The Number of Hot Peppers in The Box is TOO DARN HIGH

As I said in a previous post Hot Peppers are an interesting but dangerous ingredient. Usually I will add them in small quantities to various recipes of the Spanish/Mexican variety. But when The Box gave me 7 Hot Peppers I was honestly stumped. What exactly do could I make with that much spice that won't kill The Husband by taste-bud overload.

Even I was a little frightened and for lack of a better plan I was going to simply slice and pickle them, saving them to top off sandwiches when the mood arises, maybe add them to a Martini for an interesting flavor twist.  But, although I've been wanting to pickle something for the blog for a long time, I just couldn't bring myself in this case. It felt a little bit like a cop-out. Too easy. So after some time on The Google Machine, and the purchase of a brand new canning kit, I decided to turn this:

Into a sweet and spicy relish. Yum!

Adventures in Jam

The second item in this week's box to cause me a mild heart attack was the Rhubarb. The only things I knew about Rhubarb was that it was red, it looked like celery, was technically a veggie, but tasted like a fruit. I also knew that Strawberries were its natural mate. The Husband and I stared at the bunch for a bit when the box first came in and tossed around ideas:

• The Husband: Pie?
• Me: I don't want to make a pie this week. That takes too long.
• The Husband: What did Becky say?
• Me: She said she doesn't really like rhubarb.
• The Husband: That's not very helpful, is it?
• Me: Nope. To The Google Machine?
• The Husband: To The Google Machine.

So I did a Search:

Having never in my entire life made JAM before I decided that this was CLEARLY the best idea. The Husband and I were going to make the jam, jar the Jam and can the Jam. How hard could it be (famous last words, I know)?

After a little more research we found a recipe we felt we could handle, and that didn't require that weird food science product called "pectin." The Husband brought home 6 beautiful Jamming Jars the next day and we set to work.  (Recipe credit goes to Marisa McClellan from Food in Jars  and can be found HERE on Food52.com)