You aren't going to believe this...

So this morning, I walk outside to check on my peppers. They had finally started to dry! I was so very excited. But then, a little nagging voice in my head started to talk. It said "I thought chipotle peppers were red when they dried. I wonder when my peppers will turn that lovely shade of red?" Hmm....

I came inside and did what any self-respecting person would do. I googled "chipotle pepper picture." Yup. Definitely red. Interesting. So then I read a couple of articles that came up in my search. Cue ominous music now.

Turns out that chipotle peppers are made out of red jalapenos. Not green ones. Red ones at the start. I have been smoking, for 3 days, green jalapeno peppers. 3 days. My house smells, my hair smells, I scrubbed a filthy fishy smoker, and now I find out I AM NOT SMOKING THE RIGHT COLOR PEPPER?!??! Seriously? Seriously.

Apparently, I am making "jalapenos chicos" - smoked green jalapenos. Otherwise known as "stupid gringas." My recipe didn't say anything about red vs. green jalapenos - not one little peep about this whole color business. Evidently they assume you will know what color pepper to use. Ug.

So. Where do I go from here? I am going to take the peppers out of the smoker in an hour or so when the last of the wood chips is all smoked out. I will rotate them and stick them back in (I am invested now people). When they are done, sometime in 2025, I will make some adobo sauce and can them. Why not? Red, green, whatever. Those damn peppers are going to dry and I am going to eat them and I am going to like it.

So there.

Still Smokin'

Or "Just Shrivel Up and Dry!"

So begins day 3 of the pepper smoking. They are starting to look drier, but still look quite a way from dried. So much for an 8-12 hour smoking process. At this point, I am thinking 8-12 days. But, I will not be discouraged. I have come too far to quit. Besides, my house already smells like a curious mix of smoke, peppers, and fish. Why stop now?

I will post some pictures later for pepper comparison. Just wanted you all to know that I hadn't burned the house down yet...

Peter Piper Picked A Peck...

... of Peppers!

10 lbs of jalapeno peppers to be exact. I'm smokin'! Well, the peppers are smoking. I am making (or attempting to make, depending on your confidence in my abilities) chipotle chillies in adobo sauce. After successfully completing that, I will be canning them.

Now, you are probably thinking that I am way to ambitious for my first canning project. 10 lbs of peppers, 12 hours of smoking, canning... but this is the Balls Out Domestic Club! There is no halfway here!

Yesterday I hauled myself down to the farmers market to purchase the peppers. I am sure the very nice lady at the veggie stand though I was crazy. But she took my eight dollars anyway. Then I drove to my parents house to pick up my Dad's smoker.

The article I read about making your own chipotle peppers said that you should have a new smoker devoted entirely to peppers. Riiight. Barring that, the smoker should be perfectly clean and free of all food particles. Seeing as how a new smoker is not quite in my budget at present, I elected to borrow my dad's well-loved smoker. I say well-loved because it seems rude to call your father's smoker, loaned to you free of charge, filthy. Filthy and used exclusively for fish. Yah, fish (we are Scandinavian after all).



So I spent most of yesterday scrubbing the smoker. It still smells faintly of smoked salmon and perch, but it is all I've got so we are going to try it anyway. I prepped my peppers (with rubber gloves on) and loaded the smoker. As of now, we are smoking away. In 8 to 12 hours, I should have chipotle peppers. Chipotle peppers that may or may not smell like fish. Wish me luck.





In other news, we spent the long weekend putting wood by for the winter. You can see the fruits of our labor below. I also made Dilly Bread with freshly dried dill seed from the garden. It was wonderful!





Today is baking day, as I have to be here all day for the peppers. I already have my sourdough starter on the counter and I will make buns during Ava's nap. I will keep you all posted on the pepper odyssey.