Muy Caliente!

My favorite time of day is to get up and eat leftovers from dinner, especially spicy food. ~ David Byrne

Ever since my conception, I've been a lover of spicy food. Being that Nigerians have a very distinct and spicy/pepperish loving palate, it was really easy to get a constant array of perfectly spiced, delicious dishes back home.

And then I came to America. I remember the first time I ordered food from a restaurant that they claimed was 'spicy'. I was very disappointed with the fare. In addition, they only had black pepper on the tables, and every spice lover knows that black pepper barely counts as a pepper.

If it ain't red or green, it's not spicy dammit! Stop trying to pass off black pepper like a pepper, that's just plain foolywang.

I used to have my parents bring in ata rodo by the bagful all the way from Nigeria every year, already dried and ground. I used it in everything, every single dish I cooked, from pasta to rice to potatoes. They still do every single year.

On moving to Cali---man, those Mexicans really know what spice is all about. I love you guys! They totally rocked my socks off with the different variations of peppers they have. They understand why black is abhorrent to us pepper lovers. And they introduced me to the joys of a perfectly cured bottle of jalepenos. It was love at first bite.

Once upon a time, a friend of mine foolishly bet me that I couldn't eat my pancakes at Ihop with hot sauce dribbled on them. I won $20 bucks that day, and I didn't even need a drop of water to wash it down with.

All my Exes have been lame-os when it comes to hot spice. One even had the audacity to tell me that my cooking was too spicy and he didn't like it. I never, ever cooked for him again.

You would think the Italian would be a lover more of cheese and wine then pepper. But once I introduced him to the spicy culinary delights---he's been a believer. He totally craves my meals and will eat seconds and sometimes thirds, even though he's guzzling gallons of water at the same time. He can no longer have a sandwich without some jalepenos thrown into the mix without feeling that something is 'off'.

Now that---is truly walking the fires of hell for love:)