today when I went in for my
annual physical. They were astonished that I had made it myself from
our own trees. (City folk...)

>
>>
>> I thought I was done for the season. :-(
>>
>>
>
> There is no season in home preserving to my knowledge, when you gets it
> you cans it.
>


Seems I remember hearing that as Melba's Mom's motto. Thanks for the
reminder.

gloria p

On 9/8/2010 2:26 PM, gloria.p wrote:
> George Shirley wrote:
>> On 9/7/2010 9:22 PM, gloria.p wrote:
>
>>
>> I have never had a problem with one item contaminating other items
>> through a vacuum sealed bag. What's up with that? Also I am envious
>> that you can get roasted chiles locally. We can get fresh chiles and
>> dried chiles but that's about it.
>
>
> Our garden center and quite a few other places (including temporary
> empty-lot vegetable stands have big, rotating mesh drums with propane
> burners under them. You can smell the roasting for blocks. When each
> batch is done they transfer them to heavy plastic bags to sweat and
> loosen the skins. I don't think it would be too hard to do on a gas
> grill, but they do such a good job, why bother.
>
>>> I am looking forward to cooler weather for green chile, red chile,
>>> soups, stews and roasts. Much of our cooking has been done on the gas
>>> grill this summer because it has been SO HOT.
>>
>> I take it you don't have air conditioning? We couldn't live here
>> without it so I find it strange that everybody doesn't have it.
>
>
> ActuallY we Do HAVE A/C. It was one of my secret criteria when we were
> house hunting here, but DH doesn't like to run up the electric bill so
> we use it sparingly, around 11AM-5PM when it begins to cool off
> outdoors. (That's one of Colorado's benefits, it cools down ~20 degrees
> as soon as the sun sets.)

Total utility bills for August ran us about $189.00. That includes
electricity, natural gas, trash pick-up weekly, water, and sewer. All
for a 2000 square foot house. August is typically our hottest month but
we did have several fairly cool days this year. Our average electric
bill, year around, is only about $75.00 a month. The city utilities for
trash, water, and sewer, no limit on water, runs $43 a month. We have
pretty decent prices for utilities here.

I wish we cooled down ~20 degrees when the sun sets. If you take into
consideration the heat index we do drop that far but, I have seen nights
running in the high eighties if there is no wind that night.

>
>
>>
>>>
>>> I thought about peach jam but we have more jam in the basement pantry
>>> than we can use in multiple lifetimes.
>>
>> Think food bank. I gave a bunch to Abraham's Tent one year, they feed
>> needy people. They actually brought me the jars and rings back one
>> month later. Really nice people at these places.
>>
>
> I am sure, but the food banks are picky around here and are suspicious
> of home made anything. I end up giving it to neighbors. Took jars of
> apricot jam to my doc and his assistant today when I went in for my
> annual physical. They were astonished that I had made it myself from our
> own trees. (City folk...)
>
>>
>>>
>>> I thought I was done for the season. :-(
>>>
>>>
>>
>> There is no season in home preserving to my knowledge, when you gets
>> it you cans it.
>>
>
>
> Seems I remember hearing that as Melba's Mom's motto. Thanks for the
> reminder.
>
> gloria p

I guess we're old fashioned, both raised out in the country on acreage,
not on lots in town. I don't remember when my family didn't have a
garden. We lived in town until I was almost ten years old and we had a
garden and fruit trees in the backyard and went berry picking in the
country in the berry season. Miz Anne grew up on nineteen acres with the
two parents and five kids, you know they had a big garden, four apple
trees, two pear trees, raspberries, asparagus patch, all of that.

I guess putting your own food up is a mindset you get into so deep that
you don't realize we home food preservers are almost a dying breed. I
think with the economy being what it is more people are going that way.
I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to teach
well-meaning friends that great grannies canning habits can kill them
either quickly or very slowly and painfully. The horror, the horror.

>> it so I find it strange that everybody doesn't have it.

>ActuallY we Do HAVE A/C. It was one of my secret criteria when we were
>house hunting here, but DH doesn't like to run up the electric bill so
>we use it sparingly, around 11AM-5PM when it begins to cool off
>outdoors. (That's one of Colorado's benefits, it cools down ~20 degrees
>as soon as the sun sets.)

