If You Can't Take the Heat...

One of the homemade concoctions that Daniel enjoys for breakfast is "hot link and eggs". Basically, we take a hot link sausage, dice it, fry it in a pan, drain off the grease, add eggs, and stir until cooked. It is a perfect breakfast (or dinner) for a finicky 15-year-old that doesn't always like what we make here at home.

Lately, he has expressed an affinity for serrano chiles. These are the small, green peppers you find in the grocery store; smaller than jalapeños, and a hell of a lot spicier. Mixing a diced serrano with an already-spicy hot link is nothing short of a deadly combination. But he likes it.

As I was working from home today, and Daniel was off school, I nicely offered to make him his egg concoction when he lumbered down the stairs after a long night's sleep. Unfortunately, however, I forgot the chile. "No problem," he said, "I can add it after."

Big mistake.

These chiles, as I've already mentioned, are unbelievably spicy. Cooked into food, they add a nice hot flavor throughout the dish. Diced raw, however, they are killer.

Daniel finished his hot link and egg with raw chile concoction in his typical speedy fashion. Shortly afterward, I heard a painful howl emanating from the living room.

"Oh my GOD ! ", he screamed, "My mouth is burning !"

He darted by me and grabbed a Gatorade off the floor. Two seconds later, half the bottle had disappeared into his mouth.

"AHHH ! It's still hurting !"

"Try some milk."

"We don't have enough milk !"

"Try some ice cream, then. Dairy is really good for a burning mouth."

As he scooped his ice cream into a bowl, at 11:00 on a Friday morning, he lamented, "The seeds are stuck in my braces !". A few minutes, and one bowl of vanilla with chocolate sauce later, and all was well in the world again.

I looked at him as he was putting his bowl in the sink, and asked,

"After all that, was it worth it ?"

He smiled.

"Hell yeah."