Several years ago, we bought two or three cases of Hatch chile peppers. They were roasted at the grocery store so all I had to do was skin them, remove the seeds and freeze them. I put three or four together, wrapped them in plastic wrap, put them into a small zipper bag, then put about a dozen of those little bags into a larger re-sealable vacuum seal bag. I am able to open the bag, take out a packet, re-seal the bag and put them back in the freezer. Then last year, we bought one case and I did the same thing. This year, I hadn’t plan to buy any peppers because I probably have enough for two years left and there’s just no sense in having that many in the freezer.
I came home from MO this past Tuesday. I went to put something in the fridge in the sewing room and the entire top shelf was full of bags of Hatch chile peppers.
Me: Hatch chile peppers?
Vince: Yes! I bought those at Aldi.
Me: What are you going to do with them?
Vince: Roast them.
I’m thinking . . the roasting part is easy but someone still has to skin them, get the seeds out and the get them ready for the freezer.
They remained in the freezer . . not roasted. I didn’t want to be a mean wife but Vince has to learn . . now that he’s retired, if he buys stuff, especially without asking if we need it, he needs to be responsible for taking care of it. Sometimes, it’s a big job. Like the watermelons I brought back from MO . . he wanted watermelon rind pickles and I was happy to make those but at some point, he has to think about whether it’s worth the effort and if it’s worth it for HIM to do it.
Yesterday, I said “Vince, those peppers really need to be processed!” He said “I’ll do it tomorrow” and he fired up the grill and roasted them this morning.
They were sitting on the counter and he said “Do you need help skinning those peppers?”
I was in the middle of cutting okra for the next load in the freeze dryer.
I said “Nope! You’re doing the peppers!” He said “OK” and got started. He was having a hard time getting the seeds out and I told him to cut one side, open them up flat and scrape the seeds/center section out with a knife.
He sat there for several hours working on those peppers and at one time, I heard him say to himself “I’m never buying chile peppers again!” I wanted to say “Thank about how much work it is before you buy ANYTHING for me to have to put up again!”
Later I did tell him that we need to discuss before we do anything that causes more work for each other because we never know what the other person has planned. Vince knew I bought the okra but he really had no idea how long it would take to get it processed. It actually doesn’t take long but today was when the first batch finished, the okra had to be put into jars, vacuum sealed, moved to the canning shelves; the freeze dryer had to be defrosted, oil changed, about 6 pounds of okra rinsed and cut, put on the trays and start the freeze dryer again.
I’m going to freeze dry the peppers this time. Our freezers are full – and with deer season coming up before we know it, I need to make some space in the freezers.
Since the freeze dryer is loaded with another load of okra, I put the peppers in quart jars, in the fridge, and will put them in the freeze dryer once this last load of okra is done – probably Tuesday afternoon.
I also want to get more squash to do. I should be able to get okra for a while so if I can still get squash, I’ll do a load of it after the peppers are done.
Ranch Wife says
I usually buy a case locally each year and we always run out. We put it in everything. Last year our girl came home from Oklahoma with orders for 12 cases from her co-workers – her truck was loaded when she went back. Around here, we just go to the farm where they roast them. We just pop 5 or 6 in a freezer bag without peeling or removing the seeds and freeze them. The old timers say they keep their flavor better and the skin just rolls off when we use them.
Now that Vince’s retired it’s good that he sees all the work that you do in the kitchen. I don’t think many men realize how much time we spend in the kitchen to put good food on the table. The way we eat now has simplified a lot, but it’ still takes time.
Rebecca in SoCal says
It’s good for Vince to get an idea of how much work is involved! I was thinking freeze-drying would be a good idea, but as you listed, that’s a considerable amount of work yet to do.
Ruth says
I came back and read this post again this evening after reading it this morning. I just had to “hear” Vince saying, “I’m never buying peppers again!”
I thought your response of Silence right then was great. Later you told him there needs to be coordination of food items and I thought YES!!
Good Luck with that.
cassews says
I wish we could get mild Hatch chilies around here ..but its all hot or extra hot. Since we are ahem aging our taste buds tell us mild is much nice for our tummies. So sometimes we have to listen when it comes to chilies .. hehehehe…