Turn up the Heat

Maybe it is a "safe" way of getting that adrenaline rush and feeling like you are living dangerously...as long as that glass of milk or creamcicle is waiting to quench the heat when the fire gets to be too much. Or it can just be a way of helping bad food be more palatable.  Who's eaten military issued MREs?  They all come with those little bottles of tabasco, because let's face it, NO ONE wants to choke down shelf stable cheese omelet from a plastic bag without a little help.

My virtual tastebuds are still reeling from Tommy Typicals mention of Fish Wine. Chili peppers at 6am is/are a bit of a shock to the system.

Once you get a taste for the zest, the bland is never enough. Though after an evening of hot Native Thai cuisine and a late night visit to Ben and Jerry's the famous morning cry from the porcelain throne is "hurry up ice cream!"

Skyline 5 way w/ oyster crackers......................a little bit of heat, a whole lot of love...........................

The key to the use of spicy peppers is whether they are being used to mask the taste (after all, pre-frigeration meat could get less tasty before it was used up) or are they being used to enhance the taste.

Insects are put off by the taste of chili peppers, whereas people (some, not all) are driven to them, like a moth to the flame. This explains why insects proliferate, whereas humans often barely get by. Man may be equipped with the potential for higher intelligence, but there is always "the human condition" standing in the way of progress. This is an extrapolation of the self-defeatist phenomenon illustrated by Charles Schultz so succinctly when he sketched Charlie Brown, continually trying to kick the football held so generously by Lucy.....until of course she yanks it away. SPLAT.

Good one, Bert!

CD- You are correct. My collection of hot sauces must have taste not just fire. Even the "Bottled Hell" has some attributes. I have always held Tabasco in high regard. World Market has a nice selection. Fresh peppers are always better but wash thoroughly and repeat before touching eyes or family jewels.

Nachista-my brother-in-law was in Desert Storm for the duration and choked down many a MRE. He said some were so bad they'd hold a gun on each other and force the other to eat. When finished, he'd pass the gun to the next soldier and make them hold the gun while he ate.

Maybe Tabasco would have changed the outcome of the Lizzy Borden incident.
I heard somewhere they were having 3 day old unrefrigerated lamb stew.

It was never clear whether the psychiatrist who moved in next door was from India or Pakistan but it was one or the other.
Oddly, they were very keen to fence their yard with an eye to protecting their two children who were 1) never seen outside and 2) so relentlessly royal that day care was always ugly and short and any abduction would have had a "Ransom Of Red Chief" quality to it and ended quickly.
We got off on the wrong foot when he, upon discovering that his proposed fence could not be placed on the property line because of underground, power, phone and cable, came over to request and it was clear that he had not had much experience in that area, that it be moved two feet in our direction rather than his.
"We are friends you and I and it is a small thing."
We were as tight, I suppose, as two neighbors could have been where one felt comfortable making an unusual demand on the other before having held out his hand and introduced himself.
"If," I explained, "you were my brother, I would refuse, to maintain the integrity of the lot lines but if you were my brother, you would know better than to ask."
The home cooking aromas emanating from their place put me in mind of great curries and one day, a plumber was working over there and the water turned off when our very unlucky neighbor after dealing in the kitchen with hot peppers, used the bathroom without having been able to wash his hands.
No man could help but sympathize with a fellow in that predicament and I showed him the garden hose and figured he deserved privacy so, I went inside... and watched from the kitchen window over his head.
"Hoo-da-wa-dee-ho," he moaned repeatedly as he directed cold water under his blue and green silk garment.
About the time he seemed to be experiencing some relief, he noticed that the fabric of his garment had, in two places filled with water and we're talking about at least fifteen gallons… seriously.
Insult to injury you might say and in the end, he reluctantly punctured holes with a long handled weed digger and dragged himself back home the most woebegone, bedraggled self-important person I had ever seen.


 

Great story Stoney! He might have fared better had you brought him a glass of milk to apply directly rather than all that water!

The year I was in 6th grade we lived on E.74th St. In Manhattan. Eleanor Roosevelt lived right down the block and I constantly watched for her and remained disappointed. On the floor below us lived the Ambassador to the United Nations from India. They were extremely Royal and Grand and arrived and left alwys by limo. Their food was so fragrant that the smell of cloying curry began to cling to our furniture and curtains, and my father began to mumble things about it when he got home from work.

