Peter Piper

Every week, my mother wages a small battle with the pepper vendor at the farmers' market.

I can imagine the scene- the man with an aspen green apron behind a beautiful fiery display of peppers, ranging from the lightest green to the most brilliant red, all lying peacefully on the table as if they had just been plucked carefully from the sun. And along comes my wonderful mom, ever-vigilant, and, pointing nicely to a particularly orange pepper, she asks: "Is this one hot?"

Well, what is the man to do? His taste buds are as different from anybody's (as the diverse arrangement of peppers on the table indicates). His wares must always be scrutinized as such- by levels of heat. So he replies: "No, no, don't worry." My mom trusts him, buys the peppers and brings them home.

She does miraculous things with those peppers- cooks them over the free flame of the grill or sautes them with with a mellower gathering of vegetables. And when my mother, brother, and I sit down to eat, we immediately reach for the beautiful plate of peppers.... and then we all clamor for breath as tears fall from our eyes and the peppers scorch our tongues.

The episode repeats the following week, with my mom assuring us that she got new peppers from the pepper farmer, and that this time he said we wouldn't have any problems.... and then we can't seem to handle them either! Not to mention, we're a family that can take some spice. Growing up on Mexican lollipops dipped in chili powder and hot sauces in the fridge, my brother and I aren't too sensitive to the heat. Nevertheless, we had to keep stepping down the pepper scale, just until we reached these guys...


They're Fresno chiles, but if you buy Serrano or Anaheim, you'll get a similar feel. I'm not going to give a formal recipe, but I'd recommend removing the seeds and pithe (apparently, it's the pithe that carries the heat, not the seeds!) and cutting them in half lengthwise. Then add some oil to a pan, and saute some garlic and shallots. Add anything you'd like- we like leeks and zucchini, and then the peppers. We let the ingredients carmelize in the pan, until they break down into a mess of flavors. It's amazingly delicious and simple... and if there's not enough flavor for you, then throw some fresh oregano, or dried thyme in there. Serve alongside a grain or meat with some salad, and you've got dinner.