Good to the last pop

I don't know about the rest of the country, but for New Englanders, this was not a banner garden year. Summer didn't even get started until July and was over by mid-August. The deluge of rain that was the month of June caused my tomatoes to get a fungus, my strawberries to drown and, in general, got everything off to a soggy start. So what successes I did have, I really tried to savor. By far, one of my best crops this year was jalapeno peppers.

In our first garden season, I grew one small, hot pepper plant. I can't recall the variety and I put it in quite late to replace something I had to pull so I only got a few fruits before it quit on me. This year, I decided to put in six jalapeno plants and see how they would do. Little did I know that every one of those would take off and begin to shower me with lovely, green goodies. Supposedly, if you leave them on the plant they will turn red and continue to get hotter, but ours never made it that long and since we are feeding three youngsters with these, we didn't want to trip the oral fire alarm.
Yesterday, I had to finally admit that it is too cold and getting too dark for my spicy babies to produce much more so I harvested the remaining peppers and set about making my last batch of Homemade Jalapeno Poppers. We are huge popper fans and now that we have grown and consumed our own we have sworn off the frozen turds we used to pick up at Sam's Club.
Now that it is October, you may not have access to a quantity of fresh jalapenos that hasn't traveled many miles to get here, but maybe this will wet your appetite and get you thinking about cultivating your own hot beauty patch next year.

* A recipe disclaimer - With the exception of baked goods, I rarely follow a recipe exactly. I usually look at one or two recipes for something and then tweak it to suit my culinary style and limitations. So in the case of the poppers, this is just a guide. Experiment and see what works for you.

Jalapeno Poppers

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
two handfuls shredded cheddar cheese
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp cilantro (fresh chopped is awesome, but dried works fine too)
1 cup flour
5 eggs
a squirt of lime juice
2 cups bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
approx 15 -20 fresh jalapenos
vegetable oil for frying
ranch dressing or salsa and sour cream mixed together for dipping

Start by prepping your peppers. Slice of the top and then scoop out the guts. I use a small corer that looks a bit like a peeler. A paring knife would work too. BE CAREFUL not to touch your eyes, pick your nose, etc. until you have washed your hands thoroughly Those pepper innards are hot! After cleaning them, rinse them inside and out to get out even more seeds. A few remaining is fine and will spice it up a bit more.
Next, get your filling ready. Combine the cream cheese, cheddar, cumin and cilantro and mix well.
Now prep your breading station. You'll need three bowls. In the first put the flour. Then beat the eggs and the lime juice together in the second one. Lastly combine the bread crumbs and salt and pepper.
To fill the poppers, slice them in half length wise and then use a knife (I like a small butter knife) to smear filling into each side. Put the halves back together and give them a little press. Go around with your knife and wipe off any filling that has squeezed out. Resist the temptation to cut all the peppers first. I did that and then had a heck of a time matching the halves back up.
Once all the peppers have been filled, you can begin breading. The following process should give you a nice coating that will hold up during frying.
Step 1 Flour
Step 2 Egg
Step 3 Bread crumbs
Step 4 Egg
Step 5 Bread crumbs
Heat about 1-2 inches of oil in a deep sided pan until a few drops of water sprinkled in the oil start to sizzle. Carefully place the poppers into the pan and cook 3-4 minutes or until browned and then turn them over. I like to turn the heat down a bit to give the peppers more time to soften without burning the outside. Remove with a slotted spoon or spatula onto a paper towel to drain. Once all the poppers are cooked, remove them to a plate, serve with dip of your choice and prepare for the WOW factor.

I will really miss these over the winter months. But every successful meal that I produce using the bounty from my garden only makes me want to plan more ways to bring my favorite ingredients to life in my own backyard. Whether you have acres or inches, there is something that you can grow. In patches or pots, maybe jalapenos will be "popping" up for you in the not so distant future.