Hardy Har Har

It's good to know
That when it snows
I will have lots
Of parsley.

Crushed Red Peppers

Peppery Deliciousness

Months ago I strung up my cayenne peppers to dry in the kitchen window.  I added more and more peppers all summer into the fall as they ripened.  I tried crushing up the dried peppers a variety of ways.  Every knife I used just seemed to spray the peppers everywhere as I chopped them.  I tried putting them in a plastic bag and smashing them, but they just smashed in to very large pieces. 

Then I remembered this beauty:

It's the Microplane Herb Mill.  You can get it here or here or even here for about $20.  I think I even saw it once at Ross for $10.  Basically it has a compartment you can put herbs in and the handle presses the herbs into two very small sets of blades. 

Just watch!

Cut off the stems

Insert 3-4 cayenne peppers

Rotate the handle to grind grind grind.

Store in a totally cute container.

I bought a set of shakers for red pepper and parmesan cheese months ago here. I made the label using my beloved Brother Label Maker. 

Helpful Hints:
- Wear gloves when working with hot peppers.  I scrubbed my hands after working with the peppers and I still burned myself when I touched my eye later.
- The herb mill works best with dried herbs.  It says it works with fresh herbs that have been patted dry, but I find that they just gunk up the blades.


Happy Gardening,

Christine 

Back to Basics

Although January 7th is about 3-4 months before zone 6-7's last frost date, some plants can be started whenever you'd like. I've decided to start a crop of basil indoors now. I can transplant it all to the garden in May or continue to grow it indoors.

I'll be tracking the growth of the basil from planting to germination to centimeters high. Hopefully other container gardeners will find this information helpful.

So here we are: Jan 7th, 2013 at 1 pm. Approximately 8-10 basil seeds have been planted in a 9 cm tall, 12 cm wide pott with Miracle grow potting soil and about 4 tbsp of water.

Winter Gardening

I am too embarrassed to show a picture of what my garden looked like after the first blight.  Basically, the tomato plants turned brown, the basil turned black, and all the peppers shriveled up.  Zone 7 winters just aren't conducive to most leafy plants.

So what can you grow?