Sunday, August 15, 2010

Hot Carrots!

I expanded my little urban garden this year.

I grew
4 kinds of tomatoes
Bananas
Green Beans
Herbs (dill, mint, chives, basil)
Strawberries (pretty stupid, considering strawberries are $5 per half flat here)
Tomatillos
And this pretty "Hungarian Carrot" chile plant:
IMG00240.jpg
I assumed it would be sweet like orange peppers from the grocery store.

WRONG. I bit off a piece today and it brought tears to my eyes. I actually went over to the mirror to see if I had blisters on my lips and tongue.

I like spicy food - in fact, last Sunday I was making fun of LaurieWrites, Goon Squad Sarah, Suzanne, and Clumber Kim for not being able to handle the "medium" hot guacamole at Rosa Mexicano restaurant. (They seemed to handle it better after a few Bloody Marys).

But this. This was different. I always thought of the Hungarians as mild-mannered people, spice-wise, based, I suppose, on their love of sweet paprika.

They fooled me. The Hungarian Carrot pepper is hotter than a Serrano, not as hot as a HabaƱero. But plenty hot enough. I have quite a few. Any takers?