I've been working a lot with them lately (hot peppers, not horrified sensitive body parts), obviously and thankfully. My pepper plants have done so well this year that I've resorted to freezing the little fire starters to save the bounty. I think the last time I froze an overabundance of garden goods was maybe 25 years ago, so I'm pretty thrilled.
I had a chest freezer we bought second hand, its curved top as pretty as the fender of my Mom's 1950 MG. It even had a flash freeze section that really worked, and it held up like a tank...one of the harder things to leave behind in one of many moves.
I don't have a photo of the freezer, but this is what my Mom's MG looked like
back in New Hope, PA once upon a story
back in New Hope, PA once upon a story
The old tomatoes are out of the garden, having given their best and the new are in, some seeds, some sprouts, some baby plants. The peppers keep on going, even while new ones are starting up. Plants I have no idea of their name or nature grow wildly well, and the orchid now has 5 blossoms.
Two kinds of mint, 4 kinds of basil, tarragon, oregano, chives, lemon balm and lemon grass along with racao are making cooking and tea more fun and full.
3 kinds of peppers (with another on its way) - ALL very, very hot
And now for your tips. These are from Patricia Solley, who wrote An Exaltation of Soups: The Soul-Satisfying Story of Soup, As Told in More Than 100 Recipes and some other books worth a read. Just her blog alone has my attention.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE:vIF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ULCERS OR WITH STOMACH ACIDS AND REFUSE TO GIVE UP YOUR CIGARETTES AND MARGARITAS OR REFUSE TO STOP WORRYING ABOUT YOUR KIDS / MATE / LOVER: 1) eat LOTS of cheese, 2) drink lots of cream, and 3) hope for the best.
NOTE:
IF YOUR MOUTH IS ON FIRE! Some things help. Lipoproteins such as the casein in milk and yoghurt (NOT cheese or butter, since it's casein and not fat that helps) give relief. In one tangle with a habanero (it won) I was okay as long as I held yoghurt to the nuclear bomb site on my lips--but back to pain plus the minute I swallowed. Another remedy is to swish and gargle with vodka, since capsaicin is soluble in alcohol. Be careful not to swallow, though, cause you'll end up burning holes in your stomach lining. Maybe the best was suggested to me by Ray, in Seattle: Swish your mouth with straight hydrogen peroxide, holding it without swallowing until it fizzles, then spitting it out. Then do it again. After the second application, the fire is under control. You can also hold a peroxide soaked paper towel to burning lips for relief.
NOTE:
IF YOU'RE TOO STUBBORN TO WEAR RUBBER GLOVES WHEN YOU'RE CUTTING CHILES AND THEN JUSTIFIABLY WORRY ABOUT RUBBING YOUR EYES OR PERFORMING OTHER BODILY FUNCTIONS. And this goes double for people who wear contact lenses and have to take them out at some point. WELL, there really IS a bonafide solution here--and I do mean solution. Just get yourself a little bowl of clorox (bleach), diluted 5 parts water to 1 part bleach, and so long as you dip your fingers in from time to time you've got the problem licked. Why? Capsaicin compound is not soluble in water, but chlorine or ammonia turns it into a salt, which IS soluble in water. Please be advised, though, you should never soak your hands in this solution--that will compound the problem and cause burns. Just dip the fingers quickly. Alternatively, one reader advises that you can also protect your hands by coating them lightly with vegetable oil as a barrier--not as good as rubber gloves, but the same principle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've never, EVER heard of the bleach trick! Hope you learned something too. Life is short, life is good. Enjoy your Saturday. Did I mention life is good?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE:vIF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ULCERS OR WITH STOMACH ACIDS AND REFUSE TO GIVE UP YOUR CIGARETTES AND MARGARITAS OR REFUSE TO STOP WORRYING ABOUT YOUR KIDS / MATE / LOVER: 1) eat LOTS of cheese, 2) drink lots of cream, and 3) hope for the best.
NOTE:
IF YOUR MOUTH IS ON FIRE! Some things help. Lipoproteins such as the casein in milk and yoghurt (NOT cheese or butter, since it's casein and not fat that helps) give relief. In one tangle with a habanero (it won) I was okay as long as I held yoghurt to the nuclear bomb site on my lips--but back to pain plus the minute I swallowed. Another remedy is to swish and gargle with vodka, since capsaicin is soluble in alcohol. Be careful not to swallow, though, cause you'll end up burning holes in your stomach lining. Maybe the best was suggested to me by Ray, in Seattle: Swish your mouth with straight hydrogen peroxide, holding it without swallowing until it fizzles, then spitting it out. Then do it again. After the second application, the fire is under control. You can also hold a peroxide soaked paper towel to burning lips for relief.
NOTE:
IF YOU'RE TOO STUBBORN TO WEAR RUBBER GLOVES WHEN YOU'RE CUTTING CHILES AND THEN JUSTIFIABLY WORRY ABOUT RUBBING YOUR EYES OR PERFORMING OTHER BODILY FUNCTIONS. And this goes double for people who wear contact lenses and have to take them out at some point. WELL, there really IS a bonafide solution here--and I do mean solution. Just get yourself a little bowl of clorox (bleach), diluted 5 parts water to 1 part bleach, and so long as you dip your fingers in from time to time you've got the problem licked. Why? Capsaicin compound is not soluble in water, but chlorine or ammonia turns it into a salt, which IS soluble in water. Please be advised, though, you should never soak your hands in this solution--that will compound the problem and cause burns. Just dip the fingers quickly. Alternatively, one reader advises that you can also protect your hands by coating them lightly with vegetable oil as a barrier--not as good as rubber gloves, but the same principle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've never, EVER heard of the bleach trick! Hope you learned something too. Life is short, life is good. Enjoy your Saturday. Did I mention life is good?
Had a bowl of shrimp tom yum at a great Thai restaurant last Wednesday. Waitress: Mild, medium or hot? Me: Hot. Waitress: *Smile*
ReplyDeleteIt came with a scoop of white rice. My first slurp sent shock waves directly to my brain, which triggered massive retaliatory autonomic reflexes, including tears streaming all over my shirt before I realized I was still alive. A felling that my nasal passages were packed with steel wool persisted for an hour. What I finally managed to do was to dip a spoonful of rice into the soup and let it soak up some broth off the top, where the pepper debris was at a low concentration. I think that the rice might have also had a cooling action, because when I dipped for shrimp and mushrooms near the surface, the broth was much hotter.
I'm a hot sauce veteran, but "Thai hot" is a dimension of consciousness not to be trifled with.
Great story, thanks for sharing your pain. Yep, those Thai's don't mess around...wonder what Glenn (the Lali Dama of things hot around here) would have thought.
ReplyDelete