Dried chillis

While my tomato plants may have been a write-off this year, the chilli plants really took up the slack: lately they’ve been producing ripe fruit much faster than we can eat Thai basil chicken, our favourite application for fresh chillis. This weekend, I finally admitted defeat, and decided that I had to take action to preserve the harvest and stave off the evil forces of mold. I stemmed and halved dozens of chillis, and sent them on a four-hour trip through the dehydrator. This is what I ended up with: a small mountain of fruity, spicy goodness that will last me all winter long, used in pastas, soups, and any other dishes that need a little kick.