EVERYTHING just tastes better with a dash of one or a smear of the other. I've always enjoyed adding "hot" to my food. Well, that is until I lived alone in Nigeria. I had gone to the market alone and bought hot peppers to add to a rice dish I was creating. I needed to give it bit of spice, so I found some fabulous little peppers. I had heard they were hot, but I had never eaten one or cooked with one. They were little right? How hot could they be?
I chopped and added them to my pan. It just didn't seem like enough. So, I chopped and added more. It still didn't seem like enough. Just a little more......Perfect. I had steamed vegetables and rice stir-fried with peppers. I won't tell what happened with the homemade bread. That's different story for another time. I sat myself down and began to eat. I was so hungry, and it looked so pleasing to the eye that without considering the outcome I took a giant bite. That world changing bite filled with beautiful orange habanero peppers. I had forgotten to pour myself anything to drink. Imagine that? Ever had your taste buds stripped from your mouth?
I've never cooked with these again. I stick to jalapenos which are better fresh off the vine from my yard. Did you know that boiling jalapenos will make them a little less hot, but will saturate the air with the oils from their skins causing all the air to be sucked from your lungs? Oh, that's not entirely true. Feels true, but that too, is another story.
What's your favorite "hot" to add to your meals?
Hi Vanessa,
ReplyDeleteSomeone once made a 'hot' chili. It was so intolerable that I have been a mild person ever since;) Saying hello from your chick lit blog;)
I love spicy food! My favorite snacks are those sriracha peas and this new seaweed snack I found made with wasabi. I still like to taste my food, though, so I try to only go to the point where spicy becomes taste bud meltdown. I made my own hot sauce one year with habeneros from the garden and you are completely right, it sucks out your lungs to boil those puppies.
ReplyDeleteI like a little hot, just enough to taste and certainly not enough to set my mouth on fire. Oooh, I've been there and done that, tasting Indian and Island foods. The memory is enough to keep me away.
ReplyDeleteI'm stopping by as a Campaigner, by the way. Hope to see you down the road, around the corner or whatever. Nice meeting you.
Ow, my mouth hurts just to think about it!
ReplyDeleteI'm a fellow Campaigner saying hello. Good luck with the Campaign!
Ooh. I'm not much of a 'hot' food person myself. I prefer pickles. :)
ReplyDeleteSpicy food makes me salivate for more.
ReplyDeleteLately, I've had a taste for hot Italian gardiniera. Basically, it's peppers and other chopped vegetables in a vinegar/oil combination.
Yikes! I like spicy, but not habeñero spicy. That's a bit much for me!
ReplyDeleteHi, stopping by to say hi. I'm in your campaign group (40). I also love to add hot stuff to my food- mostly pepper. Lots and lots of pepper.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big 'hot food' type of person...more for everyone else though.
ReplyDeleteWow, you've got many "other stories" coming from this one post. I am not a hot food person at all! Cinnamon gum is too spicy for me, if you get my drift. So I am in awe of those who can handle the hot stuff.
ReplyDelete