Why I Oughta...

Nat and I often reminisce about what we 'used to have' when it comes to vegetable gardening.  Back in Elmhurst, we had good-sized, enclosed raised bed vegetable garden.  When we moved, we inherited a yard that has A LOT of shade and despite trying both in-ground and a (small) raised bed garden, we've had limited success with vegetables.  I posted much the same story here back in 2018 when I lamented that we grew just ONE tomato .    But, things changed a little last year when we moved our raised bed from out in the garden to our patio - where we DO, indeed, get overhead full sun during the middle of the day.  That meant that last year (2021), we grew tomatoes ( an indeterminate variety ) that produced small fruits that we ate most of the Summer.  It was a little bit of an out-of-control vine and it spilled out of our bed and down into the lawn.   This year, we decided to grow a few things.  I'll post about the tomatoes on another day....

I've been hanging onto this screenshot Via Adam Kuban on his Instagram stories for a number of months in preparation for times *just* like these.  Being stuck at home, I figured it was time to try something like this.  The problem?  I didn't have a ton of peppers, so I improvised.  The recipe calls for 5 chilies - and it looks like Adam Kuban used jalapenos.  I had one jalapeno on hand.  And a couple of Fresno peppers.  And a bell pepper.  So, I used them all.  I also didn't have coriander seeds, so I just tossed in a little ground coriander.  I've posted about Adam Kuban before - who is someone that I watch like a hawk when it comes to pizza.  He's both great at knowing/sharing/talking pizza and seems like a pretty great dude at the same time.  But, I haven't posted about the other guy mentioned in his story. These are courtesy of "International Pizza Consultant" Anthony Falco - who you can find on Instagram @ mi...

In lieu of the typical under-performing bell peppers that I plant in the garden, this year, I picked up a Serrano hot pepper plant from Bonnie Plants at the ole' Home Depot.  As you can see from the photo, serranos are described as: 'Hot, pungent, candle-shaped fruits.  Top choice for making pico de gallo.  Very productive." While that's well and good, I'm only interested in them for one reason: The possibility of making my own giardiniera . I've tried making it in the past and most recipes call for fresh vegetables/peppers including serranos, but the output wasn't quite right.  Comparing those results (which included bright colors) with the typical store-bought jar of giardiniera (which has far more muted colors) was a disappointment.  It seems that the professional-made stuff pickles their peppers before putting them in the jar with oil? Just compare how the 'homemade' version looks in this photo compared to what the stuff in the jar looks...