Peppers and the Snuggle Chair

It's a rainy day, so I've been working on some indoor tasks. I decided to process all the peppers and onions from our CSA shares over the last few weeks...FINALLY! Sorry for not posting my weekly CSA haul in a while...it's been lackluster and I've been lazy :)

Anyway! I'm cutting and gutting a bunch of sweet bell peppers to freeze when Alice runs in and asks for a taste. This girl will eat large amounts of almost anything as long as it comes off the cutting board. Weird, I know, but I just can't say "no" to a babe asking for fresh fruits and veggies! I hand her one of the red peppers and watch. She grips it with her little hand, stuffs one end in her mouth, then suddenly jerks her head backwards and shudders. She drops the pepper to the ground and starts clawing at her tongue. She's done similar things in response to leaf lettuce and fuzzy toys, so I don't catch on right away that I had actually given her one of the "mystery hybrid" peppers Bob warned us about. He isn't sure WHAT they are because they're a freakish cross from a couple peppers the previous year. I put the pepper in my mouth and INSTANTLY realize my mistake.

Yikes! By this time, Alice is crying and signing "hot" and saying "mouf" "mouf" "mouf" through her sobs. I get the girl some cold milk and a slice of bread. The milk appears to help a bit but she keeps pointing at her mouth with a hurt expression. I figure some of the pepper oil is on her lips and I should wipe it off. So, not thinking, I use my pepper-oil-soaked fingers to grab the corner of a rag, wet it, and wipe her mouth. More screams! More cries! D'oh! Realizing my mistake, I rush her off to the snuggle chair, being careful not to touch ANYTHING with my fingertips. We rock for a few minutes and alternate a bite of bread with a swig of cold milk. She eventually calms down and runs off to play.

Thank goodness for infantile amnesia.

Now I'm stuck with spicy fingertips that won't go away after repeated washings with every soap/detergent in the house. Maybe I can get Bobby to take out my contact lenses tonight...