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Over the course of the summer, one of the most exciting things that is happening in our garden is that we are finally starting to get the hang of growing multiple kinds of peppers, tomatoes, and squash. In previous years, we were able to get one vegetable or another, but never enough to truly feel like we could make an entire sauce straight from the garden. This morning, when I went out to see what was ready to harvest, I saw inspiration on the vines – red hot chili peppers were literally dropping from the plant, gorgeous jalapeños and perky anaheim peppers. I was able to pull at least 2 dozen chili peppers and decided that it was time to create my very own spicy hot sauce. We use hot sauce on just about everything we eat and cook, so figuring out the flavors that work for us is an exciting opportunity.
There are a lot of versions of DIY hot sauce online, thanks to all the creative bloggers and recipe sites out there. Based on that, I was able to play with our own and after a few tries, I think that this is the best expression of what our garden is offering this year. The key to this recipe is that unfortunately you have to wait a week or so for the peppers to dry in order to create a bit more depth in the flavor, otherwise, I felt that the sauces that used the fresh peppers were a bit one-noted. I know, patience is not always fun, but in this case, worth it.
Chili peppers are a really fun pepper, and not just because they are that gorgeous red hue. They are part of the capsicum family of peppers, which include habaneros, poblanos and jalapeños and they contain high levels of Vitamin C and carotenoids, which some health professionals believe can help regulate insulin levels. For our family, any high flavor ingredient that can help Derek naturally combat his Type 2 Diabetes is a definite winner!
I hope you’ll play around with this recipe and send in your tips and tricks. I also created some fun sauces out of the poblanos and quite honestly, I’m not sure which one is my new favorite. As soon as I hone that one in, I’ll post it as well. Enjoy!
