All Bout Spice!
This is a legitimate picture from some of my best friends' house Senior year of college...I am not lying. (T Hut House til I die)
I love spicy food. I didn't always like it, as I was the pickiest child eater in the world. If it wasn't a ham and cheese sandwich, I wasn't really interested. Nope, thanks though. I'm a strong believer that children's tastes adjust to what they are fed, so apparently I was a pretty persuasive child because I don't think I ate salad until I was 13. Because I wasn't forced to eat things I didn't like (I was a little brat, lay off!) I didn't know how delicious spice could be. I didn't even eat hot sauce until I entered college. My dear friend Nicole introduced me to Egg in a Holes, which are oft called Toad in a Hole, and probably some other really weird names. If you don't know what that is, or haven't had one, I feel sorry for you. So I'll probably just have to make a separate blog for those, in due time. Maybe Nicole will celeb-blog for me (HAY!!) Gosh, I get off topic. I first used hot sauce on top of Egg in a Holes, and realized hot sauce basically makes ALL breakfast food instantly better. I don't know if hot sauce is meant to be introduced in college, but when it was, it was like a Super Nova in my food life. Bravo, college!
So if your stomach turns like Ben Stiller's does in that one scene in Along Came Polly when it comes to spice, please please just relax. Calm down. It gets better!!! Peppers also have amazing benefits to the stomach and digestion system, so read up! Peppers are full of Vitamins A, C, and K, and are good to hydrate (bell peppers), as well.
Here are a few things that I use when I want to add a little spice to my life!
So, we will start with my favorite!
Sriracha (sri-ra-cha) is by far my favorite hot sauce. It is very spicy, with hints of vinegar and garlic to boot. YUM. Sriracha is GREAT for soups, Asian foods, rice, pastas...OK, I really just put sriracha on everything. As a fellow blogger, Brit Linstrom writes, "The flavors blend together well, making it almost like a fancy ketchup. Fancy ketchup is a terrible way to describe it because it does not taste anything like ketchup, but it does have that hint of vinegar which is an acquired taste for some". Well put! I have legit gone through at least 6 bottles of this stuff in a 3 year period (whatever, dude). So just get up, head to your local corner store, and TREAT YO SELF. Get some sriracha. If you don't end up liking sriracha, YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE SPICE (via Jack Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth!" in A Few Good Men).
Tapatío was the first hot sauce I used in college. I used it on Egg in a Holes. My roommate Christine and I literally ate this stuff every day of our Sophomore year of college. Tapatío is a tad smokey, and pretty mild. It's good for breakfast food, sandwiches, soups, and obviously Mexican food. It is super cheap, and you can get a monster of a bottle of it for like, 3 dollars. And if you were thinking it, I call dibs on being the Tapatío man for next Halloween.
Cholula was discovered soon after Tapatío. I realized that I liked Cholula better, but it's more expensive. Cholula actually has a great spice that allows you to taste the chili flavor, which you can't find in Tapatío or Tabasco, because the smokiness overpowers it in the latter two. Cholula is basically good on anything, but I like to use it to spice up my soups (especially thai chicken noodle soup).
Tabasco is the classic hot sauce. It has it's own website, so I mean, that's classy stuff, right? That Tapatío dude definitely doesn't have his own website. My friend Katie will kill me if I say this, but I really don't like Tabasco sauce. She legit has swooped some from our guy friends' house once, and it was a hilarious moment. She likes it this much. She dressed up as Tabasco for Halloween. Tabasco sauce is made out of peppers that sit in wood barrels for 3 years, so it has a smokey and woody flavor. I don't know, Katie I invite you to explain your love for Tabasco in the comments section.
Here she is! And with Nicole, who I am now indebted for life to because of the Egg in a Hole introduction...
Aardvark Hot Sauce is very good. I love me some habañero hot sauce, and this is the bees knees. It comes from the coolest city in the world, Portland, Oregon, and it is just sooooooo hip. Haha! The only reason this isn't my favorite is because it's not too spicy, it's pretty sweet actually, but it's a good sauce for beginners. You can read about it, and order it, here. And I don't know if you have ever googled "habañero hot sauce" before, but I am offended at the names of these things. Like I'm ever going to order something called "Analize this XXX Garlic Hot Sauce"...REALLY??? Gross. Stop.
When I tried to find a picture of Aardvark, I found this gem. That guy knows what's up. That's how I feel about Sriracha, it's cool man. For copyright reasons, here's the link to this picture
Cayenne Pepper is amazing to add to a rub for meats, good for Mexican food, stir frys, even regular fries, mmk? There is actually a cleanse that was invented in the 1940s by Jane Clark, which is a liquid cleanse done for a minimum of 10 days, consisting of water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup. Sounds intriguing, Jane, but I think I would turn into a Muttant dog/beast from the Hunger Games (ha! pun very much intended) and go ape on someone after not eating for a day. Cayenne pepper is said to lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and also helps fight off certain cancers.
