Summer Fest: Pickled Serrano Chile Peppers

Pickled Peppers in Jars

Surprise!  Summer Fest is still on!  Response and participation have been so great during the last five weeks, we decided to extend Summer Fest through mid-September and then roll right into a Fall Fest.  We’ll even have a fun new Fall Fest pumpkin badge thanks to Matt of Matt Bites! Visit Margaret at A Way to Garden for all the new details and schedule.

This week we’re celebrating peppers, both sweet and spicy.  I decided to try my hand at pickling some hot peppers since I happened to have a basket of serrano chiles sitting on the counter (I picked them up for a dollar at the Farmer’s Market last Saturday).  I love pickled jalapenos, but I always end up using the store-bought kind.  I thought it would be nice to have some home-pickled peppers on hand for once!  And since I won’t go through them very fast on my own, one basket of peppers seemed like the perfect amount to pickle.

Basket of Serrano Chiles

Since I’ve never pickled peppers before, I wanted to start with some sort of recipe.  I found a couple in books, and several online, but finally decided on Michael Symon’s recipe at Michael Ruhlman’s blog. It was simple and easy to adapt to my small amount of peppers.

First, I washed the peppers and poked each of them in a few places with a knife (the idea to pierce them with a knife came from David Lebovitz’s version).  Then I packed them into jars.  One basket of peppers (about half a pound) filled three half-pint jars.

Serrano Chiles in Jars

Next I made the brine.  I used equal parts white vinegar and water, sugar, salt, garlic, coriander, cumin, and black peppercorns.  I had planned on using bay leaves, but at the last minute, I couldn’t find mine!  Oh well, I continued without.  I boiled the liquid then let it simmer for ten minutes.

Pickling Brine for Peppers

While still hot, I poured the brine over the peppers, filling the jar completely with liquid.

Peppers in Brine

Next I put the lids on the jars, let them cool, then placed them in the fridge.  They should be ready in about a week, but will continue to improve as they sit.  From what I hear, they will last a very long time in the fridge.

Pickled Peppers

You’ll just have to wait to hear how they taste!  In the meantime, you should make some yourself.

More Recipes Featuring Peppers:

Other Summer Fest Attendees Celebrating Peppers:

How You Can Join in Summer/Fall Fest 2010

Summer Fest 2010 Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? You can contribute to our online recipe swap in various ways, big or small.

Contribute a whole post, or a comment—whatever you wish. It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid. No pressure, just delicious. Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer/Fall Fest post on my blog, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.

The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. Yes, copy and paste them everywhere! That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.

Or think bigger: Publish entire posts of your own, if you wish, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2010 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt of Matt Bites), or the new pumpkin version he just did if it’s for September 22 onward.

Summer/Fall Fest 2010 Posting Schedule

7/28: Cukes and Zukes
8/4: Corn
8/11: Herbs, Greens, and Beans
8/18: Stone Fruit – I missed this one!
8/25: Tomatoes

9/1: Sweet and Spicy Peppers
9/8: Garlic
9/15: White (or colorful “white”…but not sweet) Potatoes
9/22: Spinach
9/29: Apples

10/6: Fall Salads
10/13: Pumpkin + Winter Squash
10/20: Pears
10/27: “Mad Stash” (as in what you’re shoving in freezer/jars/dehydrator, etc.)

11/3: Root veggies
11/10: Brassicas: incl. Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Cabbage or other
11/17: Sweet Potatoes
11/24: Bounty to Be Grateful For

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Melon and Mozzarella Salad with Honey, Lime, and Mint

Melon and Mozzarella Salad with Lime and Mint

I bought a delicious Crenshaw melon at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday and after eating a few slices for breakfast yesterday morning, decided to turn the rest of it into melon balls.  I had no particular reason for wanting to do this, it just seemed like a fun thing to do.  And we all know that food tastes better when it’s cut into fun shapes, right?

As I was scooping out the flesh with the antique melon baller that has been in my family for as long as I can remember, I thought about the half-empty container of fresh mini mozzarella balls in the refrigerator.  I had never combined melon with mozzarella before, but the melon balls and mozzarella balls were the same size and shape and the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like they were destined to end up in the same bowl.

So of course they did end up in the same bowl.

I made a quick dressing of lime juice, honey, and mint since I knew those ingredients would be nice with the melon.  I also added a bit of crushed red pepper because after living in Sicily for four years I now put crushed red pepper in just about everything.  And of course a tiny bit of salt always helps to perk things up a bit (try a sprinkle of salt on fresh cantaloupe – yum!).  The resulting salad was light, simple, and delicious!

Melon and Mozzarella Salad

2 cups of cold, bite-size melon balls or cubes (use your favorite type of melon)
1 cup of bite-size fresh mozzarella balls or cubes
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint leaves
small pinch of salt
small pinch of crushed red pepper

Put melon balls and mozzarella in a medium bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk together honey, lime juice, mint, salt, and crushed red pepper.  Pour dressing over the melon and mozzarella then toss to combine.  Serve immediately.

Yield: four servings

Related Recipes:

Around the Web:

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Silent Sunday: August Breakfast

Crenshaw Melon

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3 Comments
Food Blog Friday: Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake

Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake with Fresh Raspberries

It’s Food Blog Friday and here I am writing about yet another lemon-infused recipe.  I can’t help it.  I love lemon.  I love this Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake.  And I love Baking Bites, today’s featured food blog.

Nicole Weston has been writing Baking Bites since 2004 – way before I knew anything about food or baking blogs.  She updates the blog almost daily with recipes, baking tips, product reviews, recommendations, and what she calls “bites from other blogs” – links to interesting recipes and ideas from other blogs.  I just ordered a new ice cream scoop based on Nicole’s recent review of her Zyliss scoop. I love learning about great products from other bloggers!

I’ve been reading Baking Bites since I first discovered food blogs and I’ve tried several recipes over the years.  They’ve all been great!  When I was craving lemon cake this week, I knew I could trust Nicole’s Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake even though I had never made it before.  I was right to trust the recipe.  This cake was perfect. Continue reading →

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Summer Fest: A Celebration of Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Bruschetta with Chevre and Slow Roasted Tomatoes

The Summer Fest theme this week is tomatoes and I can’t think of a better thing to talk about than slow-roasted tomatoes.  I made these for the first time last September and they were absolutely amazing.  Although I made them a few more times throughout the year with grocery store cherry tomatoes, I’ve been waiting for some good summer tomatoes to roast. Continue reading →

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Farmer’s Market Finds

August Farmer's Market Finds

After being down with the flu all week, a trip to the Farmer’s Market this morning was just what I needed.  Back to the kitchen I go!

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Silent Sunday: Critter’s Cafe

Critter's Cafe

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Food Blog Friday: Coconut Cupcakes from Simply Recipes

Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

I’m thrilled to return to Food Blog Friday this week with these amazing Coconut Cupcakes from Simply Recipes. When I needed to make coconut cupcakes for a friend’s bridal shower, I knew exactly which recipe to use.  I’ve made these a few times before, and they’ve always turned out perfect – this time was no exception. Continue reading →

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