Chillies

This post was drafted up on my phone and then saved but it does not appear to have saved everything I had written.  So here we go again.

But first of all you seriously need a pair of these or a pair of disposable gloves.  I found out the hard way just how painful chilli burns can be and if you are a chap you have to be even more careful.

These are a little plain perhaps they  need jazzing up with a fur trim and some sequins.  Well maybe not knowing my luck if I put sequins on they will drop off somewhere!

I like a little bit of chilli but cannot stand a lot of it but I do use it regularly in cooking.  One thing I do on a regular basis though is to dry some for use in my home made pickled onions.  I normally sit with a very large bodkin and some butchers string and thread the chillis onto a long length of string.  I wear disposable gloves (failing that a pair of Marigolds) and am careful not to let the chilli contact my skin as it burns and is very uncomfortable.

Yesterday I managed to get about five bags of chillies x5 chillies per bag that were in  the reduced cabinet and instead of stringing them like i normally do  I threaded them onto wooden kebab skewers and have made a hanger by attaching a loop of string to each end of the skewer.  There are about five or six chillies per skewer with space inbetween each chilli.  They are then left to air dry until thoroughly dry and I then decant them into a glass jar awaiting further additions to the jar or to be used in my pickled onions.  I normally use the Sarsons jars which are nice and tall for pickled onions and I add some black peppercorns, a couple of bay leaves and a whole chilli to the spiced vinegar in the jar.  If you do not like the pickled onions too strong take out the chilli take or alternatively leave it in if you do not mind it hot. 

The chillies I use are the long finger like chillies I think they are referred to as cayenne pepper but am not sure.  My local Asian shop for some unknown reason does not stock these (they sell the Scotch Bonnets but not these ones so I may snaffle some of these to make some harissa OH is fond of Chilli) but there is a stall on the market. I may go and see if they have any during the week as I want to make some chilli jam which is lovely with cold meats and a cheese board.  It is another great favourite around here.

I also want to prepare some chilli flakes and powder for use in the kitchen generally.

However one of the things that is really on the list of to dos is some home made sweet chilli sauce we do use a lot of this in all sorts of dishes.    I already have the hex bottles in store so it is just a matter of getting my fresh chillis and getting stuck in making the sauce and then sterilising for long keeping in a hot water bath.

I may still string some chillis in the old time well worked fashion as they make a cheap and cheerful decoration for the top of my dresser.  I also dry fresh herbs in little cones of paper tied with string and then hung from the cup hooks on the dresser.  Little mini wreaths of chillis can also make a little extra for a Christmas hamper or foodie hamper for a friend.  You can use a card base which you can decorate with some pretty paper and make sure it has a hanger and then attach the chillies to the "garland".  So there is an awful lot you could do with them.  How about a small basket full of chilli products for a chilli loving friend ie. a jar of harissa, a jar of chilli jam, some dried chillies on a small garland, chilli jelly and sweet and sour chilli sauce.  Just an idea.

Anyway I had better get on the cats have been on the razzle most of the night they have swigged the wine and broken the bottle and left glass everywhere little bundles.  

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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