While I like hot stuff, it doesn't like me lately. So the jalapenos and most of the hot banana peppers go to my landscaper and family as they live in an apartment. I save some for Annies Salsa.

I do have one recipe for stuffed banana peppers that is really good and Dad likes its. But even for him, he breaks a major sweat. I still have one pan in the freezer from last year so I am not sure I will make another.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/23074/bobs-stuffed-banana-peppers/

It can be really difficult to tell how hot a pepper will end up being when you grow them. I'm growing Habanero chilies this year, but I also have a couple of Chocolate Habanero chili plants that are still growing from last year. In March, I cut them back a bit, and now they are growing fairly well and making chilies, but not as many as last year. The Chocolate Habanero plants take six months from seedling to first chili, but they keep making chilies for several months. I've never canned any (as I have no experience with that), but I do preserve them in vinegar and salt, and that seems to work fairly well for me. My current plans are to go to Michigan next summer to visit you, and perhaps you can give me a canning lesson at that time! We're taking our long vacation in February, and then we (or I) can take a shorter vacation in the summer. I hope Kevin will go with me.

I've noticed that some of my Habanero chilies are not all that hot, and so I do not think you should be afraid of the hotter Jalapeños, although they can vary greatly in the heat scale - more than most other chilies. One way to tell if they are really hot is if you have to gasp for air when chopping them. I wear a swim mask and snorkel when making a large batch of Habanero sauce - I have to do most of it outside because of the lingering fumes.

I like that you let them turn red. I do the same. Some get used fresh during the season and the rest sliced and frozen for use the rest of the year. I diced a couple today for Pasta e Fagioli tonight.

Cindy, I have a nice mix of red, green and dark purple, I like all the colors, it's so pretty in relish, which I have cooling on the counter right now.

Annie

Annie, do you smoke any of the jalapenos to make chipotles? Your peppers and sauces look great!

diane, we've smoked jalapenos but they don't get done enough before they are too smokey. I've found that if I bake them a little first, then smoke them, it works better. Then, of course, I never used the chipotle because it was too hot. I do like the smokiness of chipotle, but I'm a heat wuss. My husband is the chili pepper consumer, he loves 'em, the hotter the better.

Annie

We smoke ours on the BBQ. I have also found that if I put them in the smoker that they do not get done enough - I had not thought of baking them first, however.

Lars, they're probably better on the BBQ grill, but you know I don't have the patience to grill. Everything is black on the outside and raw in the middle because I always think I have just enough time to walk away and do something else. It invariably ends in disaster for supper!

Oh hooray, I'd love to see you and Kevin both next summer. Maybe I can get some of the forum together while you are here, at least Nancy and Peppi and Sherry....

Even if no one else could make it, I'd still be happy to give you the Michigan "grand tour" of all my favorite places, from Saugatuck to the wineries of Traverse City.

Annie