Chili Power

Some form of chilis is on just about everything I eat,except for fruit and sweets. I dust cottage cheese with Habanero powder. If I do not break out in a mild rash in a chili rush, or feel my scalp tingle I know I have just not met my chili quota. Few people can eat as spicy as I, and so when I meet them I feel as though we are kindred spirits. Cooking as spicy as I do, does at times create limitations for I cannot readily find friends who are as chili indulgent as I. When having dinner parties I make sure to be familiar with my guest's food proclivities so that I can cook to the degree that they can enjoy themselves.

In some recipes, the chilis must first infuse the oil in order to flavor the food. The best news about chilis is that they are good for your health and they release endorphins to ease the pain, inducing the chili "high". There is a pain reliever in red chilis called capsaicim and it was widely used in the ancient world in a salve.

Rich in vitamin C, and a great source of bioflavinoids they increase your metabolism and can help prevent arteriosclerosis. My love affair began with chilis when I was exploring the Mayan ruins in the Yukatan, AND the local cuisine. I was advised to eat chilis to prevent getting parasites. During my three week visit I was never once ill! Perhaps Chackmool {the Mayan counterpart to Egypt's sun god RA} blessed me for loving his land.I have acquired a connaseur's love of chilis that far exceeds their medicinal powers.

Recently I stayed in Bangkok for six weeks while my daughter filmed a documentary. I was in rapture while enjoying the intensity of the Thai "Pricky Nou"chili. It induces scalp and neck goosebumps, facial flushing and dew on the upper lip.You may also feel alternating hot and cold chills riveting up and down your spine.Upon returning home I was bereft without the pervasive chili condiments on every table.

Exercise caution while experiencing chilis, for chilis CAN become addicting.The more of them you eat, the more of them you NEED to eat in order to stave the pain.