DRIPPING SPRINGS BABBLE: DRIPPING PEPPERS

DRIPPING PEPPERS

If you ever sat down to eat with this Babbler's grandparents in Driftwood you could be assured of one constant on the table — hot pepper sauce in a cruet. Paw Paw poured the vinegary, heat spiked sauce on just about anything, but we all particularly loved it on black eyed peas, crowder peas, and just about any vegetable. At last Saturday's Dripping Springs Farmers Market, Marianne had gorgeous baskets full of all sorts of peppers — hot and mild, smoky and sweet. Everyone ogled the pretty peppers like candy and wanted to buy, but what to do with them? One shopper opted for the smoky pasillas to dress a burger, along with a mild, gooey cheese. One bought the anaheims to stuff with rice and ground beef. So much pepper possibility, but how to reach optimal pepper potential? At the Onion Creek Farm Stand on Friday, Marianne promises plenty of peppers, and we're determined to have a pepper packed weekend. Paw Paw was rarely sick — can't recall him ever even having a cold — perhaps because peppers are loaded with vitamins and antioxidants. So, first up will be a simple hot pepper sauce — basically peppers steeped in boiled vinegar. Easy recipe here. Next, it will be off to pepperfool.com. If we can't find a pepper recipe there, we can't find one anywhere. Temperatures in the 100s? This weekend we'll be fighting fire with fire.