Last Chile Pepper Harvest of 2009

Well..... the frost came and did its worst to the gardens a little earlier than usual this year. I got in ahead of times and salvaged what I could from the chile and what was left of the tomato beds. Not as much as I hoped for but still there is quite a stock to put through the smoker over the next few days!!

I had been planning to do a Hot Smoked Salmon this weekend, but lack of salmon at the fishshop and the chile pile has meant that it had to be put on hold. Hopefully just until next weekend!

Not all the chiles will be smoked though. The longer thinner ones ( De Arbol ) ones will get strung as much as decorations as edibles. De Arbols are very nice earthy/spicy flavoured chiles that are a great standard for the kitchen. I always grow enough for drying and powders as well as stringing!

There were a few ripe but green chiles here and there..mostly nagas and chocolate habaneros. These are good smoked too, but some will end up in the freezer for curries...most Naga'd restaurant curries in the UK use green rather than red pods.

Now that the garden is mostly finished for the year...its time for a bit of labour yet...ideal for warming the chilled bones this morning, the annual ritual of tearing out dead plants, shredding and making the compost heap very happy!