On Saturday I made homemade salsa for the first time.
I was surprised at how easy it was! The more I learn about this Real Food stuff, the more I'm wondering why in the world would I want to buy it at the store when it's easy to make at home. And healthier. And mostly cheaper.
However......this was also the first time I ever handled jalapeno peppers.
Now, I had read different recipes over the years that called for jalapenos, and I always thought that the direction to wear gloves was just an overly-precautionary thing.
In other words, I ignored the glove rule. How bad could it be, after all?
So after chopping up the jalapenos and de-seeding them (with bare hands), I threw on the food processor and watched all my lovely ingredients whirl around gettin' choppy. This was awesome! Who knew it was this easy?
After turning the processor off I had to taste test it. Forget about getting a spoon, I just stuck my finger in for a lick.
And got a full blast of concentrated jalapeno oils off my finger, you know, the bare finger I used to handle the hottest parts of the pepper.
I yelped.....it was so hot I didn't even taste the salsa. I, of course, assumed that it was the salsa itself that was so hot, but couldn't figure out why because I followed the directions explicitly! All except the wear-gloves-while-handling-jalapenos-part, that is.
Holy Buckets of Cheese! Here it is two days later, after having washed my hands several times, and the jalapeno oils are still embedded in my skin. I even tried to neutralize it by soaking my hands in a bowl of milk....which didn't work. Let's just say that taking my contact lenses in and out have been rather interesting......and I have definitely learned my lesson about jalapenos.
Wear. Gloves.
I was surprised at how easy it was! The more I learn about this Real Food stuff, the more I'm wondering why in the world would I want to buy it at the store when it's easy to make at home. And healthier. And mostly cheaper.
However......this was also the first time I ever handled jalapeno peppers.
Now, I had read different recipes over the years that called for jalapenos, and I always thought that the direction to wear gloves was just an overly-precautionary thing.
In other words, I ignored the glove rule. How bad could it be, after all?
So after chopping up the jalapenos and de-seeding them (with bare hands), I threw on the food processor and watched all my lovely ingredients whirl around gettin' choppy. This was awesome! Who knew it was this easy?
After turning the processor off I had to taste test it. Forget about getting a spoon, I just stuck my finger in for a lick.
And got a full blast of concentrated jalapeno oils off my finger, you know, the bare finger I used to handle the hottest parts of the pepper.
I yelped.....it was so hot I didn't even taste the salsa. I, of course, assumed that it was the salsa itself that was so hot, but couldn't figure out why because I followed the directions explicitly! All except the wear-gloves-while-handling-jalapenos-part, that is.
Holy Buckets of Cheese! Here it is two days later, after having washed my hands several times, and the jalapeno oils are still embedded in my skin. I even tried to neutralize it by soaking my hands in a bowl of milk....which didn't work. Let's just say that taking my contact lenses in and out have been rather interesting......and I have definitely learned my lesson about jalapenos.
Wear. Gloves.
Ouch! You poor thing! Once it doesn't hurt anymore, it does make a great story, though! Very Lucille Ball!
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