How to make Hooliganyouth's day:

An old friend from back East turned my day from shit to sunshine.  How?  With a shipment of fresh Bhut Jolokias, Congo Blacks, Santakas (a chile I have been waiting years to try), and Ring of Fires.

Frankly I'm a little scared.  The pile of chiles are sitting on the counter and for some insane reason the Do Lung Bridge scene from Apocalypse Now came into my head.  The smell alone gave me goosebumps.  Some people ride roller coasters, some people scale cliffs, some swim with sharks.  Me?  I'm a chilehead.

Photos and reviews and recipes pending as soon as I can figure out what I am gonna do with these.   

Spice and herb madness in my kitchen:

Well I received my order from myspicesage yesterday - my hat's off to those fine folks in da Bronx; well packaged, complete (and correct) order, and they just seem like nice people.  I posted my order a week or so ago and I wanted to update and tell you guys what is new and exciting that I can't wait to try:

• Ajwain seeds:  The seeds of a plant from the Near East, they are very similar to thyme or caraway.  I'm not sure what I am going to do with them yet but I think I might add them to couscous or any dish I would normally use thyme.
• Aleppo chiles:  A capsicum named for the Syrian city it comes from.  It has a really delightful flavor and heat to it and will serve as a solid mid-tone for any chile mix I add it to.  Either that or it can stand alone, again with either poultry or couscous.
• Aji Panca and Aji Amarillo: Peruvian chiles I have read about but haven't sampled yet.  Neither look or smell particularly dangerous but I have yet to cook with them.  The Amarillo almost has the look of ground mustard mixed with tumeric but the smell of neither.
• Sun Dried Tomato Powder:  But Joshua, couldn't you have dried and powdered your own tomatoes.  Yes but I didn't so meh.  I plan to use this in my pasta sauce, my jambalaya, and my slow cooked pork.
• Cacao Nibs:  Because I wanted them, plus they might make for some tasty mole.

More news to follow.  Hopefully I can get some pictures ASAP of the bounty.