I felt I had to do something in that fierce 10 going on 11 year old way. Since I spent a great deal of time hanging out my window on 74th street I began to eyeball the top of their limo as calling to me. And so began my limo roof blittz. I scoured the house for tooth paste, handcream, paper bags of reddi whip, shaving cream, anything that would create a satisfactory SPLAT both visually and as sound effect.

There is no ending to this tale as I never got busted by either the driver or my parents (which would have been far worse). I just enjoyed my surreptitous little thrill waiting for the right moment (which meant NO WITNESSES)and then BLAMMO hitting the bullseye. I shall never know if I was merely indulged by the Ambassador's staff or I got away with it. After a couple of months I moved on to some other passion and forgot about it. TMI? Stoney's fault--inspired by his tale.

I have never been to India, but I have been to Indiana.  The food there is mostly bland and could use
some spicing up.  Skyline is available in
some towns, but that is Greek chili and the Greeks are about to quit the Eurozone.  Perhaps they will join the Mideast zone or
the far east zone.  We could also adopt
them as our 58th state.  I am
not certain where 51 through 57 are, but I am certain that our soon to be two
term incumbent could bluff his way through the naming of all 57 varieties.  Al Franken could tutor him if need be. 

I too had a neighbor who was an Indian.  His father was the chief of the Creek
tribe.  He did not like fences and, even
being the son of a chief, had no propensities toward royalty. He did shower
once (in complete privacy I might add) at our house when his water service was
interrupted.  He was also a very good and
oft requested ceremonial dancer and on many occasions we were fortunate enough
to watch the tribal ceremonies in which he would partake.  He did not require fire food or spicy water
to dance.  Somehow this story might seem
to parallel the tale that Stoney told.  However,
just as Columbus was mistaken when he set foot in the new world, thinking he
was in India, I too could be mistaken. 

Guam, DC, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guantanamo, Canada, Mexico.

I have been told that the spices enable the body to adapt to
hot climates.  It might hold true for
cold climates also, but once again, I could be mistaken.

The bold type is to honor the missing ivan jalopkin.  I don't know what to do for miss blue.

If this doesn’t give you the warm fuzzies, nothing will…well
almost next to nothing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JD6ejmlpa8

Please make it stop.

We use chilies several ways in different dishes. My wife makes a good pot of chilie in which she adds jalapoinas to iven it up, not so hot as we have aged a bit but when we were younger she used many more per pot that is used today ,plus chilie powder. When we were youger her chilie could consume 49 times its weight in Rolaids. When friends came over a fair amount of beer was also consumed. whither or not the beer helped or not wasn't an issue--we were young and enjoying life.

One of my wifes former roommate from school had just returned from SE Asia after a your with the Peace Corps and was at out house and we were serving chilie and my wife had forgotten how any chilies she had put in the pot to simmer and forgot to remove  one. Of course our guest bit into in in aspoon ful of this delightful red taste treat. after other things had failed she wound up gargling with milk to try to get the heat out of her mouth. However all was forgiven, my wife was a bridesmaid at the friends wedding.

One of my wifes former roommate from school had just returned from SE Asia after a your with the Peace Corps and was at out house and we were serving chilie and my wife had forgotten how any chilies she had put in the pot to simmer and forgot to remove  one. Of course our guest bit into in in aspoon ful of this delightful red taste treat. after other things had failed she wound up gargling with milk to try to get the heat out of her mouth. However all was forgiven, my wife was a bridesmaid at the friends wedding.

Non-citizens or new citizens who imply that if you knew who and what they are or were, everything would be different, do not fare well in this area… that being anywhere between Canada, Mexico and the two oceans.
It must be tough to come from some kind of upper class to find out that you are just the condescending, not particularly friendly or well-received dork on the corner.
They did not last long and sold to a college teacher from Maryland who did not like the food in the area but with whom I could at least talk about stroke.

While I can appreciate well prepared hot foods, I myself am not a heat seeker.  I almost never cook with chilis unless I know it will enhance the flavor of the dish.  For me flavor and texture/mouth feel comes before the heat factor.  However once in a while it is nice to feel the burn and work up a good sweat, if only to clear the sinuses and feel the sweet exhileration of relief.

This place is getting a little lonely--Ivan and Miss blue missing. 
 
Used to enjoy really spicy food, but the years have quited my taste.  Also, could be that no longer being a smoker has had something to do with how well or what I taste.  Still want some spice but certainly not like fifteen years ago.  It was well worth quiting even if the degree of heat in the chili needs to be lower.

