u/LadyLurkQueen

First year with reapers, and they're growing great with no sign of stopping. I made some chicken with half of one to taste it and gauge the heat. I felt like I was pepper spraying my kitchen once they hit the pan. I used the other half in an egg and rice bowl raw.

The heat isn't as frightening as I expected... it's hot, but I was unreasonably afraid. The problem I'm having is that I don't love the flavor. It gives intense black peppercorn with a splash of fruit, and I compare it to my favorite ghost peppers, and it's just not my preference.

That said, I have several and more to come, so while I'm unlikely to use them further in cooking, I'm considering sauces.

Any recommendations for sauce recipes that will complement reapers or other use options?

Outside on the deck, my plants are flourishing. Full, green, and happy even in 90°+ and 70%+ humidity. Indoors where the temperature is low 70s and I have grow lights for them because the natural light is not very bright inside. I fertilize and water regularly... even got self watering pots in case my watering habits were the problem. I tried them in different areas in case one was under a vent getting too cold or some other possibility. At least 5 plants (probably more) have officially died [edit - I definitely remember a dead lemon tree, a dead loquat tree, a dead bonsai tree, several different dead flowers and 3 dead poinsettias, and a previous dead orchid], and the last 2 hanging on for dear life I've just put outside to see if they can come back. On one of the two, the sun burned all of the established leaves, but it has had 12 new leaves grow in their place, so that's something (pictured). The other is still looking sad.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong innate though. Is the air in my house poisoned? Am I breathing in poison? I'm only half joking with the question because it has to be something.

I'd really like to have some plants inside but maybe I'm just not a candidate for indoor plants 😓

We're filling with flowers and even have a few early peppers starting. The big one with the blue sage flower (pics 1-4) is a ghost and the one with the marigold is a reaper. Pics 1&5 are where we stared and the rest are where we are now. Pic 9 is a bad picture of a tiny lizard friend who has been doing a fantastic pest control job.

So excited about the progress.

Deer. The answer is deer.

I was super excited about my dough this time. It actually felt like it was going to make bread.

I genuinely can't see the difference in pictures between under proofed and over proofed, but I'm guessing it's one of those.

I open bake on a pizza stone with boiling water in a pan underneath. I don't know if the temperature was right for that. Also, I tried doing a 2nd expansion after 12 minutes... I thought I was doing it wrong, so it was hesitant and shallow, but next time, I'll do it deeper.

It is bad, but it's at least as good as the one given to me a few weeks ago from a "baker," so I'm eating it... I think it needs more salt.

*150g starter, 350g+20g water, 500g flour, 10g salt

Starter at peak, 4 stretch and folds, 3hr proofing on the counter, shaped in the fridge 10h, oven heated to 450 then lowered to 420 when loaf put in 20 mins, oven heat at 450 for 20 mins.*

So this was my first try and I'm optimistic. Well 1st try is misleading, the very first was too wet so I tried to add more flour to save it late in the game so it was way over proofed and so I turned it into something resembling foccia that was too dense.... so effectively this was my first try.

I'm still missing the step when it becomes a solid dough ball. When I took this out of the proofing basket it continued to flatten itself out so I'm definitely not doing this right or timing it right yet. It sat for like 14-16 hrs like the guy in the video, but I'm not sure if that was too long or not long enough.

What made me really laugh was that I talked to a friend about my struggles, and she told me a friend of hers stated selling baked goods including sourdough. My friend brought some and brought me a loaf. The crust was nice, but the crumb was as gummy as mine was and I was too embarrassed to let anyone eat it. If nothing else, it helped me get over my embarrassment and I'm ready to try again this weekend.

I used this recipe https://youtu.be/ibPl0n9x54k?is=-C-EDY1QDLebhmSK, but maybe I need to try the traditional way if anyone has guidance. I don't have a Dutch oven, but I have a pizza stone and a pan of water just as a note.

I started the season buying a reaper starter (green pot) and then found seeds from a previous ghost plant that I'd forgotten in my fridge. I thought the fridge might have killed them, but one of the ghosts (brown pot) came up very strong. But all of the ghost seeds in fact came up... and it's not like I could throw them away so they got tossed into the big barrel planter in the yard.

This is my first time trying worth companion plants in the pots although tbf the marigold and tomato were volunteers. (Should I move the tomato or let it grow there?) Added sage, cilantro and basil to the pots. I'd say they were crowded, but they look really happy... so far.