Monday, September 19, 2016

Pepper Pain

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to get domestic and make some homemade salsa. I had done it before with various types of peppers - jalapeno, serrano, poblano - but nothing too crazy. I decided to buy two habaneros yesterday to add a little extra kick to the salsa because, you know, YOLO, as the kids say.

Bad idea.

I didn't even get the pepper into the salsa before trouble reared its ugly head. I had the windows open in the kitchen and my allergies had been kicking in a little bit, so while dicing the pepper, I had to wipe my nose.

Oops.

The pain slowly crept into my nose, and then flooded its way into my sinus cavity. The numbness began to overtake my face - it was a weird feeling to describe - but after a while, I was able to look up a method to alleviate the pain.

Google suggested I use corn starch. I obviously didn't have any, so I just covered my face in flour. Seemed like the logical thing to do. I looked like an idiot, but it kind of worked? Or maybe, it had a placebo effect, and I thought it was working, and calmed down.

My face was numb/tingling for about an hour. I wouldn't recommend it. Kids, don't mess with peppers.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Wheelbarrow food

I was at Lambeau Field on Saturday for what proved to be quite an experience. Sure, the Badgers somehow beat LSU in front of 80,000 people, but the main event is what happened in the parking lots prior to (and after) the event.

I had some gumbo, which was delightful, but I was introduced to something called boudin and ate in the best possible way: out of a wheelbarrow. Some guy was hauling around a big batch of it in a (relatively clean) plastic wheelbarrow, and who am I to question his methods?

I didn't get a picture (one of the great regrets of my life) but I did find this website that explained what it was.

Presentation: Wrapped in butcher paper and placed in a brown paper bag at the register. (Or in my case, eaten out of a wheelbarrow)
Casing: Moist, yet breakable.
Rice/Meat Ratio: Excellent.  More meat than rice.  Good meat without much grease.
Texture: The rice was well cooked and not broken into bits.  It retained its form.  Meat appeared in small pieces providing a good feel and some body. Bits of green onion throughout add to the color of the product.
Spices: A subtle mild spiciness.  The heat from the red pepper grew after each bite but was never “hot.”

This is an artful way to describe boudin, but it is 100% accurate.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Deaf by Spice?

I like spicy food, but I'm not an idiot.