• just_kitten
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    7 months ago

    Gooood morning! I feel HEAPS better today - maybe it’s that feeling you get when any improvement after being sick feels way better than it is. I had the same experience when I had covid tho, had a day of feeling great then crashed again and got worse. Fingers crossed today is not false hope! The sun is really helping! 🌞

    I’m putting all the car stuff on hold because I realise it was a huge source of stress and anxiety and unpleasantness that I need a break from (and everything essential has been set up - aside from maybe the dashcam. I feel naked without one).

    Instead I’m turning my attention to my hideously neglected plants… they were becoming a source of shame and my seedlings I paid money for are horribly wilted and sad. Well, they’re currently being resuscitated in a saucer of water and everything else is getting several drinks to revive the potting mix. I can turn this around! These seedlings aren’t dead, and I have plenty of new seeds to start planting!

    Also, need tips on what to do with a whole heap of scotch bonnet peppers… I grew the plant without really thinking of how much I’d actually want to use 🤔 I have like 30 little yellow dudes. Maybe this is the time I try making hot sauce?

    peppers!!

    • Bottom_racer
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      7 months ago

      OOOH.

      I vote for hedging your bets… half dehydrated for flakes and half fermented hawt sauce :)

      • just_kitten
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        7 months ago

        I don’t use chilli flakes that much these days tbh… I feel like they’d get wasted from lack of use. Unless I could start using them in saucier dishes or stews? I mostly used to use flakes for stir fried type stuff, or as a topping with cheese (haven’t bought cheese in months).

        I understand SB peppers are known for their fruitiness, I’m wondering how much of that is lost or not during dehydrating - how are they like dried?

        I thought I’d freeze maybe 3-5 whole for chucking into Jamaican stews down the track. And the hawt sauce would be more versatile (I just need to sterilise a damn jar)

        • Catfish
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          7 months ago

          Def go a jar rather than a flip top bottle if fermenting. Once had a batch keep going in the fridge and then hit the ceiling in a messy and painful way.

          • just_kitten
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            7 months ago

            Oof. Yeah I’m gonna go with a jar, my jars are larger anyway. Thinking I’ll try the zip locks filled with water method to keep the mash submerged, with the lid slightly loose to let some air out.

        • Bottom_racer
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          7 months ago

          I haven’t done SBs before but habs defintely lose a fair bit of their fruitiness when dried, but it’s still there when fermented.

          Both last forever. Still rocking some sauce from 4 yrs ago and it’s still good with zero things growing on it. Have the same chillies from that batch in the freezer and they’re still good too :)

          • just_kitten
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            7 months ago

            Think I might do hot sauce with it all - I foresee an increase in sandwiches and wraps over the next few months which will benefit from such a condiment…

            Thinking maybe do half as a basic ferment with just brine and some garlic, do the other half with some carrots and spices (cumin, coriander?) for a more flavoured sauce?

            Or maybe I could do one big basic ferment for two weeks, then use half for a basic sauce, and add other shit to the other half and age it for a month (not sure if bad idea to add stuff after initial ferment).

            I must decide today so I get onto it tomorrow. Gonna start getting busy again from next week…

            • Bottom_racer
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              7 months ago

              Good plan!

              Pretty much what I’m doing this time too. Big basic ferment then add stuff after it’s done.

              • just_kitten
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                7 months ago

                Nice. I’m hoping to finish the initial ferment before I head off o/s for 17 days in late May. If I start it tomorrow I can get a full two weeks in + 1 extra week to tweak if needed, then set & forget in fridge or in cupboard while I’m gone.

                I look forward to hearing how yours goes! And I’ll hold myself accountable to get this underway tomoz :D