Salsa, nectar of the gods.
I’ve been reading that this will probably be the hottest summer on record, and that got me thinking it would be an excellent opportunity to grow the makings for salsa.
Usually trying to grow hot peppers in the Northwest is a bit of a crap-shoot. Some years are long and hot enough, and others aren’t. Frankly, I’ve not bothered lately because it is always disappointing when it fails.
I’m going to give it another shot though. Fresh, ripe peppers from your own garden taste so much better (and are usually much spicier) so if there is a good chance to succeed then I’ll go for it.
Beefsteak and San Marzano tomato plants were purchased this weekend, along with Jalapeno, Serrano, Fresno red chili, and Hawaiian sweet-hots. These varieties should give a good range of flavors and heat to the salsa’s I will be making. I almost went for Carolina Reaper, Ghost, and Scorpion peppers, but only my wife would truly enjoy them…lol.
Buying two of each will ensure that I not only can make my salsas, but can fry some up to go with steaks, and freeze some for use later in the fall. I really wanted some Hungarian Wax plants (one of my favorites), but was unable to find any.
The heat index, or Scoville unit ratings for these varieties are as follows:
- Jalapeno- 2,500-5,000
- Serrano- 6.000-23,000
- Fresno- 2,500-8,000
- Hawaiian sweet-hot- 1,000-5,000
- Hungarian Wax- 5,000-10,000
So, as you can see they fall anywhere between relatively mild to “better have some chips handy” to tame the burn. Perfect, something for everyone. I’ll cross my fingers and hope for the best…there might even be some pictures somewhere along the road.
Still struggling…
I’m still struggling with that damn story, but I have made some progress. It sits at roughly 7800 words right now, which considerably better than it was, but still… My guess is that I am about 3/4’s through the first draft, which when all is said and done is going to mean the final product should end up between 13-14K.
I’m also finding that I have modified the original concept somewhat. Oh, it’s still heavily armored soldiers in battle, but I’ve added a bit more humanity to it. The plan was to focus on the tech and how it dehumanized the violence somewhat, making our “hero” somewhat of an emotionless douche. Heh, even I didn’t like him very much in the first few pages, so it was back to the drawing board for a new and improved version.
I think it works, but of course I won’t really know until I finish the story. My hopes are high, but life has a way of slapping that shit-eating grin off your face when you get over-confident.
Yes, it has bad language (it’s a story about military people, duh). Yes, it has violence (see previous sentence). But it also has the genuine camaraderie that those who have served have experienced for themselves. Even with people you don’t particularly like, or would choose to spend time with outside of the military. And…it’s an equal opportunity Army. Women serve alongside men, and shoulder their fair share of the burden. I fail to see how it could be otherwise, especially given that armored suits such as the ones I write about would even the playing field.
Additionally, when I started writing realistic dialog it was nearly impossible to keep the humor out of the story. Soldiers give each other shit…constantly. It’s just the way it is, and truthfully, the more you get along with someone the MORE shit you give them. Hey, I didn’t invent the rules, so deal with it. so anyway, not as originally envisioned, but hopefully a better, more interesting story. Stay tuned…
