GREEN CHILIS ARE GOOD FOR YOU

A friend and colleague has been told to lay off the tasty food, as he most likely has gastritis. He's been having stomach problems for a while now, and like him I assumed it was simply too much partying with his Mexican in-laws. You know, beer, roast pig, tortillas de maiz con mucho queso, manteca, pollo frito, and lots and lots of salsa ranchera.

Nope. Probably something irritated in his guts.
No more good eating for a while.


Test results (samples, samples, samples) aren't back yet.
But, nevertheless, and evenso.


He has to avoid garlic, chilies, lard, cheese, spices, pastries and sweet desserts, sodas, re-fried beans, bacon, carnitas, overmuch meat, pizza-wrapped bacon cheddar jalapeño roll-ups, deep-fried Snickers bars, buñuelos de chocolate, dough-nuts, beer, whisky, coffee .....

Everything that makes life worth living.

And he lives in Marin.

Marin!

Where there is no real Chinese food, and hardly any Indian or Mexican food. Nothing Guatamalan, Peruvian, Cuban, Borinqueño, Malay, Indonesian, Penang style, Surinamese .....

I couldn't do it. Suburban muck is inedible.


Last night, upon returning home after jaunting to a smoking environment,
I had bacon-wrapped sausage with grilled onions and pickled peppers, doused with Sriracha. A tasty and nutritious midnight snack, such as any clear-thinking bachelor of good sense and a vibrant appetite might have.

Mere moments ago I finished a plate of noodles with gai lan, fatty pork, fermented hot bean paste, and loads of chili sauce.
Plus a squeeze of lime for zingy flavour.

At present I am having a cup of strong coffee.

And contemplating ice-cream.



The hot stuff is key. When I still worked in Palo Alto, I always packed half a dozen fresh jalapeños, because they turned the "food" into food. Whether it was crap from the roach coach, Olive Garden, Chilis, KFC, a hamburger joint, soup & saladateria, or suburban Chinese, the fresh green jalapeños made it both edible and digestible.
Marin is just as bad.
But nowadays I simply use Sriracha.
Which improves even a pedestrian tuna salad sandwich.


I do not think that I could live very long without decent hotsauce or chili peppers. Chilis soothe the stomach, and are an excellent source of fibre, vitamin C, B vitamins, and potassium.

At some point, both the Madame Jeannette as well as the adjuma will become easy to find in San Francisco. But not Marin. Never Marin.
Where my friend with the dicey digestive system lives.





==========================================================================
NOTE: Readers may contact me directly:
LETTER BOX.
All correspondence will be kept in confidence.
==========================================================================