Using up left-overs...

...which is something of a Christmas tradition.  However, in this case it refers to the glut of chillies left at the end of the season. I popped in to visit my parents the other day and in my mum's greenhouse was a forest of Friar's Hat and Orozco chilli plants, still laden with unripe fruit.  Now this has been an exceptionally mild winter so far but even I was surprised to see quite how much fruit was still on the plants in December.  So in exchange for cutting back the plants for her, ready for overwintering, I got to keep the remaining fruit.

The Orozco chillies are mild when picked immaturely but when given the chance to fully ripen to a bright red can pack a punch.  Along with a few other chillies I had left, I dried them off in a low oven for a couple of hours and then I'll grind them for flakes.

Dried Orozco, Cayenne and Friar's Hat Chillies

The Friar's Hat chillies I'll leave on a bright windowsill for a few days to ripen and then as soon as I can face the idea of post-Christmas shopping (i.e. as soon as I've run out of food and can't face eating any more mince pies) I'll buy some high-pectin sugar and have a go at turning them into chilli jam.

Unripe Friar's Hat Chillies

I've got a few recipes from the web and, if it's a success, I'll try a number of different mixtures and strengths over the year.

The first crop of Pimientos de Padron

In other news, I picked the very first of my Pimientos de Padron on Christmas Day.  Just four thumb-sized chillies for now but plenty more on the way.  I've given them to Claudio to test as, not only was he the inspiration for growing them, but having grown up in Galicia, he should be the best judge of their authenticity.

Monkey Face and Chocolate Habanero Seedlings.

Finally, the Monkey Face and Chocolate Habanero seeds I planted on the 18th of December have started to sprout.  There's about three of each showing at the moment.  Just 8 days from being planted to sprouting, that's not bad at all. Proof that the aquarium propagator does do the trick.  Now I need to ensure that I don't kill them off like the last unfortunate batch!