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Hot chile Fireworks in the July Garden

© Joe Arditi

Hello fellow Chile lovers. I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend. The major fireworks around here have been coming out of the gardens. Man, some of these pepper varieties are Super-Hot..even hotter tnan I remember them. One school of thought sez that hot peppers get hottest in near drought conditions. In Southeast Pennsylvania we went 22 days without rain. We have been watering pepper plants like crazy. Fortunately just the other day we had a nice 45 minute constant rainfall. The plants are all doing great (except the Orange Habanero has mixed results..usually a dependable producer..fortunately our pilot garden in Maryland is having good success with this one). This is a precarious time of the year for us as it impacts our year 2000 catalog offering. Right now it looks very optimistic. Our current varieties look great and the new varieties that we've been field-testing look very promising.

Feature Chilehead Recipe ======================== As I mentioned in our catalog I'm frequently asked about writing a cookbook. Maybe down the road but for now I offer the "Pepper Joe Recipes". As part of the value to receiving this newsletter we'll feature some of them for free at times. "Black and White Chili" -----------------------

-1 can kidney beans -1 can cannellini beans (white kidney beans) -2 Habanero Peppers -2 Barney or Jalapeno Peppers -2 lbs. ground beef -2 medium size onions -4 cloves of garlic -2 stalks of celery -salt and black pepper -3 tbs. olive oil -ground hot pepper -tbs. chili powder -1 can of whole tomatos (16 oz.) -2 cans of crushed tomatos (16 0z.) -1 cup of chicken broth (bullion works fine)

In a frying pan saute sliced onions and garlic in olive oil. Add ground beef and when it's browned drain off excess fat. Put into a larger pot and add whole and crushed tomatos, chicken broth, diced hot peppers, kidney and cannellini beans and diced celery (with stringy ribs removed..a peeler works good). Season with salt, black pepper (fresh ground is best), chili powder and ground hot pepper. Cook on medium heat for about 2 hours. Stir constantly. Bon 'Appetit!

This version is Super-Hot so tailor it for your tastes. The best cook in the world, in my opinion was my Mother. She'd use a pinch of this and a handful of that. This intuitive way was old fashioned but WOW! what flavor. Cooking is not an absolute science (unless your in the fast food business) so experiment! Tweak a recipe to make it to YOUR liking. For instance I grow my own beans for chili or out of season use dried beans. Most people don't so I listed canned beans. It's your call on this type of stuff.

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