One of the fun things for me about traveling in other parts of the world is discovering new and unusual foods. A few months ago I bought a bunch of what looked like miniature green bell peppers at a little market in Puerto Rico. I hadn't seen these peppers in the States, although I admit I don't cook with a lot of peppers at home. Anyway, I cut them up and threw them into a sauteed pork dish of some sort...they were really tasty, with a nice bit of heat. So, I saw them again at the local market in Antigua and picked up a few. I cut a couple of them up, scraped out the seeds with my fingers, and was about to throw them into my chicken & rice dish when I decided to taste one. I put my tongue on a little piece of pepper and HOLY CRAP was it hot! This was not the tame little Puerto Rican pepper I remembered. With my mouth on fire, I cupped my hand under the running water and splashed some water into my mouth. Very bad idea. In the process, my hands touched my nose, mouth and face, and the oils got onto my skin and it really started burning like crazy! I was dancing around the kitchen, trying to get rid of this burn with ice and water, cussing and yelping, wondering when this was going to stop burning. Of course, I'm getting no sympathy from Louis - he's looking at me like "what the hell is all the fuss about".

Well, after about 1/hour it finally subsided and I got on the internet to search for this pepper so I could find out its name. I ended up on a cooking page where people were talking about similar pepper "experiences". There was a whole stream of entries from people about this one topic...wondering what to do, telling others "what worked for them", etc. Sometimes the internet really boggles my mind, although I have to say I felt a bit redeemed when I read some of these aloud to Louis! Hell, people had all sorts of elaborate, weird remedies, and a few even ended up going to their doctor! So, I guess you're supposed to wear gloves when you work with really hot peppers?? I learned that on the "pepper site" among other things...but never did learn its name. Anyone??