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The chilli plant has been producing some hot and spicy chillies that have been making their way into our dinners recently. Well, I wondered whether it would just have the one crop or whether it would continue to make more chillies…the wondering is now over:

Fully grown chillies and the latest buds and flowers…

So, hopefully I’ll get another crop of chillies for the end of summer…will keep the updates coming.

Meanwhile what to do with all these many chillies…

1. Pick and use fresh from the plant - delicious, very hot and spicy and surprisingly fragrant.
2. Picked some red chillies and dried them in the sun - verdict to be announced soon.
3. Left some chillies on the plant to dry - verdict to be announced soon.
4. Picked some chillies and put them in the fridge - hopefully I’ll be able to try these compared to freshly picked and see what level of deterioration there has been - verdict to be announced soon.

More news on the chilli plant as it happens, so keep checking back!

Yesterday was taste-test day for the homegrown chillies. Let me first show off the first chili fruit taken from the plant…

Homegrown Chillies

Now, the tasting notes:

Well, freshly picked chillies seem to have a strong aroma when cut into, I was surprised by how hot and spicy the chillies were - and I didn’t even eat the seeds raw, just tasted a bit of the flesh…

I tasted the red chili first. It was hot, spicy, with a good fresh yet slightly mellow and sweet flavour. Definitely good for stir frying, pasta sauces and general heat to add to a spicy dish.

Then I tasted a bit of the green chili - it was much hotter, very fresh tasting and with a pronounced zing. I think I could even make Laab with these, although I usually use birds-eye chillies. It would also be good to add to Indian curries for a bit of extra kick.

I think I will be growing more of these! And the plant is pretty too, although mine is now kinda toppling over with the weight of all those chillies! Better get harvesting soon…

And finally, a recipe from cookalicious, try this dish with your homegrown or shop-bought chillies, great for summer! Spaghetti with Spicy Tomato and Chorizo Sauce.

So, Fairtrade goods are starting to reach the High Street clothes shops - unfortunately that seems to be London's Oxford Street for the moment - however there are some online shops that I can recommend for the rest of us.

Buy fair trade organic cotton clothing online:

• Hug.co.uk
• People Tree
• Traidcraft
• Gossypium

For those who like to see, touch and try before they buy, how about right here in Edinburgh's city centre? Go to the One World Shop, St. John's Church, Princes Street Edinburgh EH2 4BJ.

Enjoy!

And remember to buy fairtrade food whenever you see the logo:

• Bananas
• Citrus Fruits
• Coffee
• Tea
• Mangoes
• Sugar
• Chocolate and cocoa
• and much more…