An older guy on the maintenance staff at the bank had slept, in what he called his "airy" (area), through the meeting at which he would have learned that his new boss was me.
He had an annual taco party which we attended and at which he thought it very entertaining to serve super hot tacos to me, which was one thing, and to my wife which was another.
He had all weekend to revel in that enjoyment before learning on Monday, that his work life was about to become a living hell.
His private partitioned corner in a large storage area disappeared as did his collection of porn, coffee pot, hot plate, phone and the pile of moving blankets he used for a bed.
He was obliged to eat with the cafeteria staff and report to me hourly.
I rode that thoughtless little fart until he begged for mercy and needed a week off to recover just from being obliged to put in an honest week's work.
He could have bought his way out of the doghouse by eating a pickled Scotch Bonnet pepper from a little jar on my desk. He didn't and eventually, found other employment.

Nachista ~
I toss a dried chipotle into the vegan sloppy joe stuff that I make for our daughters and pitch it before serving. It gives a nice smokey flavor and a bit of heat. Even our little grandson enjoys it.

Stoney:  I really like your story.  Very much.  I know someone like that, they weren't Indian though, they were something else, and they took issue with everything about where they were currently living, which was my hometown, and nothing was right, except themselves, and when nobody noticed how right they were, they moved.  I don't know where to, but when Mayflower pulled away and rumbled down the street with them and their belongings, there was much rejoicing in the neighborhood....When you're a stranger in a strange land and not liking it, it never hurts to recall that many call it home, and will continue to do so long after you've packed up your mule and wandered off to Elsewhere.

I got an email from IVAN and I haven't searched for Ms Blue, but I know the lady's got a lot on her plate right now.  She leads a busy life.  But like General MacArthur, she will return - especially if she finds out she's being compared to MacArthur....

Some like it hot...and some don't.  Stoney your last, about the guy who served hot hot hot to Mrs. is reminiscent of a neighbor of ours who would spike my drinks - make something frothy (which I don't like anyway) and cover up the taste of the liquor with the sweet stuff.  Or a relative of mine who at a party at which my husband and I were guests of honor - he offered to make me a drink, I said yes, and I drank it and I felt numb from head to foot and not at all in shape for a reception line.   Turns out the comedian put a rum into it that had an illegally high alcohol content, he'd got it at some island somewhere, and anyhow, it was not pretty, meaning me or him, when my husband got through with him.   ...  People who don't respect personal lines, or property lines - they're the same, and both of them, noxious.

When I make chili things, I go for tasty rather than hot-hot-hot, selection of sauces and pickles available for those who wish to turn it into what my son charmingly calls a 'ring stinger.' To my mind, too hot food is like too loud music or too wet weather.
There is snow on the mountains. This is supposed to be May. I want my money back.
We used to care for an African Grey parrot that belonged to a family friend - parrot came to our house for his holidays and was well behaved until us kids discovered  the scarily hot little red chillies that grew wild in our garden hedge prompted this normally well spoken bird to exclaim "Bloody hell!" The parrot obviously liked chili, as when we gave him a bowl of assorted fruit and veg, he'd go for the the chili peppers first - and, oddly, he never swore except when he ate chilies. Parrot would sit on your shoulder, nibble your ear and say "I love you.." so, despite being banished from the house into the car port for bad language, he was a sweetheart. I think my mother was scared of him.

Our IVAN was blasted offline by a thunderbolt to a local electricty substation. He'll be back.

Ry Cooder sang of FDR coming to Trinidad. Hope he had the Creole Pepper Sauce in the land of the hummingbird. Soulfully Hot like Mr. Cooder-
"We are privileged to see the democratic president of the great republic
With his charming and genial personality and his wonderful urbanity
We were struck by his modest style and we were intrigued by the famous Roosevelt smile
No wonder why everybody was glad to welcome Roosevelt to Trinidad
Now we understand that the president has just been on a visit
to Brazil and the Argentine
Mr. Cordell Hull in attendance they took part in a peace conference
To stop war and atrocity and make the world safe for democracy
The greatest event in the century in the interest of suffering humanity"

The great republic. What an ideal idea!

Thank you Hazel..........you know how I worry

While I am not a fan of hot stuff, my significant other most certainly IS. He can pour Tabasco on everything from sandwiches to eggs, and be happy as the sweat rolls down his face! His research in peppers tells me that the above mentioned pepper is NO LONGER the hottest pepper on earth....Sorry, Mr. P.

