The Cheap Vegetable Gardener

How to make chipotle pepper powder (smoked Jalapenos)

Sep 5, 2010 chipotle, jalapeno, smoker Leave a comment

In my last post I talked about my quest for a cheap smoker to make some of my own chipotle pepper powder.  Typically chipotle pepper powder is made using red ripe jalapenos and smoked for about 24 hours. 

Given my lack of ripe jalapeno peppers (had 3 small ones) and it being the beginning of August I opted to make an alternate variety of brown chipotle powder.  While picking pecks of jalapeno peppers I also noticed I had some sweet peppers with no plans so decided to use them to make some sweet smoked paprika.

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Building a BBQ Smoker

cheap, jalapeno, smoker 7 Comments

After many suggestions that I should smoke my jalapeno peppers in comments of my making jalapeno pepper powder post, I decided to give it a try.  After doing a little looking most recommendations say to use a new or very clean smoker so this eliminates using my propane grill as smoker and an excuse opportunity to make myself a smoker.

After a little research on the internet I determined my two potential proposed homemade smoker solutions.

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Tomato thief in the garden

pests, tomato 7 Comments

Given our 7 foot fence around the yard, have to rule out deer…my best guess is a raccoon scaling the fence for a snack. 

Probably the same one who decided that my first tomato looked too good to ripen to save for seeds and pulled the branch off.  It was nice enough to leave the green ones on the fine which I have hung up on my garage where they are turning orange last time I checked them.

Butterfly in butterfly garden

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My daughters and I started a butterfly garden a couple of years ago, though we have seen a few butterflies pass by this was the first time we have been able to capture one on camera. 

This butterfly was visiting our butterfly bush, which for by many standards is basically a noxious weed.  But it doesn’t need much water, makes pretty flowers, and butterflies/bees like it so seems like a good plant to me.

How to make Peach Jam

jam, peach, recipe 5 Comments

While heading to a friend’s house we came across a local fruit stand selling fresh peaches.  With the great quality and low prices I couldn’t help leaving with a couple dozen peaches.  By the time I made it back to the car, I knew there is no way we were going to eat this many so Maddie (my recently turned 6 year old) and I decided to make the homemade peach jam.

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How to make your own Stevia sweetener

herbs, stevia 7 Comments

Stevia is an ultra sweet sweetener that has no calories and is grown natively for ages in South America that is 300 times more sweet than other sweeteners.  The good news you can grow your own in your backyard and make some in your own backyard.

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