Peppers to Keep Away the Pain
Howdy friends. It's no secret that I dig peppers for a multitude of reasons, one of them being their effectiveness for me as a pain reliever to some extent. Stuff's blah again so I hit the peppers and curry up hard versus taking the muscle relaxers or hydrocodone or anything else. Click through to see what I've been up to .
My friends locally, and any of you who read this tangent of doom space, know my health sucks due to magical reasons decided by the doctors so far to be a result of my "allergies". I'm still working up to the monthly shot, where the actual benefits of immune response starts. Right now I'm still on the safe shots that build up until they start giving me the real stuff that now would probably put me in shock without their cutting/schedule. I have been getting Kenalog shots to replace the Prednisone but that does not work well with my shots it seems, and will make me sick. So, when this shot (which by the way feels like it wore off after two days versus two-three weeks this time) wears off, I'm f'd. We also need a new bed which makes things even worse. GAH.
I see a Rhuematologist August 1st to see what else they can find out, maybe isolate between that doctor and my immunologist what other option I have medicine wise that won't make me sick on the allergy shots. :( My rhuemoatoid factors came back find when they tested so why I go to this guy I dunno, tho it might help. If the $40 copay turns out worth the effort I'll be happy, I guess. :/
So, to beat the pain and stay conscious since everything I have for the spasms/misc symptoms knocks me out (I have a carte blanche to nap at work if need be every now and again, that's how bad the meds knock me out when I take the muscle relaxers), plus since I love baking and doing anything with peppers, I have started learning the Magical Ways. I briefly helped my mother grow peppers one year, but never on my own. Leaning heavily on my friend John for assistance and advise I started, using plants as well as some seeds. The plants are coming along well. The seeds I bought so far include Dorset Naga Morich (Dorset, England), and a University of New Mexico cultivar of Bhut Jolokia. Technically they are the same pepper, but the different cultivations of it have different heats I guess. The heat beats out habaneros on the scoville ratings, but it's not an overpowering attack. The taste is better than a habanero, plus it gets hotter after you take it in. It rises up until 10-15 minutes in, then backs down in a wave of warmth that may last 45 minutes! :D
We have 11 sprouts of the dorsets growing up now before we pot them, we as in John and I. I visit and water them when I go by if they need it. I'll probably pot one next weekend and let him keep the others for the ground/pots/his son who has a lot of pepper plants also. I had tried to plan pod seeds also but they failed to come up, and they also failed to sprout up at John's but the prime seeds I paid for worked fine. :) It came out to about $20 US for 11 seeds and 2 pods (which were supposed to be samples of the pepper but I botched that and got greedy for seeds). On the way I have 5 of the NM cultivar of the nagas via a Florida nursery. I plan to keep those growing here at home and share some with John if any sprout. I also saved some Poblano seeds I want to try and grow as well.
In total I have 3 jalapeños, 3 hot bananas, 1 new mexico, 1 habanero (yellow not red it seems, though it could actually be a pimento in disguise as the tag was cryptic), 1 patio bell, and the 11 naga morich sprouts. No one around here that I've ever seen or known grows Nagas, so this is a chance to smash open the awesomeness jar and let it pour out on everyone. I have one of the hot bananas at work in one of my office windows, and also have a jalapeño hanging about. However, I had to bring that home this weekend and eradicate some aphids that somehow found it but none of the other plants. Weird...only noticed it when I saw a lone aphid running a race around the rim of the pot. HAHA
In addition to keeping up with these plants, my babies of the moment, I have been baking and making hot sauces. John's birthday bbq (he turned 77 I do believe) was the weekend of the 20th, but he was sick. He normally has a big bbq every year and I go all out making hummus, or curry chicken, and always muffins. His sister, his son, and others always find themselves pleasantly surprised by how good they are. This year was no different and as I found out at the last possible minute he was even sick, I had baked for 10 hours as you can see here.
That is a lot of hot pepper corn muffins and cornbread eh? :) It was gone in a matter of two days. Some has been frozen, as John keeps some on hand for breakfast. I made visits to local friends, and even took some to waiters at our Outback again. Lots of positive reviews on the muffins, and also on the pepper sauces I came up with. Brown Bee and Green Bee I call them, explained on Flickr quite well so I won't draw it out here. I sent a muffin sampler and one of the sauces in sampler size bottle to two online pros at making stuff I know, and they enjoy the sauce (though it was a bit sweet to them as it does have a lot of honey). The muffins did not make it there in one piece though, and molded. :( First time shipping baked goods and I didn't know not to put them in plastic. Plus I have not learned what preservative to try and use either. BAH. Paper bags next time, with them going out that very morning after I make them. lol Something...