The Scorpion Pepper of Trinidad is now holding that honor....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad_Scorpion_Butch_T_pepper

However, both are safe from me, and will not have me testing them any time soon. I will give my share to anyone brave enough to be hurt by this heat!

My guy likes the jalapenos and tabascos I grow int he big pots on the deck...He will scoop out the insides of the jalapenos, stuff them with cream cheese and crab meat, and then grill them in a special rack he got from Williams Sonoma. He scarfs them up, but I tried one and had a spoonful of jelly to get over it.

We make pepper sauce with peppers we grow and the cider vinegar to give as gifts for holidays. They are pretty in those glass vinegar carafes you can buy.
If you like hot stuff, go for it!! Leave me out....I like tangy from vinegar or white pepper like in milky soup, but no ghost peppers or scorpion peppers, thanks!

STONEY & PARK....................gggggggggrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaatttttttttttttt stories. Those people deserved what came to them tricking people w/ food or alcohol is as low as you can go & still pass under the dance stick....................
 
PARK-O-POLIS..................I've only been asking for days, bout time you showed up. Glad all is well in bambi land.........................
 
Glad to hear that IVAN is okay..........that is good to hear.......I am obviously loving the word hear..................
 
OT......................does anyone own the Ice cream ball that you have to roll or shake for 20 minutes to make ice cream? Give me a yay or a nay, please............................

A period after them. New sentence w/ tricking.................doh.................

Tobasco is for putting two or three drops into a Bloody Mary.

GOOD PEOPLE of THE VILLAGE !!!!!!!
 
 
My Greetings, and My Thanks to You All !!!
 
 
"Chile Pepper" is oddly constructed Redundancy ... Chile MEANS  PEPPER ... in Spanish and Ladino .......
 
To explode another Myth ....... Don't ever believe a damn'd thing anyone tells you about Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters' being a protections for your Computer from Lightning Strike or other Electric surge in or around your Home, or wherever you may have your Computer .....
 
UNplugging your Computer from the wall outlet is the only way to avoid damage ... However, that intelligence is not available to persons like me, who have a Telephone that works only thru the Computer, because if the Computer is not plugged in, you have no phone ....... Plugging the phone straight into the Modem will leave you subject to the same Surge or Backlash .......
 
so, ... I have been off the air for almost two weeks, building another Computer, and salvaging what I could from ther Old one .......
 
Extremely Sorry I missed Y'all on Friday .......
 
Blessings, and Glad to be back ... Miss'd Y'all .......

I do love a little tabasco on eggs when it is cold out, and a little on my beans and rice along with the olive oil and vinegar.  I think it is the vinegar flavor in most hot sauces that I like, more so than the actual peppers.  Although I am craving a buffalo chicken sandwich now...thanks a lot.
 
Welcom back Ivan, sorry about the deep fried computer, are you going to be holding a funeral for it?

Miss bebe ~ the ice cream ball is fun for the kiddles and it works relatively well...relative to the amount of effort required to produce a Graeter's quality product.                                                                                                                                                                       
Welcome home Ivan.

When my spaceship crashed all those many years ago and I strolled into that little Cantina near El Paso, a friendly chap named Pancho opened up a zippered pouch and extracted a dried pepper and nodded to the barkeep who brought me a cactus juice and I writhed in pain and looked up just as the Hopi Kachina doll laughed in a Jerry Reed voice "When you're hot you're hot".

Ivan- Welcome back to the Cyber World. Destroy that old hard drive. Ain't no secrets no more. No sir. Blessings.

Ivan ~ Welcome back -- so glad to hear it was just electronics...........it's so nice to know you're missed.

Park4 ~
We're always on the same page.
I do tend to get annoyed with Americans abroad seeking a thatched roof cottage only to constantly complain that their over-sized American furniture, already in transit, "Will never fit in."
Hey, that's all right… neither will you.

I always include a pinch of cayenne in white sauces where the heat has no chance to assert itself owing to the richness of the deal but it does a little something.

Ivan ~
Nice

I have heard of ice cream headaches and ice cream throat but never ice cream balls.

