Garden Update: Peppers Part One

So I've mentioned that I went a little overboard on the peppers this year. I was given more seeds than I could handle, and instead of trying only a few, I tried 21. 19 of the 21 varieties grew, with multiple plants for each variety. I tried to sell some plants, I tried to give some away, and in the end I kept more than 25 of them. The greenhouse is holding them surprisingly well, especially since we put up the new shelving units. We've only tried a few of the peppers so far: pepperoncini, pimiento de padron, early jalapeno, delicias, and chi chi meca. I'm really looking forward to trying the hot peppers too, but I am a little worried about how to use them :)

And of course, what you've all been waiting for...the pictures (part one anyway!):

Ancho Poblano

Biggie Chile Sahuaro

Chi Chi Meca

Chinese Five Color

Delicias

Early Jalapeno

Hot Paper Lantern

Pepperoncini

Pimiento de Padron

Summer Knitting, Had Me a Blast

Summer, for me, is a time for knitting. Ever since I went back to school nearly two years ago, I haven't been able to find the time to knit in the cooler months - the normal time to make hats, scarves, and mittens out of wool. Sure, I knit on breaks and when I just need an hour of sanity, but the big knitting - the new patterns, rewriting patterns, and learning new techniques of knitting just doesn't happen until the summer rolls around. My big problem with this is that I don't always write things down, and I don't always remember what I was working on last summer! About a week ago I came across a bag full of yarn, needles, and a half finished pair of mittens. They just needed thumbs. They are a pattern that is new to me, but one that Mom has been knitting for a while. In fact, she wrote the pattern out and has been selling them as kits. I believe I made these mittens last spring to test the pattern, and tossed them in a bag with disgust when I realized I didn't like the thumb. This summer, seeing them with new eyes, I saw how I could very easily fix the thumbs already in place, and hopefully make them better in the next cycle.

Last Year's Mittens

When Matt saw them finished he asked if there was a way to adapt the pattern into a hat, and a little naggling at the back of my mind told me that had been an idea last spring too. For now I'm content making a few more pairs of mittens before I write out the hat pattern. And maybe learning how to take better notes for future Kirsten ;)

New Pair in Progress

Etsy Weekends: Vintage Stylings

So I have a confession. I love clothes! Especially vintage clothing! I think it stems from one day in my youth when Mom found an old box full of tshirts from when she and Dad lived in Hawaii and Memphis. Old Harley Davidson shirts, old Marine Corps shirts, there were even a few touristy Hawaiian islands shirts, and one or two from Tombstone Arizona. I loved those shirts, still have and wear a few of them to this day. After that people started giving me old clothing, Grandpa had some shirts from Grandma and Great Grandma, an old shooting buddy gave me some shirts he said he hadn't been able to fit into since the 70's, and I learned the art of Goodwill, Ebay, and garage sale shopping. Of course I'm not terribly picky - I'll wear retro clothing too, and most of that isn't made with polyester.

Here are just a few vintage items I've found on Etsy that I'm struggling to not purchase!

Vintage 40's Dress from Mill Street Vintage

 Brown Shoes from Wear Are They Now

Fringe Dress from Butch Wax Vintage

 50's Yellow Dress from Hollie Point

Come back next time tos ee what else we've found for you on Etsy!

Peppers Peppers Everywhere!

I know I haven't gone into detail on the greenhouse yet, and believe me...I will. Sooner rather than later hopefully. But today I have to tell you about at least one of my greenhouse successes: Pimiento de Padron peppers. Matt's mom sent a ton of seeds, and this was one of them. The package suggested picking the peppers when they were the size of an olive, then sauteeing them in olive oil. The plant was covered in peppers, so we picked them - about nine fully ripe peppers in all, then double checked the recipe online, and made some super yummy peppers to share on Tuesday evening. They were sensational! So yummy, I keep checking the greenhouse to see if more have starting growing on the plant yet. We have plans to grow several padrons next summer!

Actually a ChiChi Meca Pepper, not a Pimiento de Padron

Of course I didn't get a picture, because I was too excited to dig in! But they looked pretty close to the picture on the Martha Stewart recipe we used. It was super cool to watch them - they blistered up in the pan, then deflated on the paper towel covered plate. She's right - some were sweet and a few were spicy. But I think the two spicy ones were the biggest of the bunch, so it might not be that difficult to deduce which ones will be spicy. We'll definitely test this out again and let you know :)