Monday, September 13, 2010

Carmen

Carmen and Rudbekia

This spring I planted tomatoes and peppers from seed. I raised jalapenos, poblanos, and Carmens. I think all of them were from Burpee Seed, and the Carmens were labeled as a sweet, red Italian pepper. I have always wanted to raise red bell peppers, but they never ripen for me. This year I decided to give Carmens a try, although I had little hope of success.

What a surprise when these peppers began turning red the beginning of September! I was thrilled! Not only do they have a mild, sweet peppery taste, but they are beautiful. I love them when they are crispy fresh, as well as frozen for winter soups and stews.


So what was the secret to raising these amazing (and prolific) pepper plants? I'm sure it must have been the incessant rain we had. I've read that peppers need a lot of moisture, and they certainly got that in NW Wisconsin this year!


Maybe you're getting a little sick of all this red, but I couldn't help myself. After I washed and seeded the peppers, I cut them into strips and then diced them to put on a cookie sheet which I then put into the freezer.


Once they were frozen, I gathered them into gallon Ziploc freezer bags, so that it will be easy to measure out a cup of peppers for a recipe.


All that hard work of seeding, slicing, and dicing really worked up an appetite. :-) Peppers are also delicious dipped in cream cheese!  And I wonder why the scale has steadily crept up during the past few months!



This post is linked to  Making the World Cuter Mondays
and Meet and Greet Monday
and Motivate me Monday
and Just Something I Whipped Up

15 comments:

Closer to Lucy said...

Have not heard of Carmen's! & and I call myself a chili fan! I must try them...Googling now!

Out for meet and greet monday..following you.

closertolucy.blogspot.com

Yenta Mary said...

Oh, they are GORGEOUS!!! I love red peppers ... :)

Unknown said...

Those are beautiful! That settles it... you are going to have to come here and start me a garden in Indiana ;)

Michelle said...

Beautiful peppers! They sound so yummy. My jalapenos did really well this year and I was able to freeze a bunch plus they are still producing!!! I really only make guacamole and enchiladas with them. I'm going to have to find some new recipes.

Denise said...

So awesome, and beautiful.

Candace said...

The peppers are sooo beautiful! What a wonderful harvest you had! I definitely could not have grown them here this year. It's humid....but has been soooo hot and dry. I'm so over summer.

Hope you are enjoying a wonderful start to your week!
Candace

Rachel said...

Those look great!! I could never grow a garden. I think I can even kill plastic plants!!

:)
Rach

Pam said...

I had never heard of Carmens. All my peppers died in the heat this year. If yours are very prolific, feel free to send some this way! :)

Unknown said...

YUM! I love red peppers. We usually have them in our garden, but this year's garden was a sad part of my yard this year. It just never took off! Enjoy the fruits, or in this case veggies, of your labor!

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

Beautiful!! My bells are starting to turn red, hooray! I'll have to look for these next year, they look delicious.

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet said...

Georgeous shade of red! WOW! Love me some red peppers!!

Unknown said...

I love red peppers...these are beautiful! The pictures made my mouth instantly water!!!

Mama Hen said...

I want to do a little vegetable garden with my daughter next year. Seeing your posts always inspire me. These peppers look delicious! We did not get a lot of rain this year, but I would make sure to water our little garden each day so I can have yummy peppers like these! Have a great night!

Mama Hen

partialemptynester said...

MMmmmm, yummy! I love a good red pepper! I put some in my hummus last night :))

Deborah said...

Beautiful peppers my friend. I am sure they taste as good as they look.

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