It's to complexicated a subject for me to try to tackle, but only running the AC
some of the time and relying on cool nights to cool the house can actually run
up your cooling costs.
All I'm willing to try to remember on that subject is when air cools it still has
the same amount of water in it, so if you let in a bunch of really wet air during
the night to cool the house _maybe_ you shouldn'ta 'cause the AC can't actually
start lowering the air temp until it's got the air dry enough.

>>> I thought I was done for the season. :-(

;p
Yeah, and then a deer leeps jumps thru your window. Can't let that venison go
to waste.
>> There is no season in home preserving to my knowledge, when you gets it
>> you cans it.
>>
>
>
>Seems I remember hearing that as Melba's Mom's motto. Thanks for the
>reminder.
>
>gloria p

Shawn

George Shirley wrote:

>
> I guess putting your own food up is a mindset you get into so deep that
> you don't realize we home food preservers are almost a dying breed. I
> think with the economy being what it is more people are going that way.
> I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to teach
> well-meaning friends that great grannies canning habits can kill them
> either quickly or very slowly and painfully. The horror, the horror.
>


I can't even GET my friends that far. They think any kind of preserving
is Hard Work and wouldn't even attempt it. The reaction to my jam
making is equivalent to what they'd say if I perfected cold fusion at
home. Folks have gotten so spoiled and soft in the past 50-60 years.

gloria p

ST wrote:

>
> It's to complexicated a subject for me to try to tackle, but only running the AC
> some of the time and relying on cool nights to cool the house can actually run
> up your cooling costs.
> All I'm willing to try to remember on that subject is when air cools it still has
> the same amount of water in it, so if you let in a bunch of really wet air during
> the night to cool the house _maybe_ you shouldn'ta 'cause the AC can't actually
> start lowering the air temp until it's got the air dry enough.
>


Shawn:

Humidity isn't really a problem in Colorado. Last week we had a couple
of days when the humidity was 6 to 7%.

My husband closely watches the delta between indoor and outdoor
temperatures and when it's more than a couple of degrees cooler outside,
the windows and doors get opened and the central a/c turned off. Much
of the time it works well.

My complaint was that it was hot enough this summer that, after we
finished painting the house, I had no desire to go outdoors the rest of
the summer. The gardens is evidence, a mass of weeds.

gloria p

On 9/9/2010 4:32 PM, gloria.p wrote:
> ST wrote:
>
>>
>> It's to complexicated a subject for me to try to tackle, but only
>> running the AC
>> some of the time and relying on cool nights to cool the house can
>> actually run
>> up your cooling costs.
>> All I'm willing to try to remember on that subject is when air cools
>> it still has
>> the same amount of water in it, so if you let in a bunch of really wet
>> air during
>> the night to cool the house _maybe_ you shouldn'ta 'cause the AC can't
>> actually
>> start lowering the air temp until it's got the air dry enough.
>>
>
>
> Shawn:
>
> Humidity isn't really a problem in Colorado. Last week we had a couple
> of days when the humidity was 6 to 7%.
>
> My husband closely watches the delta between indoor and outdoor
> temperatures and when it's more than a couple of degrees cooler outside,
> the windows and doors get opened and the central a/c turned off. Much
> of the time it works well.
>
> My complaint was that it was hot enough this summer that, after we
> finished painting the house, I had no desire to go outdoors the rest of
> the summer. The gardens is evidence, a mass of weeds.
>
> gloria p

Our house hasn't been painted since 1997 and still looks pretty good. If
we do indeed decide to sell next year I will have it painted. Are you
looking for a job that would include room and board? <G>

A couple of weeks ago we got several days where the night and early
morning temps were in the low seventies. Since our thermostat is set at
80F during the summer we just opened the windows and patio doors and let
the coolth creep in. Left them open until the AC cranked up because the
temp had risen. Saved a bunch of money on the electric bill.

Our winter temp is set at 68F. My attitude is you can take clothes off
in the summer and put them on in the winter if it saves a buck or two.
I've been in houses in the winter that were so hot and stuffy I couldn't
stay long. Don't understand that. Also don't understand fire places, you
get a net loss of heat from the house if the fireplace is working.

Friends have a modern wood stove that heats their whole house, about
1200 square feet. Put a couple of logs in before bedtime and they last
until reveille the next morning. If I was starting over again I would
have one.

Lol. I have nothing really to add to the conversation. I was just intrigued by the combination of peaches and peppers together in the blog title. Lol. I ended up reading this whole page and found it enjoyable. So easy to spend time on here...