Last, but NOT least, Thai Chilis. Thai chilis are made in most Thai dishes, even fish sauce, and have excellent color and flavor. I worked at a Thai restaurant my senior year of college, and Thai chilis were EVERYWHERE. In Thai, they are called prik kee noo, which literally means "mouse shit chilies", and the story behind this is quite hilarious and I suggest you read about it here. Apparently they are known to "hide like mice", under cilantro and other vegetables, so you get a surprise! Really, read the article. Anyways, I recently went to a Farmer's Market, and found these beautiful Thai chilis for sale. They are so pretty, and so easy because they are so small. So get on dat!
OK, so here are my main spice go-tos. If you are extremely offended I didn't add your favorite spice factor, sauce, whatever in here, then tell me. And then I'll check it out. Have a very spicy night!
I love spicy food. I didn't always like it, as I was the pickiest child eater in the world. If it wasn't a ham and cheese sandwich, I wasn't really interested. Nope, thanks though. I'm a strong believer that children's tastes adjust to what they are fed, so apparently I was a pretty persuasive child because I don't think I ate salad until I was 13. Because I wasn't forced to eat things I didn't like (I was a little brat, lay off!) I didn't know how delicious spice could be. I didn't even eat hot sauce until I entered college. My dear friend Nicole introduced me to Egg in a Holes, which are oft called Toad in a Hole, and probably some other really weird names. If you don't know what that is, or haven't had one, I feel sorry for you. So I'll probably just have to make a separate blog for those, in due time. Maybe Nicole will celeb-blog for me (HAY!!) Gosh, I get off topic. I first used hot sauce on top of Egg in a Holes, and realized hot sauce basically makes ALL breakfast food instantly better. I don't know if hot sauce is meant to be introduced in college, but when it was, it was like a Super Nova in my food life. Bravo, college!
So if your stomach turns like Ben Stiller's does in that one scene in Along Came Polly when it comes to spice, please please just relax. Calm down. It gets better!!! Peppers also have amazing benefits to the stomach and digestion system, so read up! Peppers are full of Vitamins A, C, and K, and are good to hydrate (bell peppers), as well.
Here are a few things that I use when I want to add a little spice to my life!
So, we will start with my favorite!
Sriracha (sri-ra-cha) is by far my favorite hot sauce. It is very spicy, with hints of vinegar and garlic to boot. YUM. Sriracha is GREAT for soups, Asian foods, rice, pastas...OK, I really just put sriracha on everything. As a fellow blogger, Brit Linstrom writes, "The flavors blend together well, making it almost like a fancy ketchup. Fancy ketchup is a terrible way to describe it because it does not taste anything like ketchup, but it does have that hint of vinegar which is an acquired taste for some". Well put! I have legit gone through at least 6 bottles of this stuff in a 3 year period (whatever, dude). So just get up, head to your local corner store, and TREAT YO SELF. Get some sriracha. If you don't end up liking sriracha, YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE SPICE (via Jack Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth!" in A Few Good Men).
Cholula was discovered soon after Tapatío. I realized that I liked Cholula better, but it's more expensive. Cholula actually has a great spice that allows you to taste the chili flavor, which you can't find in Tapatío or Tabasco, because the smokiness overpowers it in the latter two. Cholula is basically good on anything, but I like to use it to spice up my soups (especially thai chicken noodle soup).
Aardvark Hot Sauce is very good. I love me some habañero hot sauce, and this is the bees knees. It comes from the coolest city in the world, Portland, Oregon, and it is just sooooooo hip. Haha! The only reason this isn't my favorite is because it's not too spicy, it's pretty sweet actually, but it's a good sauce for beginners. You can read about it, and order it, here. And I don't know if you have ever googled "habañero hot sauce" before, but I am offended at the names of these things. Like I'm ever going to order something called "Analize this XXX Garlic Hot Sauce"...REALLY??? Gross. Stop.
Cayenne Pepper is amazing to add to a rub for meats, good for Mexican food, stir frys, even regular fries, mmk? There is actually a cleanse that was invented in the 1940s by Jane Clark, which is a liquid cleanse done for a minimum of 10 days, consisting of water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup. Sounds intriguing, Jane, but I think I would turn into a Muttant dog/beast from the Hunger Games (ha! pun very much intended) and go ape on someone after not eating for a day. Cayenne pepper is said to lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and also helps fight off certain cancers.
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