[CH] Stupid chile trick in the kitchen

Mike Stallcup (michael.stallcup@msfc.nasa.gov)
Tue, 19 Nov 2002 13:00:30 -0600

Hi C-Hs,

I thought you might like to hear about my latest adventure in the 
kitchen.  Our office had a cookout last week and everybody was asked 
to bring something.  I was specifically asked to bring salsa and 
chips.  I made three batches of salsa with three different heat 
levels - Fairly Mild, Pretty Darn Spicy, and Fiery Hot.  The Fairly 
Mild used NM green and red chiles from my garden.  The Pretty Darn 
Spicy added green and red serranos to the mix.  As you may imagine my 
Fiery Hot included habaneros, Endorphin Rush hot sauce, and a dash of 
Pure Cap (we have some guys who love to prove how tough they are).

I was very careful in the kitchen while I was making the salsas. 
We've had several unpleasant situations where my non-CH family found 
hot stuff where it shouldn't be, so I cleaned up very carefully. 
Unfortunately, our dishwasher was not working so I had to wash 
everything by hand in hot soapy water.

The salsa was a hit at the cookout and the small amount of leftover 
Fiery Hot went home with one of my co-workers.  This weekend I 
decided to make some oatmeal raisin cookies.  I mixed up the cookie 
dough and popped the first batch into the oven.  As usual, the house 
filled with the smell of freshly baked cookies and the family was 
there to taste them when the first batch came out of the oven.  When 
they were cool enough to eat we each grabbed one and stood there with 
happy smiles on our faces.  As we finished our cookies my wife looked 
at me with a puzzled look in her eyes which quickly became an 
accusing look.

"Did you put chiles in those cookies?!!"

I replied that I very specifically did NOT put any chiles in the 
cookies, but that I, too, had noticed a definite "zing" to the 
cookies.  We looked at each other, then looked at the bowl of cookie 
dough.  There it sat, in the same plastic bowl which I had used to 
mix my Fiery Hot salsa.  In the past I had always washed my 
salsa-preparation dishes in the dishwasher, which must have had the 
right kind of detergent to remove the "hot stuff" from the dishes. 
Apparently the dish soap I used when I washed the dishes by hand 
didn't remove the capsaicin from the plastic of the bowl.

So, now I have a double batch of oatmeal raisin Chile-Head cookies 
which I'm enjoying with a co-worker who is also a C-H.  By the way, I 
did make another batch of oatmeal raisin cookies for the family, 
using a stainless steel bowl this time.  You can bet I'll be VERY 
careful how I clean up the next time I make salsa.

-- 
Mike  (C-H #36, hab seed intact)
Carpe Capsicum!
(My words, not NASA's)