Save a Horse

One of the best things that came from being given the privilege of teaching students with special needs has been that they have needs I can't meet. I know you are thinking wtf??? She is admitting that she can not do it ALL! Be assured hell has not started selling snow cones.

Teaching students with visual impairments was like entering a foreign country for me. I felt inept. And scared. Yes, I was scared to death of 3 little blind girls. But because I was scared and felt unprepared it made me receptive to getting as much help from the real professionals as possible. In comes the "best thing" part, Eileen. Eileen came in to teach the kids but has taught me more than I care to admit. She has also become one of the best friends I have ever had. She lets me be me and as crazy as that is at times, she still likes me.

She works with brilliant people at FSU who want to make a real difference in how students with visual impairments experience the world. Lucky for me she brings me along to events where I get a chance to meet and mingle with the new crop of up and coming vision teachers. This year I was wracking my brain to think of what I could bring to the annual brunch. I have a bumper crop of jalapenos this season and am trying to find creative uses for them so I went to my handy dandy internets and found exactly what I needed.

Cowboy Candy. Seriously sweet syrup pickled jalapenos. Here's how I made them-

2 small jelly sized mason jars
1 larger sized mason jar

1 1/2 lbs washed and thinly sliced jalapenos
1 lb washed and sliced small sweet peppers

In a large pot I heated the following to boiling and boiled for 5 minutes.
1 1/3 c apple cider vinegar
4 c sugar
2 T garlic powder
1 T tumeric
1 tsp celery flakes

After the mixture boiled for 5 minutes I added the jalapenos and boiled for 3-5 minutes. Then I scooped them out of the liquid into 2 of the mason jars. Next I returned the mixture to a boil and added the sweet peppers. This allowed them to pick up some mild heat from the jalapeno oils but not enough to become fire bombs. I cooked them for the 3-5 minutes and scooped them into a larger mason jar. I let the syrup in the pot cool and then filled each jar up to near the rim, wiped the edges with a damp paper towel and put the lids on.

This is where if you do that voodoo that you do, canning, you'd do that. I decided mine would be kept in the fridge so I just let them chill.

At the brunch I served them with cream cheese and plain old Ritz crackers as a spicy, sweet, accompaniment to the creaminess of the cheese. They were cute and delicious. I knew they were a success when I turned around and Eileen had schmeared (which is the technical term for putting cream cheese on a bagel)a bagel and decorated the top with all the little jalapenos and the sweet, tongue tingling sticky syrup.

My Favorite First loved adding the sweet peppers to his grilled mahi burger. Give them a try if you ever find yourself happily or hopelessly up to your hiney in jalapenos.