Habbie flakes

I love my brother-in-law Dan, a self described Algebra teacher/Media Specialist/Rock Star. He also happens to be a fabulous Indiana gardener, a first rate goof ball, and an amazing husband and father.  He’s my husband’s next oldest brother and these guys are two peas in a pod.

Here he is in all his goofy glory schooling me on his habanero drying process.  First of all I love his look - the swimming goggles, the gloves, the ice-cream scoop.  Wait - what?  More on that later….

Dan’s habbie flakes

Dan says, to dry habaneros and use them for the year ahead it takes lots of habaneros.  Lots.

Harvest them off the plant and strap on the goggles.  Goggles must be snug.  That’s an important tip. Then slice them up as shown below with a sharp knife, a machete, a scalpel, scythe, or as shown here, a fancy pizza cutter.

Slicing habaneros

Place them on an an oven sheet and bake low and slow at 175 degrees for 8 - 10 hours.

Now, find a spice jar in the pantry you haven’t used in a while & dump it out, wash & dry the jar.  Don’t tell your wife.  She probably needed that.

When the habbies are nice & dry, pull them out & place on a cutting board.  Whack them with mallet, a rolling pin, a skillet, a baseball bat….or, as shown here, the back of an ice-cream scoop.

The idea is to get the right grind in order to create the desired shaker flakes.  Also important, don’t breath.  Must hold your breath.

Repurposing a previously needed spice jar

And here you are - victory!  Amazing, homegrown Habbie Flakes to sprinkle on pizza, pasta, garlic bread, sandwiches and scrambled eggs, add to chili and cornbread…the list goes on.  So much better than anything you would buy in the store - these are made with love and ingenuity, pizza cutters and ice-cream scoops.  Nothin’ better.  Love it Dan!  You are a rock star.

Dan’s Habbie Flakes