August, 2010
Red Hot Heat gives Red Hot Peppers at Horsetail Haven, Ann Marie's home garden in Austin, Texas

August leads into pepper season at Horsetail Haven.  During the hot, dry days of this month few peppers are produced, but the approach of fall's cooler evening temperatures means the peppers will set fruit in a month.  Two of the garden peppers that do thrive in the heat are ají limón and habanero.   The ají limón, one of the Capsicum baccatum var. pendulum types, is covered with blossoms, and both green pods and ripe, bright yellow pods.   This hot pepper is a favorite at Horsetail Haven.  Although Jean Andrews wrote that it can be dried, Ann Marie thinks that the fresh peppers have the best flavor.  They have a hot but bright and slightly citrus taste that perks up sauces and salsas.  Her favorite use of the Ají limón is to puree one pepper (seeds removed) with six large tomatillos and a bit of cider vinegar, cook slightly and serve over fish, especially the yummy coconut crusted tilapia a nearby grocery store occasionally has available.

The “H” in habanero must stand for heat … and could represent not only the taste but also the ability of this pepper to produce in Austin's dry summer heat.  The plant, ripe orange peppers dangling from its branches, is a beautiful addition to the garden.  On occasion Ann Marie may add ½ a fruit to vegetable soup or even a small amount, finely chopped, to spice up carrot cake, pumpkin bread or chocolate desserts.  Habaneros are best used fresh to take advantage of the fruity flavor.  The dried pepper becomes all heat and no flavor.  Ann Marie also likes to keep habanero infused tequila in the kitchen and may add a shot to perk up the taste of various foods.  Lucinda Hutson’s book, Tequila is the inspiration for that little trick.

The heat has slowed flowering of many plants but a quick survey shows that the following are in bloom in the garden: The above mentioned peppers, some citrus trees, Plumeria, Pseuderanthemum alatum, Jewel of Opar (Talinum paniculatum) and both Aloysia, A. virgata & A. macrostachya.   The caper plant has an occasional blossom as do various Salvia.  The Four O'clocks, pink in the front yard and white in the back, open reliably each evening and perfume the air.

But who needs flowers when we have butterflies.  Giant Swallowtails and Pipevine Swallowtails are regular visitors, laying their eggs on Citrus and Aristolochia respectively.  What a relaxing way to beat the heat – watch butterflies on Citrus and bees on Aloysia while floating in the pool. And even get to see a bonus bat or hear screech owls as darkness falls.  Ahhh, the joys of summer are well
worth the sweat.