Carolina Reaper Tomato Jam

Tomatoes inspire me. So do hot-as-the-dickens chili peppers. My beloved aunt is also an inspiration to me and often reads my blog, forever encouraging me to keep going even when going sometimes gets a bit rough around the edges.

Last year when I felt it hard to do much of anything, she told me to make habanero jelly. And that's just what I did. An odd prescription for heartache, I thought at the time, but who was I to argue the particular remedy? Sometimes, the people who truly love you and know you best, actually know what's best for you even if you don't.

It turned out so lovely and oddly, it was just the ticket to get me cooking again. I started writing again. Although that took a little more inspiration and a lot of laughs, personally delivered much later in the year.

So tonight, I get inspired by the abundance of beautiful ripe tomatoes lining my counter waiting to be of culinary service. A spicy tomato chutney of sorts... but with a donkey kick to the taste buds. Just typing that and smelling my bubbling concoction, my mouth waters.

Here is the short and spicy sweet list of goodies:

• 1 c of white distilled vinegar
• 1 c of white sugar
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 ripe beefsteak tomatoes, about 2 lbs or so, quartered
• 4 fresh Carolina Reaper chili peppers stemmed and cut in half

I put all ingredients in a small but heavy saucepan and simmer for a couple of hours until thick and reduced. It will begin to thicken and start to resemble tomato jam.

I leave the chilis whole just in case there is more than enough heat and I decide to fish the deadly beasts out of the jam. I lovingly say that because I know it will be too hot enough for most mortals.... but we aren't like most mortals, so I end up leaving them in!

Rangpur Habanero Pico de Gallo

(Xni-Pec)

• Any chili you have, de-seeded (yes, important)
• White or yellow onion, finely diced
• Citrus of any kind
• Tongue of steel and gut of iron

This, basically, is a really freakin hot salsa...  In Mexico, my hubby and I have often requested this version of salsa. I tried to wiki it but there isn't an entry, surprisingly. However, if you google it, you will see loads of recipes, sites, articles etc. This salsa is traditional in the Yucatan Peninsula region of Mexico and it delights and surprises the Mexican staff when we ask for it because most Americans want a "Pace" version of salsa, no heat, etc. But, we think of salsa in a different way. Maybe it's my Southern roots, but salsa isn't salsa unless it has a bit of a kick. I once saw a Tabasco billboard here in MN that was hilarious. It read "Dear Minnesota, Ketchup is not a spice. Love, Louisiana"  I JUST LOVE THAT. To me, Tabasco is Mother's Milk and not only do we use a good deal of it at my house, but we keep the institutional size on hand and a spare in the pantry.  For emergencies.

These chilis I use are nothing short of dynamite, though, and have more heat, typically, than even the habanero although they are close relatives. The bevvy shown above though are from my perennial chili "trees" because as long as they don't get too cold, chili plants will live for years and years. Even before the greenhouse came into my life, I would cart these kids indoors for the winter and put them under a cheap fluorescent shop light you can get for under $10 at the hardware store.  They loved it and didn't care one bit that they were indoors. My hubby put in a shallow ebb and flow tray, put the whole thing on a timer and they produced peppers the whole winter. Semi-hydroponic. Inside. In the living room. (Yes, hubby is very tolerant and quite an enabler so when he gets a bit huffy when it gets a big jungle-like, I just have to point out his brilliant handy work and feign total innocence. It's his problem after all, that he is such a genius... :)

To make the salsa, simply mix everything together in a bowl, squeeze in your citrus juice and mix well. I cover it with plastic wrap, put it in the fridge so the flavors can marry and then keep it until it runs out. It keeps amazingly well, for weeks, if covered well and stirred occasionally.