15/02/2015 Chilli Warmth.

I have been growing chillies for two years now.

I did it my way...

I just kept the seeds out of shop bought chillies aside, planted them around December, January time and crossed my fingers and toes that they would do something.

They did: in such a way each times that I had the chilli glut. A bountiful harvest is filling an entire compartment of the freezer, along with the raspberries. The great divide goes 3/4 chillies, 1/4 berries: Enough to lift off a dining menu for an entire winter and more.
















Menu examples:

Chilli Con Carne.
Raspberries Triffle.

or

Jamaican Chicken Curry.
Raspberry Panacotta.

etc, etc, etc.

The list is endless. The tip of the iceberg goes as far as your imagination can go. Last year, I got myself a book full of Chilli recipes. I never found one dedicated to raspberries though, but I trust someone is passionate enough about them to shout about those little gems out loud, and it is out there.

Let's demystify the mystifying: chillies are easy to grow in the UK: just give them a window sill with plenty of sunshine. I put some plants outside which kept giving chillies until October, yet our Summer wasn't the brightest not the hottest on record. I grow  all my chillies from seeds and the outcome has been so rewarding that I will carry on doing so.

From the first variety I grew, I developed my range over the years. I am trying two new kinds this years: a Zimbabwean Black and a Hot Cayenne. Last years Jalapeños were a definite come back on the window sills as a reliable cropper.

The hot iceberg of a chilli is as deep as you want it to be from pot to pan.

How to deal with a chilli glut?

First stages:

-You can give the excess of growing plants to your friends and their mums. Spread the love: A growing chilli plant is a bountiful treasure, The plant itself looks lovely to be a drawing room feature. Full bloom or with its chillies, it is a winner.

Last stages:

- Take all the chillies. Do them justice. Store them, eat them, sow their seeds.

Storage comes in all sort of manner from freezing to drying.

Freezing allows your gluts to go a long way. For Chillies, lots of heat to add on to simple winter dishes or let them shine through bespoke ones, like the Jamaican Chicken Curry I had two days ago.

Drying them was an experiment to make Chilli oil. Big massive rewarding project.

Just allow your imagination to sing and thrive to their hot chilli pepper tune.