VON: Sweet with Heat
Source: saunderslog.com
Harvesting peppers in the fall is becoming an annual rite around our house. To the left are a few habaneros I harvested yesterday, and then dropped into a wine glass for a photo. Habaneros are the hottest peppers I’ve ever grown, and I was a little concerned that, with their 115 day season, we might not get any ripe peppers here in the great white north. We got lucky, I guess. We also brought in Jalapeno, Serrano, and Poblano peppers yesterday.
I first started eating hot peppers after my doctors told me my cholesteral was too high. I eliminated most fats from my diet, and looking for new ways to flavour food, stumbled onto peppers. They’re fascinating because of the many flavours in them. Serrano’s tingle your lips, and the flat part and tip of your tongue. In contrast, Habanero’s are a slow burn in the back of your throat. When green, peppers are mostly heat. When allowed to ripen, they’re sweet as well. When you smoke a Poblano, it becomes a sweet spicy delicacy called Ancho. Smoke a Habanero, and you get a mellow deep Chipotle.
The variations on this simple vegetable seem limitless!
The other annual fall rite I participate in is VON. This year, I’m hoping for a VON like my hot pepper harvest — full of new ideas, interesting people, and opportunities to create. More than any prior year, this year feels as if it’s going to be a breakthrough, especially in new voice applications.
I’m flying to Boston this morning. See you there!