That's the fun really, Flickr has the photos you could expect me to embed here but I'll save you the load time. ;) If you care to see them, be my guest. Besides that hot and spicy action, my spare time outside work has been spent loafing about, working on various craptastic YouTube videos, watching Doctor Who stuff, and trying not to off myself from the sense of burden I feel at being in this sort of health/pain/grumpiness. I don't like it. I don't want it. I wish I was the way I used to be and could stay in that place for a while more before whatever environmental change took hold and caused me to get f'd up somehow. However the shit happened, I'm totally not cool with it. Not stupid enough to really off myself thankfully, but I find myself drinking a whole lot more. :D
Bah. If only I were some sick emo kid. I have seen too much what happens when your plans go awry (it sucks bad) though and I'll never be doing anything crazy like that however bad I feel. :)
My friends locally, and any of you who read this tangent of doom space, know my health sucks due to magical reasons decided by the doctors so far to be a result of my "allergies". I'm still working up to the monthly shot, where the actual benefits of immune response starts. Right now I'm still on the safe shots that build up until they start giving me the real stuff that now would probably put me in shock without their cutting/schedule. I have been getting Kenalog shots to replace the Prednisone but that does not work well with my shots it seems, and will make me sick. So, when this shot (which by the way feels like it wore off after two days versus two-three weeks this time) wears off, I'm f'd. We also need a new bed which makes things even worse. GAH.
I see a Rhuematologist August 1st to see what else they can find out, maybe isolate between that doctor and my immunologist what other option I have medicine wise that won't make me sick on the allergy shots. :( My rhuemoatoid factors came back find when they tested so why I go to this guy I dunno, tho it might help. If the $40 copay turns out worth the effort I'll be happy, I guess. :/
So, to beat the pain and stay conscious since everything I have for the spasms/misc symptoms knocks me out (I have a carte blanche to nap at work if need be every now and again, that's how bad the meds knock me out when I take the muscle relaxers), plus since I love baking and doing anything with peppers, I have started learning the Magical Ways. I briefly helped my mother grow peppers one year, but never on my own. Leaning heavily on my friend John for assistance and advise I started, using plants as well as some seeds. The plants are coming along well. The seeds I bought so far include Dorset Naga Morich (Dorset, England), and a University of New Mexico cultivar of Bhut Jolokia. Technically they are the same pepper, but the different cultivations of it have different heats I guess. The heat beats out habaneros on the scoville ratings, but it's not an overpowering attack. The taste is better than a habanero, plus it gets hotter after you take it in. It rises up until 10-15 minutes in, then backs down in a wave of warmth that may last 45 minutes! :D
We have 11 sprouts of the dorsets growing up now before we pot them, we as in John and I. I visit and water them when I go by if they need it. I'll probably pot one next weekend and let him keep the others for the ground/pots/his son who has a lot of pepper plants also. I had tried to plan pod seeds also but they failed to come up, and they also failed to sprout up at John's but the prime seeds I paid for worked fine. :) It came out to about $20 US for 11 seeds and 2 pods (which were supposed to be samples of the pepper but I botched that and got greedy for seeds). On the way I have 5 of the NM cultivar of the nagas via a Florida nursery. I plan to keep those growing here at home and share some with John if any sprout. I also saved some Poblano seeds I want to try and grow as well.
In total I have 3 jalapeños, 3 hot bananas, 1 new mexico, 1 habanero (yellow not red it seems, though it could actually be a pimento in disguise as the tag was cryptic), 1 patio bell, and the 11 naga morich sprouts. No one around here that I've ever seen or known grows Nagas, so this is a chance to smash open the awesomeness jar and let it pour out on everyone. I have one of the hot bananas at work in one of my office windows, and also have a jalapeño hanging about. However, I had to bring that home this weekend and eradicate some aphids that somehow found it but none of the other plants. Weird...only noticed it when I saw a lone aphid running a race around the rim of the pot. HAHA
In addition to keeping up with these plants, my babies of the moment, I have been baking and making hot sauces. John's birthday bbq (he turned 77 I do believe) was the weekend of the 20th, but he was sick. He normally has a big bbq every year and I go all out making hummus, or curry chicken, and always muffins. His sister, his son, and others always find themselves pleasantly surprised by how good they are. This year was no different and as I found out at the last possible minute he was even sick, I had baked for 10 hours as you can see here.
That is a lot of hot pepper corn muffins and cornbread eh? :) It was gone in a matter of two days. Some has been frozen, as John keeps some on hand for breakfast. I made visits to local friends, and even took some to waiters at our Outback again. Lots of positive reviews on the muffins, and also on the pepper sauces I came up with. Brown Bee and Green Bee I call them, explained on Flickr quite well so I won't draw it out here. I sent a muffin sampler and one of the sauces in sampler size bottle to two online pros at making stuff I know, and they enjoy the sauce (though it was a bit sweet to them as it does have a lot of honey). The muffins did not make it there in one piece though, and molded. :( First time shipping baked goods and I didn't know not to put them in plastic. Plus I have not learned what preservative to try and use either. BAH. Paper bags next time, with them going out that very morning after I make them. lol Something...
That's the fun really, Flickr has the photos you could expect me to embed here but I'll save you the load time. ;) If you care to see them, be my guest. Besides that hot and spicy action, my spare time outside work has been spent loafing about, working on various craptastic YouTube videos, watching Doctor Who stuff, and trying not to off myself from the sense of burden I feel at being in this sort of health/pain/grumpiness. I don't like it. I don't want it. I wish I was the way I used to be and could stay in that place for a while more before whatever environmental change took hold and caused me to get f'd up somehow. However the shit happened, I'm totally not cool with it. Not stupid enough to really off myself thankfully, but I find myself drinking a whole lot more. :D
Bah. If only I were some sick emo kid. I have seen too much what happens when your plans go awry (it sucks bad) though and I'll never be doing anything crazy like that however bad I feel. :)