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19 October
Summer’s Secret Seasoning and Jam Review (Part 1)
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Summer’s Secret Seasoning and Jam Review (Part 1)

Note that this is the first post of three in this series. You can read Part 2 (Summer’s Secret Seasoning review here.

One of the many reasons I love writing this food blog is meeting and chatting with new people. I’ve recently had the delightful opportunity to talk with Summer from Summer’s Secret Seasoning about her entrepreneurial endeavors within the food industry. It seems that a lot of us have numerous business ideas when it comes to food, but so many of us have never really done anything about it. Summer is an exception to that rule. Not only has she produced Summer’s Secret Seasoning, but she has gone on to create a few jam flavors (with more in the works).

What’s extra cool is that Summer has sent me a sample of each of these products, all for the purpose of reviewing here on my blog. I’ve definitely enjoyed sampling these products over the past little while and look forward to sharing the full review with all of you soon. However, before we get to the review, I wanted to share with you a short interview that Summer and I had over email so you can hear in her own words how these products came to be. So, without further adieu, here’s Summer.
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How to Make Pumpkin Seeds: Year 2

Last year I was a little late (mid-November) on the bandwagon when I posted How to Make Pumpkin Seeds: Year I, so I figured this year I’d try to post before Halloween.

My family looks forward each year to buying our pumpkins from one of the local pumpkin patches. You arrive, get a wheelbarrow and leisurely stroll around the pumpkin rows looking for the perfect pumpkin. I always buy a couple extra just for the seeds. My kids run around in utter delight trying to carry the largest pumpkin they can find. Depending on the patch, they may have hay bales and tractors set up for kids to play on. The owners of the patch we went to this year was giving tractor rides and had created a free corn maze for the kids.

We bought two big pumpkins for my wife and I, and three small pumpkins for our kids, and then a few of those really really small pumpkins just for the heck of it–actually, the kids seemed to be rather attached to them, and it was impossible to resist.

This past Monday, we hollowed out the pumpkins and let the kids carve theirs, so I’m sure the pumpkins will be overly shriveled come Halloween day, oh well. From the 5 hollowed out pumpkins I ended up with 6 cups of fresh pumpkin seeds–perfect for three different batches. Now, I’m the type of guy who rarely orders the same thing at a restaurant each time I visit because I like to experience different foods and flavors. So although I’ve already created pumpkin seed recipes that I like, I couldn’t resist whipping up some new ones either.

This year I’ve created three new recipes: Chipotle Ranch, Sugar ‘n Spice, and Lemon Picante. The Lemon Picante has become my new favorite.
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Tapatio Hot Sauce… I’m Addicted to You…

I enjoy watching other people eat hot stuff, but when it comes to me eating spicy hot stuff—you’d better have a pretty good bribe ready. I’ve had my share of spicy foods and know my limits. Besides the heartburn aftermath, I’ve never enjoyed eating things so spicy that I can’t taste the food’s natural flavors.

That’s why I hesitated to try Tapatio for the first time…

My brother claimed it was the shizzle and had nearly polished off a full bottle by himself. We have pretty similar tastes and that’s what pushed me over the edge. I held the bottle close to my face and inspected the ingredients: water, red peppers, garlic, salt, various spices, sodium benzoate… despite it probably being loaded with preservatives, I figured it was okay to consume. At least there wasn’t a hidden chiltepe in there. I hate those little pepper bombs of death.
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November’s Bhut Jolokia Winner…

And the Bhut Jolokia winner, a.k.a. Harbinger of Death, emerges. The random winning entry is:

Christopher Chambers. Hello, I’m currently a student at Mississippi State University. My major is Culinary Arts and I just love cooking new things. For our final (in December) we are allowed to cook whatever we want, and I know for a fact that my professor has a huge hot tooth. If I won these peppers, I either make him some kind of salsa, a curry and rice mixture, or some kind of Bhut Jolokia and sesame grilled chicken. Anyway, I’m sure those pepper would help me pass my class. Thanks for reading mine.

Congratulations, Christopher. Remember that torturing your professor won’t get you a passing grade. Send me an email by Sunday night to claim your prize.

Speaking for all of us, we’d love to see the end product of your bhut jolokia chili pepper dinner; so if you remember, please send in some pictures or a YouTube video so I can post it later. Thanks, and happy cooking.
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November Giveaway: Win Bhut Jolokia Peppers

By now I imagine you’ve heard of a bhut jolokia chili pepper, also known as a ghost pepper or naga jolokia–the world’s hottest chili pepper.  These peppers are hotter than Beelzebub’s spit.  From what I understand, the bhut jolokia is native to Eastern India, which doesn’t surprise me.  Those Indians can eat some crazy hot curry foods without batting an eye.  I, on the other hand, cannot. Just the thought of eating a jalapeno makes my eyes water.  In short, I’m a wuss.  Okay, I said it.

I admit that it’s a little strange to be giving away a bag of dried bhut jolokia peppers, and in the future, my giveaways will be a little more useful, but I couldn’t help myself. Just the thought of having a bag full of the world’s hottest peppers and playing with the idea of actually trying it out gives me a foodie high–sort of like going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. I’m not sure I’d survive either scenario. For some of you pepper heads out there, this ought to be the ultimate challenge.
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