HOLY JALAPEÑO

Ok, normally I just put pictures up about Katie and the family but I just had to share this story. When I cook dinner these days I try to make a couple of meals at a time and then freeze some for later. So tonight I was making 3 meals. I made a casserole, spaghetti sauce and then I started prepping for the 3rd. This one I got from a recent episode of Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals. It called for a jalapeño pepper. (Maybe you see where this is going.) I chopped it and washed my hands but soon my nose started tingling. I must have touched it with my jalapeño hands. I remembered too late that you have to be careful when working with these guys. Then it started to get hot... then REALLY HOT. My nose and eyes were now on fire. I grabbed some ice and tried icing my eyes and nose. I got a wash cloth and rinsed it with cold water and put it on my face. That seemed to help but only a tiny bit. I checked the mirror and found my eyes to be red and little veins starting to puff up around my eyes. Meanwhile I've got Katie watching me go through all this. I think she thought it was a game at first. She smiled at me and mimicked my painful sounds. Finally I did the only thing I could think of...I called my mom. Here's what I said, "Mom, I'm on fire. I mean not really on fire but I feel like I'm on fire." (what must she have been thinking?) I was able to convey what happened. She advised me to get in the shower. I did and after a while, THANK GOD, the fire seemed to go out. I don't know if I'll ever chop another jalapeño. It was not an experience I wish to repeat. I just googled my experience and apparently it is pretty common. A word to the wise: if you work with one of these vicious peppers wear gloves.