Our chili pepper and basil garden is up and producing!
Our chilis
- Jalapeño. They’re not coming in too hot for some reason, so we can grill them and use in salsa without undue risk. Not that they’re completely mild… uses: salsas, grilled
- Serrano. We’re getting a so-so yield but since these are rather hot, a little can do the job. uses: salsas
- Thai. These are hot, just perfect for spicy Asian food (and a bit of Mexican, too). Uses: salsas, fresh curries
- Fresno. Red, vertical and hot. Waiting for more ripe peppers before I go too wild. Use: salsa
- Shishito. Hot? One was. The rest were mild. You pick your pepper and take your chances – but the hot ones smell and taste hot, besides the burn. Uses: braising, sautéing – eat these directly, just seasoned with garlic, salt.
- Big Red Marconi. Not hot at all. This is a big Italian grilling / stuffing pepper. Not ready yet. Uses: braising, stuffing, grilling
- Jimmy Nardello. Another mild Italian red pepper for braising, sautéing and doing as confit. Uses: braising, sautéing.
- Chilhuacle Negro. This are round and purple when ripe with very thin skins. They’re rather hot, too. They don’t do much when used fresh, so we’re going to dry them for chili powder. Use: dry for chili powder.
Our Basil
- Pesto Party. This is a great variety, with tender leaves, resistance to flowering and compact form. Good in Caprese and other dishes where you want whole leaves – and tender is better here.
- Trader Joe’s whatever. This is the baseline basil plant that has to be cut back hard to keep it from flowering. Not as tender as ‘Pesto Party’, but since we grind it up for pesto anyway…
