Chile Pepper Summer

Well, it’s been such a busy couple of weeks that I’ve been remiss in blogging.  I heartily apologize to our followers for this.

During our ‘Chile Pepper Summer’ here at Flaming Garden, we have been diligently working to build up our business so that we can meet our 2012 goal of getting our jellies on market shelves by years end.  Our presence at The Colorado Experience was valuable in that Becky and Dan, our owners, met so many experienced and knowledgeable people.  They were both very excited to make these potentially valuable contacts. 

One of the fun things you should know about our owner and creative genius, Becky, is that she is a Spicy Wench (self-titled).  At The Colorado Experience, Becky met up with Yvonne Larson who does Fun & Fancy Face Painting.  Yvonne created a wonderful piece of art for Becky as seen here.

Yvonne is very talented and alas does not have a website for me to give you.  She is on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/yvonne.larson.79 and can be seen at the Lafayette Festival of the Faeries.  Here is a picture I found of Yvonne at that festival, all dressed up and leading a dance.  Her phone is (303)819-4697 if you would like to contact her about her face painting talents.

Now regarding our 2012 goal, I have one very exciting piece of news.  Becky has signed a contract with a commissary kitchen that is closer to their location in Aurora.  This means no more driving 30 minutes or more across Denver to cook.  When Becky met with the owner she said that the smells were mouthwatering.  We will soon be using Napoli Tom’s Pasta Company.  Check them out at http://www.napolitoms.com/.  Napoli Tom’s does a Take ‘N Bake Italian pasta business and already has several companies using his kitchens for cooking. 

We couldn't be happier with this new business development, especially since the Denver County Fair is rapidly approaching next month.  We need to boost our inventory and can’t wait to use our new facility. 

Speaking of the County Fair, we hope to see as many of you there as possible.  We also hope that you are telling all your friends about us and sharing your jelly with everyone at your bar-b-ques and picnics.  Remember that our jellies are versatile.  Be creative with them.  Think of what you would do with the flavors in the jelly you chose then build a recipe around it. 

Recipe Idea

Get some juicy lamb chops and a jar of Flaming Garden Pomagranate Jalapeno Jelly.  Make a marinade by placing 2-3 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1-2 tbsp good olive oil, 2 tbsp jelly, 2 tsp rosemary, salt and pepper in a small saucepan over low heat to liquefy the jelly.  Pour over the lamb chops and set in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before cooking.  Reserve the liquid.  Cook the chops using your favorite method.  While the chops are cooking add some stock or water to the marinade liquid, ½ cup or so, and put over medium heat and bring to a boil.  Once it boils reduce to heat to medium low or low and simmer while the chops cook.  This will make a nice sauce to drizzle over the chops.

I hope you enjoy this recipe.  The amounts given are based on 4 -6 chops.  Adjust the amounts as needed depending on how many you are cooking up.

We hope you enjoy this recipe and would love to hear from you if you have created one of your own.

Feedback

Even though we have been selling primarily at our Saturday Farmers Market locations lately, we have had quite a bit of positive feedback and experiences that I would like to share.

I had several people return to our booth at the Lone Tree Farmers Market to purchase more jelly.  Becky had a gentleman come to Southlands Mall booth because his wife woke him up and said, “It’s Saturday, go buy more jelly!”

I also had a couple of fine gentlemen at the Lone Tree booth This last Saturday discussing chiles.  They grow many different chile plants on their property and use them for cooking.  While we talked, one of the gentlemen enjoyed just about all of the Strawberry Jolokia jelly I had in my sample bowl.  This didn’t bother me, it was almost time to pack up and it would have gone to waste.  He took a jar home, along with other flavors.  What amazed me was the quantity of jelly he took on his cracker with every taste.  This man was clearly very used to the BIG heat provided by the Jolokia Pepper.  Enjoy gentlemen, and I hope to see you back at the booth very soon. 

Don’t forget to offer comments/feedback on our blogs and products.  We’d love to hear from her.

Future Blogs

I will be starting a series of blogs on the different peppers we use here at Flaming Garden for our jellies.  As always, we are open to answering your questions and blogging on topics that you would like to see here.  This blog is for you, our customers and friends.