A Harvest Kind of Day

Today was one of those days when I kept meaning to be doing/going someplace else, and never quite made it there. I was going to go to a friend's for a fun apple harvest day, and when I wandered out the car, caught sight of mold taking over my shell beans. This resulted in me grabbing a huge tub, hastily picking all the beans, and spending the next three hours shelling. (Most of the beans were saved, but I lost about a cup of my little pea beans to the nasty mold.) And then I thought, oh, I can still go! But I caught sight of the giant bag of Hungarian Hot Wax peppers I was gifted, and realized: That goo forming on the bottom of the bag is from rotting peppers--oh no!

You guess it, I've spent the last couple of hours dealing with peppers. The end result is going to be firey and fantastic, in the form of Cowboy Candy. This sounds wonderful--it's pickled peppers in a sweet, spiced sauce. The usual recipe calls for jalepenos, but when life hands you a bag of Hot Wax, you use what you are gifted with. They'll just be quite a bit hotter...yeehaw! This version might appeal to the cowboys of Hungary...Anyway, after a month they will be "mellowed", which I think means that the hot peppers will be imbued with the flavors of turmeric, celery seed, cayenne pepper, and garlic. What a crazy combination, when you keep in mind that it also involves quite a lot of sugar and cider vinegar. I may have discovered a new sinus cure. Or a way to kill off taste buds, or create instant ulcers. Hee hee!

Cowboy Candy

To make a batch of this potent peck o' peppers, you'll need to corral: 3 pounds or so of hot peppers, jalepenos or otherwise; 6 cups of granulated sugar; 2 cups of cider vinegar; 1/2 teaspoon each of ground turmeric, celery seeds, and ground cayenne pepper; 3 Tablespoon of granulated garlic. Wash and slice the peppers into 1/4 inch slices, set aside. Please, use plastic gloves! Your eyes will thank you later...Now, in a nice big pot, combine the sugar, cider vinegar, and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add pepper slices and simmer for 4 minutes. Remove slices by using a slotted spoon, and fill 6 hot pint jars. Return the syrup to the stove, raise heat and boil hard for 6 minutes. Ladle boiling hot syrup into jars, release air bubbles, and cover with hot lids. Tighten bands and place in a hot water bath canner. Bring to boil, and process for 20 minutes. Remove from canner, allow to cool 24 hours. Check seals and store for one month. You can eat them earlier, but for best flavor they need to "mellow". Warning: These are really "hot", so eat in small doses. Syrup can be drizzled on as a condiment as well. Great on burgers, nachos, baked potatoes, crackers smeared with cream or goat cheese...yummy!