"Buena Mulata Pepper" and "Pippin" were handwritten on a baby food jar that a young William Woys Weaver found in the bottom of the deep freezer in his grandmother’s basement, a decade after his plant-loving grandfather’s untimely death. If you’ve heard of the Fish Pepper, this story probably sounds familiar. There were many important and beautiful varieties of seeds in that lucky freezer, and many that passed from Philly- and Baltimore-based Black caterers' hands to now-famed painter Horace Pippin, including this purple-to-red cayenne type Buena Mulata. Seeds stay viable longer in the freezer; our heirlooms only survive if someone finds them in storage and places them in soil; and stories only live when they are told. I'm bringing these to Portland, OR to be included in a dish created by Sam Smith of @tuskpdx that will highlight the Fagiolina del Trasimeno at the @culinarybreedingnetwork Variety Showcase on Monday night. #buenamulata #cayenne #capsicumannuum #williamwoysweaver #roughwoodseedcollection #seedsaving #seedkeeping #seedstories #horacepippin #buenamulatapepper #culinarybreedingnetwork (at The Nines, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Portland, OR)