Friday 23 December 2011

Christmas Chillis

This week I have harvested what will probably be the last chilli fruits of the year:


This is a mixture of three types - the long "Pinocchio's Nose", the short fat ones that I nicknamed "Medium Long", and just one of the round "Cherry Bomb" (top left).

The Pinocchio's Nose plant is in the garage now, and the fruits had been ripening very slowly, so I cut them and brought them inside. Within 48 hours they went almost completely red, and the tips have now begun to shrivel.




The biggest of this batch is probably the longest chilli I have ever grown. With the ruler against it you can see that it is approximately 7" / 18cm, if you don't count the stalk. On the seed packet it said "...may grow up to 25cm in length", so I think 18cm is a fairly good result.


The only other thing I have harvested this week is some Curly Endive. We ate this with a shallot vinaigrette as an accompaniment to roast Rack of Lamb with Gratin Dauphinoise  - which is an old favourite combination of ours


The intricate shape of the Endive leaves lends itself to a bit of creative photo-editing. This one has had a red tint applied, along with the "Neon" effect. I think it makes a very dramatic composition. I'd love to have a 6-foot square copy of this on my wall, wouldn't you?


12 comments:

  1. It would definitely make and interesting picture but wouldn't go with my wagons and farmhouse pictures that are already there.
    The endive and chilis look wonderful- very spring or summer-like.

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  2. That first photo is a Christmas card!! How awesome, as are the other photos mostly in keeping with the seasonal red and greens, with a good punch of color in the last one...mawdern ;-). Great chilli's and how interesting they turned red so quickly.

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  3. I like your creative endive shot very much! It would be interesting to see how many people recognised the shape out of context. Have a very merry Christmas and I just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed your blog this year!

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  4. Very bright and dramatic!

    Best wishes and a happy Christmas!

    Esther

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  5. Congrats on having an extended chilli harvest this year.

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  6. Love your chile! So red and beautiful! And that photo is quite striking! Not sure about 6 foot square (it would dwarf everything else in our home), but maybe 4 foot square? Ha! Have you seriously thought about making prints? I bet you could sell more than a few.

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  7. Congratulations on the chili's - they look beautiful and festive with their bright red color.

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  8. Your Chili's are so beautiful and shiney. I'm not sure I'd like a big print with the red; actually I like the endive the way it is, cool green and frilly ;-)

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  9. Love, love your photos. Your Endive leaves photo with the red tint and the "Neon" effect is sooooo cool. Yes, it would look dramatic on the wall.

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  10. Gorgeous chillies!! I also love the dramatic editing of the endive pics. Quite stunning.

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  11. Lots of red and green for Christmas! How cool! Love what you did to the photo.

    Lynn

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