I love spicy foods. For a while I had a love affair with hot sauce. It was a good bet that if I went out to eat and there was a buffalo chicken salad/wrap/burger/anything else, my order was already decided. I pretty much have tunnel vision whenever something "buffalo chicken" appears on the menu.
I also dabbled in chipotle-flavored menu items and anything that sounded spicy. If it is going to burn my esophagus on the way down, I am in love. Forget the terrible heartburn I started experiencing during this affair. The pain was well worth the taste bud pleasure. But I digress.
I decided that if I'm going to start actually preparing healthy, spicy foods, I needed to know how to cook with them. Enter the Jalapeño Pepper.
I started with jars of presliced jalapeños. I made the mistake of popping one in my mouth much like I munch on popcorn: put whole piece in mouth, chew, swallow. I had the second one in my hand halfway to my mouth when flames started flying out of my mouth. Okay, maybe not real flames, but for a good ten minutes I channeled my inner Pete's Dragon while tears spewed from my eyes akin to water spraying from an uncapped fire hydrant. This was DEFINITELY not the way to eat these sneaky little firecrackers.
I decided to cut them up and place on a salad. I made sure all the seeds were out of the pepper as I sliced and diced and threw them on the bed of lettuce. The result? I LOVE them!
Edit: I have actually started putting jalapeños in a lot of my food. Quesadillas, salads, sandwiches, everything I can think of. If I use the right amount, they add a nice kick without being too overpowering. I even put them on my Subway sandwiches now, and I included them in a Turkey Chili I invented!
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