I have been told that I have a problem. It seems that I cannot eat a meal, except the occasional cereal or yogurt for breakfast, that doesn’t require some kind of heat. I’ll take anything, Tabasco, Sriracha, red chile flakes, the odd habañero sauce, even chile oil.  Yep. I’ve even been known to covertly sneak a tiny bottle of Tabasco or even a whole fresh jalapeño into a restaurant. What can I say, sometimes you just have to take care of business.

To that end, we grow hundreds of hot pepper plants at the farm, including, but not limited to chiles de arbol, hot paper lanterns, numex joe e. parkers, poblanos, bhut jolokia (yep, that’s the ghost pepper), rocotillo, aji, jalapeños, chiltepins, really anything you can think of.  It’s an obsession – and one that I am proud to share with anyone that will care to walk down that fiery path with me. I have often heard naysayers proclaim, “food that is too spicy is just not fun – I can’t enjoy the flavor of the food”. Ponder this: perhaps food that has anywhere from a sparkle to an inferno is really elevating the food to another level. It is worth trying again – you can start with just a dab.

Chile Garlic Paste

Makes ¼ cup

• 20 dried chiles de arbol pods (or other dried hot chile)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. white vinegar
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 T. water

1. De-stem and de-seed chile pods and place in a small bowl.
2. Cover pods with enough water to cover. Let re-hydrate for 20 minutes or so.
3. Drain chiles and add to a bullet blender
4. Add remaining ingredients and blend.
5. Spoon into jar that seals tight.