by Celeste
(Graham, WA)
My son loves hot, spicy food. I myself am more on the mild side. Once (and only once) while my family was gone I decided to try a salsa recipe I saw on television which included roasted corn and peppers. This recipe called for habanero peppers. I didn’t have any gloves and knew I wasn’t to touch the peppers with my hands so I improvised and used the plastic bag they came home from the store in. The recipe also called for a gas stove which I did not have. I thought I could substitute using our gas BBQ and the broiler in the oven.
Knowing that the seeds make everything hotter, I carefully used the plastic bag to cut open the peppers and scoop out the seeds then put them under the broiler in the oven. Meanwhile outside with the bbq I am trying to roast the corn on the cob. Having never used a bbq grill before (that’s my husband’s job) it took awhile to figure out how to get it going and then it never really had any great flames. So I am running back and forth between the grill and the oven. But I guess I let the peppers stay a little too long in the oven because as I came back into the house I instantly could not see or breath. I groped my way to the oven to turn it off with my eyes burning and watering and gasping for air. Turned everything off and ran outside for a breath of air but I rubbed my eyes – I guess the plastic bag did not do such a good job of protecting my hands. Now I am on the ground blind with tears and a burning sensation. I can’t see anything but I can smell that the corn is now burning. I grabbed my shirt and wiped my eyes so I could turn off the grill. With both the peppers and the corn burned and the burning/watering eyes I have never tried to make that salsa again.