November 23
Jalapeno Jelly

Last night, there was a program on culinary herbs at the Rochester Flower and Garden Club meeting, which I attended. After a long day at work and doing the grocery shopping, I was delighted to get to the meeting and see various members displaying and selling their crafts and garden jams and jellies. Everything looked delicious! Seeing all the homemade goodies brought back memories of the summer, especially regarding preserving my garden.

This summer, I had an abundance of jalapeno peppers, my best pepper crop ever! About twice a week, we made poppers on the grill. They are tasty and easy to prepare. Simply wrap bacon around cream cheese filled jalapenos that are cut in half. The seeds are the spiciest, so I take out about half of the seeds, so there is still a bit of kick. Secure with a toothpick and place on a hot grill for about seven minutes. My Weber charcoal grill works great for grilling these delicious bites. Next summer, I’m excited to try them on our new Weber Spirit grill that we purchased at Sargent's on 2nd. Our new gas grill will be a great addition to our summer time grilling, and we’re excited to cook up lots of goodies!

Though we made the poppers often, we couldn’t eat the jalapenos fast enough. The plants were producing much more than we could eat in a week, so I decided to make Jalapeno Jelly. My first time making jelly proved to be a great experience. I made three batches and processed them in a water bath for preservation. It was easy to make and has been so delicious. Place jelly over a block of cream cheese for an excellent dip for pretzels. Whenever I do this for guests, someone always leaves with a jar of jelly, because they love it so much. It is so good, even I can not leave it alone. Lately, I’ve been on a cream cheese and jalapeno jelly diet! Yes, it’s that good! There are many recipes out there and they are all probably delicious. The staple ingredients are jalapenos, pectin and sugar. Try making some and share with your neighbor’s for a holiday treat.

Next year, stop in for a couple jalapeno plants at the garden center, and you’ll be on your way to several jars of homemade goodness.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Wendy Thon
MNLA Certified Professional

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