That is a mixture of chocolate and yellow moruga, 7 pot brain strain, and ghost peppers. I dipped my finger in it to try it out, and it's insane. Imagine putting the tip of your index finger in salt, that is how much I had on my fingertip. It burned immediately and for a long time after. I loved it. After I got as much of the powder out as I could and in a small container until I make more pepper salt, I took some cacao nibs that I have and ground those up to combine them with what pepper powder was left. I took a small taste and it was hot, but not what I was hoping for, so I added a little moruga salt as well. I took a 100% cacao dark chocolate Baker's bar and melted it down, added the spicy cacao powder to it with some monk fruit. When it was good and mixed I poured it out onto some foil to cool in the freezer. While I was waiting, I licked the spoon and was once again a little disappointed in the heat. I knew it wouldn't be as strong as the powder alone, but I was really hoping for me. Once again I feel like I need to reiterate how a jalapeño used to be way too hot for me, and now I'm chasing the burn with almost every meal. Take yesterday for example. I made bacon and eggs and almost didn't add a pepper because I was so low on them. I ended up cutting up the last habanero that I had and threw it in, it was to die for. Back to the chocolate bites. after about an hour I took it out of the freezer and cut it into bite sized pieces. While I was cutting it all up I took a small shard that broke off. It was intense. I was no longer disappointed. It hit the sinuses immediately. If I had a stuffy nose, it would have cleared it up completely. This is the time that I remind you that I haven't been sick a day since I began keto. Just saying.
That chocolate looks innocent, but I guarantee you that most people won't be able to handle it. Despite the monk fruit that I added, it's still biter, but that is ok. Oh, should I mention that chocolate is a fermented food, and actually helps gut bacteria? Dark unsweetened chocolate can be very healthy for you. All the garbage that is sold as chocolate is bastardized so much that it loses all it's health benefits. If you can get past the bitterness, you can enjoy a treat from time to time, and if you throw some pepper powder in there, you can enjoy a treat that will slap you back.
I made the stuffed poblanos again yesterday with what I had left from the last time. I tweaked them a bit and they came out really good. This time when I roasted them, I went the full 15 minutes. I added salt before the first roast, with a little olive oil to help it stick. Right before adding all the toppings, I salted it again, since baking and cooking cooks off some of the salt. Instead of shredding the cheese, I sliced it and laid it on top. The shreds just got lost since they melted much easier. Oh, and I added two whole, seeds and all, habaneros to the meat mix. They were out of this world good, and I can't wait to make them again.
Those are tomatoes on top of the meat and under the cheese. Give it a try some time. Oh, The larger poblano began ripening, and it gave it a slightly sweeter flavor. It had a little heat to it, but once I had all the ingredients on, it would have completely masked it, so that's why I added the habaneros. Once again, chasing the heat. Oh yeah, this is what two whole habaneros look like chopped and ready to go. And yes, I dumped all that in the meat just before spooning it onto the peppers.
That's the tip of a chef's knife so that you can have sense of scale. They were big habaneros too. I'm so happy that my grocery store sales them by the pound. I usually only get 4 of them and it comes out to $.54. Pretty awesome right. I hit the grocery tomorrow and I'll be getting some more. I might just try and max it out at a dollar, that will be around 8 peppers. While I'm waiting on my scotch bonnets to sprout and grow, this is what I will have to do.
Speaking of the seedlings and plants. I still have one more scotch bonnet on the plant, with a new flower in bloom. It could grow one more pod before it goes dormant for the rest of the winter. I'm shocked it even produced another bud. That is the last one though, I don't see any others forming.
I have a bunch of scotch bonnets the sprouted, with 5 of them popping in one peat pod. It's going to kill me to cut 4 of those back. I'll wait until the first one grows it's true leaves to trim them back. That way I know it's the strongest. I had one Plum gum and some 7 pot bubblegum sprout as well. I still have quite a few more. I thought that caramel reaper was beginning, but it was just a trick of the eye. It's only been a week, so there is plenty of time for them to still poke their heads out.
The plants that are growing peppers are doing good, but I'm a little conference, because my Jemez dropped a tiny pepper yesterday morning. It's doing ok today, so it may just be an odd occurrence. Even my buddy lost a pod the same morning. The Rainforest which had some pods on it before my lawn man blew them off, has two pods, and a whole bunch of buds starting again. My Purple Buquinho has two flowers on it right now, and they are looking strong, while the ghost has a new flower. I'm really hoping this one pollinates and forms a pepper. It dropped all it's other flowers, but it has some new growth going. The tomato plants are going crazy with 14 tomatoes that I can find, and at least that many more flowers and buds. I'm going to have a lot of tomatoes.
Do you know what those are? If you said strawberries that are supposed to be forming in June, then you are right. Cool right? My grandfather had a strawberry patch when I was a kid, but I was so young, I can only barely remember it, and I definitely have no memory of what they looked like in different stages of maturing. It's pretty fantastic to watch. There are 6 berries forming on it, with a few more buds coming in behind them. I still have no clue as to why it's producing fruit now, but I'm not arguing with it. I'm going to eat those berries as soon as they are ripe.
As for the other berries, they have kind of stalled. The Blackberry bush hasn't grown in weeks, nor has it had any new foliage growth. The blueberry bush has berries forming, but it is taking forever for them to ripen. I think the strawberries will be ready long before the blueberries are, and the blueberries were forming when I got the plant months ago. The strawberries popped up in the last two weeks. Not really complaint, just perplexed.
I said I was going to talk about AJ and the Queen, but I'm already running pretty long, so I'll save that and part 3 of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina for Thursday. Oh, I do have a favorite song of the week. Yes, I own it's been a while since I've done that, but nothing has stood out to me lately.
Favorite Song of the Week is from a band that got it's start during the grunge era. They are even considered the godfathers of grunge. They have consistently put out albums whether you knew it or not, and their new album which is coming out in March is being heralded as one of their best albums yet, and if they first single form it is any indication, it's going to truly be a great album. This song has brought me back to the fold. I haven't really listened to them since their third album, so it's kind of exciting that I'm enjoying them once again. The band is none other than Pearl Jam, and their new song has an old familiar sound to it, but it's not really theirs. First reviews were throwing around Bowie and Prince, but those people were wrong. It was a David but the wrong David. David Byrne is the David that Eddie is channeling in this song, and the instruments even sound like a Talking Heads song, and a really good Talking Heads song at that. See if you don't hear it when you listen to it. Here is Pearl Jam with their latest single "Dance of the Clairvoyants".
I've been listening to that song on loop since it came out late last week. I can't get enough of it. I really hope you enjoy it. I'm calling it a night. Peace in and goodnight.
No comments:
Post a Comment