Ivan welcome back...you've been missed!Bebe---I tried that with preschoolers and they were very active participants in both the making and the consuming.   I wouldn't purchase one for home, but for fun for kids?  Go for it! Chili heat:  a little goes a long way, but I am building up to hotter.  My son in law keeps me on the look out for heat in a bottle and he's gradually indoctrinating me.  I certainly haven't advanced much on the Scovill scale.  It is very safe to say that the sweating that occurs upon consumption does help you cool off in the sub-continents.....at least it worked for me.  After eons of working with that kind of heat they know how to handle it, so it's not just a torch down your insides.
 

Maybe you would recognize the Ice Cream Ball invoCATion:

Ice Cream Cats come out to-night
Ice Cream Cats come one come all:
The Ice Cream Moon is shining bright -
Ice Creams come to the Ice Cream Ball.

with apologies to the poet.

When i was a kid we had snap-together spheres that had a tobe on opposite ends. You would cram as much ice cream in it, snap it shut, stick one end into a bottle of Coka Cola and drink through the other end. Instant soda.

I prefer ice creamy chilly to chili hot any day, any way, anyhow......

I never understood those who would crow and pound their chest because they were able to eat a pepper so hot that it made their eyes water, their head sweat profusely, turn the inside of their mouth to celephane and shoot flanes out of their back side.

.....but then again,if i could,.........maybe i would............nah

Agree, Stoney, we are.....and IVAN, I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW NICE IT IS TO SEE YOUR BOLD LETTERED COMMENT, I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE BACK - DON'T GO AWAY ANY MORE.  okay?

Contribution to topic:  for PeterLake, the ice cream guy:  have you tried to make chili ice cream?  I know, you're shaking your head...but it's a favorite on the night time cooking shows on the Food Network.  A current favorite...trendy, like.  And I know how much you like all things trendy... I think it was ancho chili peppers and some ice cream mixture and you throw it in the ice cream maker and in a while you have hot ice cream, in a sense.  Unless you let the ice cream maker go for too long, and then you have ancho chili butter.  Which might not be bad....

PL: I'm kidding about you liking trendy...I just reread and I don't think that I was clear.  Just joking.<wink>

When I make hot chocolate for myself I use dark chocolate, heavy cream, and add a little pinch of chili powder and a big pinch of cinnamon.  It just makes me happy

Park, ixnay on the hot pepper ice cream......just seems like they would cancel each other out....but i could be wrong

Now goat cheese and cherry ice cream.......that i can do....

I'm a p,ain 'ol vanilla bean guy from way back......can you say banana split...

http://jenisicecreams.com/

PAOLOS......................thank you for that, only you! By the way, Krogers now sells Graeters............................oh my, oh my, oh my...........................

CAROL.................I am thinking they would love it..................

IVAN......................we at the eye are officially thrilled to see you!

STONEY......................go to the L.l. Bean catalog & you will see an ice cream ball..........................

PL..................I LOVE a vanilla ice cream soda & where I teach there is a pharmacy/soda fountain place on the square & The guy who has worked there forever makes the most delicious vanilla ice cream sodas, they transport me to heaven...........

A Xerox Candy Bar by Richard Brautigan Kind of Evening
"Ah, you're just a copy of all the candy bars I've ever eaten."
Inspired me to write An Emailed PDF Jalapeño- "oh, you're just a scanned image of all the jalapeños I've ever washed down with a Pacifico." My cats call me a copy human.

I second P4's comment Ivan. "Don't go away anymore." And if you do...please get a hall pass from me in advance.

LADIES & GENTLEMEN ....... and Good Evening To You .......
 
I swear on a stack of Old Nudist Rules (Old Rules, for Nudists ... NOT the other way ...) that it was not my intention to be away ... Electronic Misanthropy, I assure you all .......
 
I realy and truly have missed you all, and it feels Good to be back ... almost thru Formatting this New Unit, and playin' Meskin Catch-Up with the Mail ... Hope to have it finished by Noon tomorrow .......
 
MISS PENN:  I have been known to make a Pass or two in the Hall ....... but I'll work on the Hall Pass if you say so !!!
 
Has anybody ever noticed that, most Nudists, are people that nobody really wants to see naked in the first place ???

I checked to see which chilies go with what wine, and found "WHOA" is the whine

and then there is horseradish,with mustard oil.....make you walk on your knees with so many tears in your eyes you would drink Tobasco® for relief

ELECTRONIC MISANTHROPY.  I like that, Ivan.  And I love seeing your name here...it makes the world feel right again.

Ivan! Welcome back....your writing is joyous...