Preserving the Harvest

Here are some easy ways to preserve the current harvest and prepare for the cooler weather.

 

Right now peppers are in abundance. Bell peppers can be chopped and frozen for tacos, enchiladas, or chili. My favorite way to preserve mild and hot peppers is by either roasting, peeling, and freezing or just freezing whole. I love the flavor of poblano peppers roasted. I usually do this in my air fryer, but you can roast them in the oven or on the grill. Just tend to them and turn the peppers every few minutes on the grill and every 5 minutes in the air fryer. If you are roasting them, try every 8-10 minutes at 450 degrees. Just a quarter turn should do it until the skins are blackened. Throw the peppers in a large bowl and place a dinner plate or baking sheet over it to cover. Let the peppers steam and cool for at least 10 minutes. You can check your email or watch something on Netflix. Then just peel the skin off, chop off the end with the stem, split in half and scrape the seeds out. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze.

 

When you want to add flavor and spice to your chili, stew, or tacos, just grab the appropriate frozen pepper and chop it while frozen. You can make slivers of whole jalapeños and add to chili or soups/stews for the appropriate spice. You can pep up a stir fry or add heat to a Thai curry.

 

I love layering the spice in a pot of chili by adding the frozen bell peppers, the roasted poblanos, and a healthy chopping of jalapeños.