Chile-spiked Simple Syrup

This time of year, I eat a jalapeno almost every day: on pizza, in tacos, topping my favorite Asian-style noodles and substituted for red pepper flakes in all-seasons pasta dishes.

But even that rate of consumption can’t keep pace with the all the jalapenos ready to pick from a single bush in my garden. Once we’re fearing frost, I’ll pull off all the chiles, roast them and freeze them for use all winter. That final push should come only after I’ve made several pints of salsa.

The problem this year is a lack of energy for making salsa. Between new work and home responsibilities and gearing up for my kids’ first day of distance learning, preservation efforts that I consider summertime standards seem too time-consuming.

Indeed, when time gets tight in the home kitchen, it’s time for something simple. And simple syrup has been just my speed this summer.

It started with rhubarb, a handful of stalks to simmer into something sweet, so simple syrup it was. When the sour cherries came on strong, after I pitted some for the freezer, I put up the rest, maraschino-style, in simple syrup. When some bargain-priced blueberries purchased by the flat started to wither, syrup for pancakes, french toast and other breakfast items was the obvious remedy.

Simple syrup to use in beverages and to jumpstart other preserves is the ticket for chiles, too. This recipe from the Los Angeles Times also incorporates lemon for a mixer that goes equally well in lemonade as it does in a margarita.

Cutting a slit in a fresh chile without splitting it open infuses the syrup with a little heat. If you want a really spicy syrup, you can split the whole chile in half or slice it.