Pods, Well, the first Hearts On Fire is over, and darn I am tired. I'd like to once again thank those who provided samples of pepper products, and thank Brian and Kim who attended. I had some fun learning a few new kitchen tricks, and having some good conversation. With an overnight low of 10 degrees, I believe this is the coldest weather for any hotluck yet. Brian and Kim brought some samples of John Hard's CaJohn products. You know, the more I try his products, the more I learn to fear the man. I think, the next time he offers me something, I'll hide under the table. Brian and I compared batches of red hab mash, trying it on some nice wings they brought. I gave him some of my mach and some of the habs I smoked last fall. I smoked one pork loin roast, and cut another in a spiral to season with some of the dry marinade I got from Better Than Hot. I also created something entirely new, and here's the recipe: 'Zilla Nillas A basic vanilla wafer-type cookie, with an element of heat. The idea is to have just enough heat that you don't notice until you've just about finished the first one. 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened 1 cup sugar 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour 1 egg 1-1/4 tbsp vanilla extract 3/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1 level tsp habanero powder In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350F for 12 - 15 minutes or until edges begin to turn golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool. I found it convenient to put the batter on wax paper, let it chill outside, and press it into a uniform flat brick so I could cut it into cubes a little larger than sugarcubes. The finished product _looks_ innocent. And now, after coking for days, and assembling several new tables, and setting up two computers, all I want is a nice big hot tub. Zzzzzzzzz. - A _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com