Fresh Delicious Peppers During The Middle Of Winter! Oh My!
Oh my, my… what a treat during the middle of winter. Fresh, delicious peppers from my garden!
It’s below zero this morning. The gardens are covered deep in snow. But I just ate a scrumptious omelet filled with distinctive savory peppers from my harvest last fall.
Let me tell you something (which I’m sure you already know!)… There is NO COMPARISON between grocery-store peppers (vegetables) and those which you garden yourself. Well, I suppose there is one comparison — BLAND versus LUSCIOUS RICHNESS.
Green Bell Peppers
Red Bell Peppers
Jalapeno Peppers
Zucchini
Onion
Cooked them for a little while in some olive oil. Wonderful sizzling aroma.
Then mixed up a few eggs in a bowl with a bit of half-n-half. Dumped it in the skillet.
Why am I bothering to post this?
To show you how it’s so worth it to grow your own vegetables (e.g. peppers). Hey, peppers are not cheap at the grocery store! It’s a great value to grow them yourself and then preserve them to consume throughout the winter.
How did I do it? I grew a lot of them (even more next year!). They produced very well.
We sliced and froze them in Ziploc bags.
These peppers taste just as good during the end of January as they did back in September!
My omelet half-flip didn’t work out so well. 😉
But that’s okay!
The final product.
THE TAKEAWAY:
Just a little encouragement and garden-talk during the middle of winter. I purposely grew a lot of peppers last season, knowing that there’s good ROI (return on investment). And you absolutely cannot beat the taste of good quality homegrown!
Continue reading: When the garden fails while you need it most
I also freeze my peppers, Mostly diced. Great on pizza also. Last night was nachos for dinner using my frozen diced poblanos and added some canned jalapenos. Sooooooo good!
How interesting. They look so fresh, even after being frozen.
Exactly. The colors remain brilliant… and the taste
Hey Ken;
How about ya fire that Omelet up a little, I’ll ship you a few Ghost Peppers or better yet a ‎Carolina Reaper at around 2.2 million SHU’s hehehehe
Looks mighty dang good there Son. Mighty Good.
BUT!!!! No Cast Iron Skillet? Using one of those Toxic Teflon jobbers? No wonder the 1/2 flip did not work out…. LOLOL
NRP: good point, maybe Ken should read this:
https://modernsurvivalblog.com/survival-kitchen/cast-iron-cooking-cookware-tips/
Nice about peppers is they don’t have to be blanched to freeze them.
“Fresh” peppers in the store this time of year are from a tropical climate and are about $1 each.
You can take a pepper plant inside for the winter but it will not produce enough to make it worth it.
Love dem peppers. Were the eggs also from your chicks, or store bought?
Still have beets and onions in the garden, but temps are dropping this week so we’ll pull the beets and share with our neighbors.
Onions seem to like the early morning frost, so we’ll let them stay put.
Can I do this with poblanos, or do they need to be roasted and skinned first? Thanks.
I’m out here in zone 6A and the collard greens are still healthy. They don’t grow much but it’s nice to still have something from the garden for dinner. I don’t have much hope for them with this cold front, but it’s the middle of January.
You can also freeze your cayenne’s whole and then in winter unthaw and dehydrate them and grind them up in the food processor for the best cayenne powder. Much cheaper than buying a bottle and you know where it came from and what’s in it!
Totally agree about peppers. They freeze very well and i feel like i am picking a dollar every time i pick one. I have and would encourage everyone to keep track of garden expenses and then track the produce value at harvest. I even kept track of my gas cost to drive to get plants. If you haven’t done so you should. Its shocking how many dollars in peppers a few dollars in plants will return.
Ken,
Next time you do an omelette like that nice little mix, saute the veggies down a bit, low ish heat, pour the egg in then topp it with cheese and toss the whole thing in the oven on 350 to finish it, maybe about 20-30 minutes?
So much easier than flippin and floppin, make sure your pan has metal handle though,,,
Tommyboy:
That was nada an Omelette, that was a Texas Scramble.
Ya can take the man outa California but ya can’t take the California outa tha man.
Dang reformed HIPPIE.
LOLOLOLOL
I do mine on the stove. Mix everything up, put in oil, turn down the heat and put a lid on. Once it’s puffy turn the heat off (but leave the lid on) to finish cooking.
Try using unsalted butter instead oil.The taste is noticeably better.
Last week I made Black Bean Soup:
1.5 cups of dried and washed black beans
1 lb chorizo sausage browned and added to crock pot
1-2 washed, de-seeded, Anaheim green chili pepper diced
1 whole yellow onion peeled washed and diced.
6 cups boiling water
Nice thing about black beans is they do not need to be soaked overnight. I love to work with fresh or frozen peppers in the kitchen during mid-winter. This may be a sign that my body is craving Vitamin C.
How long will the peppers keep in the freezer before you have to worry about freezer-burn?
We have recently had several local canneries go out of business. It may be a reflection that Americans are eating more frozen fruits and vegetables these days. ( and less food from cans ).
Calirefugee:
That sounds so good! I’m going to make this as soon as I buy some chorizo sausage, which I love. I never thought to put chorizo sausage in, but I have a feeling it will be great. Hugs.
Ken and others out there:
How do you prepare vegetables for freezing and how long will they keep prior to: “going bad” or getting freezer burnt?
They keep for twenty five years after proper freeze drying. They keep their color. texture, and taste – I also suspect that the nutrients are all there as well but I’m no expert on that. :)
Speaking for myself, starting with the best garden produce, clean chop small, blanch and ice bath to stop cooking. Dry on a towel and freeze in labeled plastic bag. The less air in the plastic bag the better and not much makes it past two years in my freezer.
You know you can take the still damp from blanching veggies and use your dehydrator to make nice dehydrated veggie bits. I put them in the plastic zip lock when crispy dry, seal wait for 24 hours and LOOK for signs of moisture. If not put them away in recycled spaghetti jars to keep critters honest. If still damp put back into dehydrator and repeat. Never had any go bad that way. They cook up well in soups and stews.
Interested in hearing others ideas and successes here.