I am slowly but surely becoming less of an embarrassment to my home state of New Mexico. I used to not be able to deal with anything spicy at all. I don’t know when I started to enjoy it, but I know enjoying sushi and wasabi had something to do with it.
My official love of chile peppers actually started once I moved away from NM, and I realized I missed the smell of roasting chile peppers in the fall. When I went back for a friend’s wedding in Sept 2004, I ended up buying a bushel of green chile and bringing it home! Roasting it on my friend’s grill was one of the best days I’ve had here in the DC area.
Today was when I realized I no longer am completely wussy. My husband and I went to a New Mexican restaurant that we know and enjoy in our area, and I was confused when the waitress asked, “Spicy or not spicy?” If you’ve eaten New Mexican food, you know that’s not the right question! My perplexed look prompted her to start explaining when I said, “Red.” I very much enjoy the flavor of the red chile this restaurant makes (though the green is better on eggs). My declaration came right as she was saying, “Red is spicier…”
And, know what? The heat level didn’t even register! I had one bite that surprised me a bit in the back of my throat, and that told me I’d have been overwhelmed by it in the past. But now, it was nothing.
I am proud of myself. Someday I’ll be a real New Mexican!