Do you have a secret stash of wine or cheese that you only break out for special occasions? Or maybe it's your favorite jam that you can only buy once a year when you visit friends on the coast of Maine?
I have a stash, and it mostly comes from Even' Star Farm. My friend Brett grows lettuces, tomatoes and chilies that taste like nothing I've eaten before. He cultivates his seeds so that he grows the most flavorful products. Each variety of tomato has its own personality, each lettuce leaf has texture and a distinctive peppery-ness, and each pepper is has a unique combination of floral and spice. The chickens have almost a gamey flavor from eating an organic diet and getting lots of exercise. And the eggs have a sweet undertone from the sweet potatoes the chickens eat.
Unfortunately, I don't visit Brett nearly enough. So when I do, I preserve as much as I can to last me until the next visit or season. This summer, I canned 50 pounds of tomatoes and 10 quarts of my favorite Peachy Mama peppers. I have a quarter of a lamb in my freezer (the first first quarter I shared with friends for my birthday).
And I save all of this wonderful food for special occasions! Tuesday was a special day — with the inauguration of an intelligent, inspiring and thoughtful man as our president and the engagement of my friend R!
What better way to celebrate than to break into my stash! On the menu tonight: Rack of Lamb and Champagne!
To help you celebrate with me, I'd like to share some of my stash with you. I'll be giving away a jar of peachy mama peppers to three lucky winners. All you need to do is leave a comment on my blog between now and Wednesday, January 29th at 5pm EST.
As you can read about here and here, peachy mamas a treasured crop for me. Brett is the only one I know in North America growing them (though I've heard a rumor about a nursery in Southern California). The peppers are small and wrinkly like habaneros, but with a floral and sweet flavor. 
My favorite way to serve them is roasted with crackers: they make a perfect hors d'oeuvre. I also use them to season rice or succotash. Mixed with mint or corn, they make a wonderful relish. Lydia of The Perfect Pantry wrote about them here, when she served them with her birthday pizza.