Some like it hot

I am one who enjoys spicy food.

Hot peppers have always been my friends … well, most of the time. I have a few experiences when they got the best of me.

Many years ago, when I was single, still living at home, and working in the livestock industry, I stopped at a little country store. The store was once owned and operated by my late, great-uncle George Dewey Manning. Later, the same store was run by a cousin, John A. McCall. On this occasion, the store proprietor was Danny Woodard. That day, I was looking forward to having a bologna (bolony) sandwich.

There is something special about a bologna sandwich, freshly put together in a country store … oh, the days of the past ... fresh, light bread straight out of the bag, thick bolony, rolled right off the slicer, mustard, mayonnaise, salad dressing, or Louisianna Hot Sause. The only way to make it better was to add a big slice of ripe tomato.

As Danny delivered my sandwich that day, he casually asked, “Do you like hot peppers?”

I replied, “I sure do.”

He said, “A highway-patrol buddy of mine left this sackful this morning. Want to try ‘em?”

He pushed a small, brown, paper sack toward me.

“Sure,” I said as I reached into the sack.

I withdrew three green peppers, 3 to 4 inches long and no bigger around that No. 2 pencil.

“Thanks,” I said. “I’ll enjoy these with my sandwich.”

Danny smiled a devilish smile.

I returned to my vehicle, but before I hit the road, I unwrapped my sandwich and took a big bite. Then, I reached for one of the peppers and bit off half of it. I chewed twice, maybe three times, and suddenly, the pepper exploded in my mouth. When I say “exploded,” I mean inside my entire mouth ... top, inside my cheeks, under my tongue and halfway down my throat. I break out in a sweat just thinking about it.

I was gasping for air as I reached for my soft drink. This fire had to be put out. I pushed back the bill of my cap as sweat ran down my face.

“Whoa,” I thought. “That is hot.”

It took three more bites of the sandwich to bring things under control. I ate all three of the peppers. The flavor was great. I learned later they were green cayenne peppers. I haven’t eaten one with a sandwich since.

In later years, I was introduced to habaneros and ghost peppers. They bring another level of heat.

I especially like to use these hot babies when making tomato juice. Both habaneros and ghost peppers give tomato juice a great flavor and a nice kick. But I found I needed to dehydrate them in harvest season in order to have them year-around. That got interesting the first time I attempted to dehydrate a batch.

I think I read something like this on the internet … “Do not dehydrate hot peppers in a closed space.”

Well, I ignored that warning.

One evening before I left my office, (I had a small kitchen there), I loaded up my dehydrator with habanero and ghost peppers and plugged it in the electrical socket.

The next morning, when I walked into the office, my eyes began to burn.

After a very few moments, I began to cough uncontrollably as I tried to deal with the discomfort in my airways. Fortunately, my interoffice door was closed off, and I could escape there. For two days, windows and the front door remained open as the floor fan droned … lesson learned.

Here’s a recipe for great, hot tomato juice. Three dehydrated habaneros (six halves) added to six quarts of juice. Cook the habaneros with the cut-up tomatoes before you turn them into juice. It makes for great favor ... but hot.

Hartsville resident Jack McCall is an author and motivational speaker.

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