I made my own charcoal for the grill last night. Basically, I wanted to grill for dinner but I was adamantly refusing to go to the store for anything. It took me just as long, and likely more effort, but I went to the edge of the woods and pulled out some good size branches that were cut down about a year ago. They even had the perfect range of tiny end branches for kindling, and thick branches to last through the grill sesh. Sawed them to grill pit length, and fired ‘er up.
Then I just prepped up everything the CSA didn’t take home this week – including extra peppers and the beets that had been snacked upon by some impolite critter out roaming the fields.
These peppers though – these came out as VIP for the night.
The little red ones are, I’m prepared to say, my favorite new crop this year. They are Lunchbox Snacking Pepper from Johnny’s and they’re vying for a match with cherry tomatoes for my top snacking bites for 2021. Just a pint of these, raw – plain or dipped in hummus, is quite delightful. But I wanted to try them charred up!
I knew the shishito peps would be great, they always are. Reliably delicious.
The orange ones though… I was considering ripping the plants out early. These are the Tequila Sunrise variety from Seed Savers. Their raw flavor is a bit bland, and they’re a pain to chop. So I’m glad I gave them one last chance and threw them in the grill pan last night, because they came out charred to perfection, flavor forward, with a lovely texture. And they were dipped in blue cheese and enjoyed thoroughly as an appetizer while the beets, squash, and potatoes sizzled along on that homemade charcoal.
Get you some searing peppers and toss them in a little bit of oil with a tiny bit of salt. Make yourself some charcoal and char up some peps with friends!
Pre-char pic:
Enka:ri Farm 
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