Peppers, Peppers, and More Peppers by Jim McKeown

January 13, 2013 by rabbitreader2 | 3 Comments

Something peculiar has happened to me over the last few weeks.  For most of my life, I have avoided super spicy foods.  The thought of actually eating a jalapeño pepper never came close to entering my mind.  My mother was a plain cook, and I was comfortable with that eating style.

I guess it began with lunch at MCC.  For some strange reason – embedded in many conflicting rumors – peppers of any kind were not served in the Highlander Cafeteria.  So, we formed a pepper club, and regularly brought fresh peppers for snacking.  One day, a certain Mr. K joined us for lunch and asked about the peppers.  We told him the story, and a good laugh was had by all.

Several days later, he delivered a bag of what I thought were tiny, home-grown bell peppers.  I bit into one – almost half, mind you with seeds and all.  Then, the heat began, and someone said, these are not bells but habanero peppers

Cute, aren’t they.

Here is a link to a YouTube video, which will give you some idea of what I went through.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8ip5oGlMfU

Of course, I was not so loud or dramatic, but it took every cell in my body to resist a display like this.  I went to the bathroom to wash my hands and my burning face and ears.  The more I washed, the more I burned.  I swore off peppers of any kind forever!  That video has over 1 million views, so I guess I am glad I restrained myself.

But then, I began eating curry dishes at Bangkok Royale.  I loved them all, and I kept asking for the dishes to be hotter and hotter.  Then we ate dinner at Buzzard Billies, and I ate an “armadillo egg,” which was a piece of chicken stuffed with cheese and jalapeño slices all wrapped in bacon.  I LOVE these things.

Last week, while shopping, my wife bought a tray of six halves of jalapeño peppers stuffed with sausage and cheese and – you guessed it – wrapped in bacon.  I loved these.  So what did I do next?  Of course, I went to H.E.B. the other day, and bought 6 large jalapeño peppers, some sausage, cheese, and bacon.  We had company for dinner on Friday night, and I used three of them for the appetizer.  We each had two, but our guest declined, so my wife and I had three each.  I loved them!  Except we removed the seeds and veins, so they could not really have been that hot, right?.

But I still have three peppers, some cheese, some bacon, and some sausage.  Hmm.  What should we have as a side dish for dinner tonight?  And, more importantly, should I take out the seeds and veins this time?

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