This time of year, gardeners are harvesting jalapenos and wondering what to do with their bumper crops. Jalapeno peppers are easy to preserve, you can freeze them, can or pickle them or make them into delicious jellies and sauces.

When harvesting peppers for preserving, be sure to only take the perfect peppers, discard any with signs of rot or insect damage. Jalapenos can be harvested when they are still in the green stage, this is the jalapeno we are most famaliar with. You can leave the peppers on the plant and allow them to ripen until they turn bright red, these are good for jellies, just remember the ripe red peppers are much hotter than the green ones.

When working with chile peppers, you should use rubber gloves and rememeber to never touch your face, most especially in the eye area. If you do, splash plenty of water on the area to help stop any burning.

Freezing jalapenos is easy, wash them, cut off tops and stems and split lengthwise. Remove seeds and white membranes. Drop jalapeno pieces in boiling water for about 60 seconds, them place in bowl of ice water to cool. When cool, drain well and place in freezer bags or containers and freeze. They should be good for about 12 months.

Jalapeno peppers are delicious when pickled. You can make round slices, pickle them whole and add vegetables to the pickling mix. Look under Recipes/Preserve to find recipes for pickled jalapenos

You can make jelly from the jalapenos either at the green stage or red stage (or both, if you have enough jalapenos). Here is link for a recipe for Jalapeno Jelly .

Remember when canning or preserving jalapenos (or any vegetable or fruit), your jars and utensils should be boiled in water to sterlize before usuing. If canning jalepenos without any vinegar or acid liquid, the filled jars should be processed in a pressure cooker to insure safe canning following instructions that come with the pressure cooker.. Jars of pickled jalapenos which have an acid vingear liquid can be boiled in a hot water bath for 10 to 15 minutes. Be sure to lightly screw the lids and rings on the jars but do not tighten until after the hot water bath and cool down period.

Jarritos is a popular brand of Mexican soft drinks. The name "Jarritos" refers to the Mexican tradition of drinking water and other drinks from clay pottery jugs. In 1950, Don Francisco "El Guero" Hill started the Jarritos compamy in Guadalajara, Jalisco. The Jarritos brand quickly gained popularity in Mexico. They are made of natural fruit flavors and are less carbonated that American made soft drinks. In 1989, Jarritos started exporting to the United States and within a few years, became the most popular soft drink among Hispanic consumers. Jarritos come in eleven flavors, fruit punch, grapefruit, guava, jamaica, lime, mandarin orange, pineapple, strawbery, tamarind, mango, and watermelon. The next you are serving Mexican meal, buy an assortment of Jarritos. The rainbow colors of the drinks in tall glass bottles will give a festive look to your table. The sweet fruit flavors go well with the spicy Mexico food. (Thanks to the Dallas Morning News for the Picture of the Jarritos)

Stone Broth - from Oaxaca

1 pound shrimp
1 pound fish
5 plum tomatoes, chopped
10 cloves of garlic
Chopped chives and dry chiles to taste
Sprig of epazote.

Before preparing the broth, you must also obtain five gourds, five small forked sticks to use as spoons, a terco of fire wood and 25 small white river stones.

To prepare, build fire and place the stones in the fire until very hot. Place equal amounts of tomato, garlic chives, chiles and epazote into each gourd. Add one or two of the stones to each gourd and stir to cook, removing stones before adding other ingredients. This procedure is repeated until ingredients cooked. Add the shrimp and fish. Finally add another hot stone to each gourd to allow the broth to finish boiling. Remove stones from the gourds and the broth is ready to eat.

Perspired Tacos - From Zacatecas

1 pound lean pork
4 ancho chiles
2 pasilla chiles
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons toasted peanuts
1/2 of a dry corn tortilla
18 small freshly made corn tortillas
Oil
Salt

Cook the pork in water until soft and tender. Drain and shred, keeping the stock. Remove veins and seeds from chiles, toast and soak in a little of the pork stock. Fry the dry tortilla in a little oil. Place tortilla, chiles with broth, garlic, onion and peanuts in blender. Blend until smooth. Add salt to taste. Heat two table spoons oil in skillet and add chile mixture, adding more broth as needed. Add meat and cook until mixture thickens. Fill the freshly made tortillas with this mixture and fold in half. Place in a steamer lined with a layer of corn leaves, cover with more corn leaves and steam until tacos begin to perspire, make sure they do not come apart.

Ha'Sikil-P'ar - From Yucatan

The name of this Mayan dish is taken from it's ingredients: ha', water, sikil, squash seed. and p'ak, tomato, The dish is still served in Yucatan and is called sikil pak. It is a soft squash seed paste that is served with crisp corn tortillas and makes a excellent appetizer.

1 cup squash or pumpkin seed (sold at Mexican markets)
1 habanero chili, roasted
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 large ripe tomato, roasted
2/3 cups water, or as needed
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons minced chives

Toast squash seed in dry skillet or comal, taking care not to burn. Place squash seeds, about half of the habanero chili, salt, tomato and water in blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Stir in cilantro and chives. Serve with crisp corn tortilla chips.

1. The Cusines of Mexico - Diana Kennedy - 1972 - Ms. Kennedy is sometimes called the "Julia Child of Mexican Cooking", This is a must have cookbook if you want to learn about Mexican cooking. The recipes are sometimes hard to follow, but well worth the effort. Learn the secrets of making perfect Mexican fried rice using the recipes in this book