I've loved hot peppers all my life, but especially since 5th grade, when interest in boys began to surface. One summer night I was with my friend, Lori Brix and her sister Sandy eating Tostitos and Pace Picante Sauce in their upstairs bedroom on a sleepover singing along to REO Speedwagon's Keep On Loving You. That night, that song and that hot pepper sauce took our breaths away bringing to life a cacophony of imaginations and senses that gave us just a tiny glimpse of what adult love might feel like.
What made that night even more profound is that in a fit of giggles, Sandy choked on a Tostito and Lori saved her with the Heimlich maneuver we had learned in school. I was so impressed by Lori's quick realization that something was really wrong. She knew her sister well enough to spring calmly into action, wrap her arms around Sandy from the back and heave until that Tostito lurched its way out of her airways. Afterwords, we sat in disbelief and relief thinking about how it could have all gone wrong, so very wrong. Sitting quietly in that capsaicin cleanse, reflecting on the Keep on Loving You theme of the night, imaginations of love and romance now aside, I understood that I had witnessed the deepest kind of love that night. I also learned to chew very carefully when mowing down on hot salsa and chips. Isn't it true, the hotter the sauce, the faster we eat and the more we gasp for cool air to flow over our fiery mouths? Be careful. Don't choke.
If you love hot peppers as much as I do, you will enjoy any one of our three new hot sauces. These are not meant for chip dipping, but rather dabbing on burritos, tacos, enchiladas or quesadillas. These sauces reflect the flavors of the ripening stages here at Lake View Organic Farm this summer. The first sauce, named, "Summer '21 Was Hot" is a blend of Italian Sweet Reds with some Scotch Bonnet, Yellow Jalapenos and a few Habaneros. I really love the nutty taste of the habanero pepper! The second blend called, "There's nothing Grim About This Reaper" is a mix of habaneros, The Carolina Reaper (the hottest pepper in the world), and some of those Italian sweeties to tone down the heat to make a hot but palatable and delicious blend. The third sauce of this summer is called "Huckin Fot" and that it is. HOT. This batch is mostly habaneros with a hefty addition of the Carolina Reaper. Despite this high scoville unit concoction, this sauce still has the nice nutty flavor of the habaneros and the Reaper. There are some sauces these days that just go for HOT with little regard for taste. I'm not going to suffer to get my capsaicin cleanse. I need the sauce to also be delicious and palatable. William achieved my goal in making each of these sauces. Hot and yummylicious! There's a love story in each of our bottles!
In addition to bottled hot sauces, we are selling a few of our Reapers for the occasional person who wants to experience this pepper raw and perhaps save the seeds to grow themselves next year. If you take these peppers home, a word of warning: DO NOT TOUCH THEM WITH YOUR BARE HANDS after cutting them open!!!
We'll have Black Bean Soup for my soup lovers - not too spicy, I promise.
New to the store this weekend: Sesame Sunflower Salad Dressing to bring an Asian flare to your dinner table. Make Lettuce Cups, a Vietnamese Romaine Mint and Noodle Salad or just toss this with salad greens and your favorite nuts sprinkled on top.
We have sunflower seeds bagged for the birds in 20 pound bags for $10, and of course, a supply of freshly pressed sunflower oil for all of your cooking needs.
Sending love from the farm,
Sarah