Day 11 - Pickled Hot Peppers and Not Making Dinner

My friend Susan offered up bags of the most amazing red hot peppers I have ever seen. They made my eyes weep, they were so hot!



So I made the only thing I could think of, given the number of peppers - Pickled Peppers.

I started the canning pot to boil with five pint jars and their caps to sanitize them. Then placed the rubber edged lids in a small pot to simmer.

In another pot I added 3 cups of vinegar, 1 cup of sugar, 3 tbls of slightly cracked peppercorns, 1 tlbs dry mustard, 2 tbls celery salt. and brought this to a boil to dissolve the sugar.

 The peppers were washed, trimmed, sliced and layered in a large bowl with 1/2 cup of canning salts mixed in well. Any salt without iodine will work.

The peppers were added to the salt sugar mix and boiled for five minutes.

Then they were added to the jars, leaving aprox. 1/2 inch head room to allow for proper sealing.

Then aprox 1/2 to 2/3 cup of the pickling juice was added.

The lids were gently dried and placed on top of dried glass to ensure a tight seal. Then the bands went on and were fingertip tighened.

 The jars were added, add water to cover completely by no more than 2 inches. Boil for 10 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and continue to boil for five minutes.

Remove the jars and place them on a dish towel. Over the next thirty minutes their lids will make a pop noise as they fully seal.

Try not to move them around too much for the next six hours as they fully cool.







These are supposedly best in another 4 to 6 weeks, but I think that's nuts, they were perfect when they went in, they'll be perfect when they come out, even if that ends up being tomorrow evening.

And so between doing this and making a batch of Basil Castile Soap I was exhausted and was thrilled with take out. Even I give myself permission to honor my energy levels, and so should you. Don't be everything to everyone, just honor you and others will be pleased with the outcome just the same.

Day 10 - Lagniappes - Eating Local

After a very long day we decided eating out was a better adventure than me trying to get creative in the kitchen. So we headed over to Lagniappes on Allen Street.


A seasonal delight; Lagniappes Fried Green Tomato Salad is crisp, fresh and boldly flavored. Cucumbers, a blend of greens, Romano cheese, and cayenne buttermilk ranch dressing support a layer of cool green tomatoes with hot crisp fritter exteriors. The tomatoes came from Gardens on Grant, an excellent all organic urban garden.

Lagniappes famous baked Mac and Cheese is taken to a whole other level with these two versions.

This dish is crawfish, sausage, onions, and peppers.

This one is sliced Cajun beef with pigeon peas, green olives, and peppers.

We also shared a bowl of traditional Red Beans & Rice with Andouille Sausage.

My youngest was dumbfounded and amazed by her plate of fried chicken, devouring and making all sorts of exclamations of how amazing the food was!

Eating local can be pretty fun if you give yourself permission to escape the kitchen and explore your city.