My Retirement - Peck of Peppers

Not up to par today, but doing OK

Look before you leap.


I have always loved hot, spicy food.  Instead of "have", I should say "had".  Over the years, when dining out, I always chose the menu items that had a one or two peppers listed beside them.  Trips to the hospital after eating some of these meals convinced me that my stomach was no longer cast iron, so I have amended my diet.  It was hard to give up, as I like food that has taste and is not boring.  However, time has marched on and what I could once easily consume, can now spell terminal heartburn.


My son always plants hot peppers.  Those little suckers grow like no other veggie, and each produce a very heavy crop of torture.  He is always so proud of his garden, but especially his chilies.  On Saturday, during our family and friends outing to a Wine Festival, Andy brought along his prized crop for people to taste.  A couple of people who have come along with us to this event before, volunteered to try them.  We also had a newbie and he, showing no hesitancy, opted to take the chance.  I have to say, he did very well, and seemed no worse for the effort.  Not sure he was putting on a brave face, and wonder how he felt a little later.  Nothing like meeting new people and then being given a pepper bomb.  Boy, we sure know how to welcome people.


On Monday, I had family over for a Labor Day celebration.  One of my menu items was small, sweet stuffed peppers.  I had bought them from a container that I thought were labeled "mild".  That morning I made my Italian sausage stuffing and started to clean and prepare the peppers.  I cut the tops off and felt a tickle in my throat.  The more I cut and cleaned, the worse my cough became.  I did not think much of it in the beginning, as I have been having a cough from my allergies and thought this was the cause of my distress.  By pepper #5, I realized I had a problem.  I checked on-line and saw that sweet peppers were mostly light green or yellow, and most of the hot ones were red, like I had. My hands started tingling and then got warm, followed by burning pain.  I washed and washed them in cold water, applied ice, put my hands in milk, all good antidotes, but they only relieved the pain for a few minutes.  My daughter came over a few hours later and suggested a baking soda paste and that seemed to work the best.  However, by this time, my chest hurt and I was not feeling too well.  It is two days later and I still cannot completely bend my hand into a fist and my throat is still sore.  It is getting better though.  It was determined that what I was preparing for my family was not a mild, tasty treat, but rather, depending upon which expert in my family you want to believe, was a Scotch bonnet or habanero, both quite potent.  My days of cooking "gourmet food recipes" is now over.  I may be back to Pablum and white rice.