[Photographs: Bill Milne] Sausage and Cheese Stuffed Peppers View the complete recipe here » My weakness for stuffed chiles started as a child living in Arizona with chile rellenos, the fried counterpart to stuffed chiles. When my family and I moved to the South, every Mexican restaurant disappointed me. And, let's face it, my expectations for them were far too high. Most often, the chile relleno would be a canned green chile under a mound of ground beef, both covered in a glop of cheese. I stayed away from stuffed chiles and chiles rellenos just on principal alone. But then there was Kincaid's Burgers in Fort Worth, Texas, that reignited my passion for stuffed chiles in the form of... More

"My sinuses cleared up pronto, which made the slight pain worth it." [Flickr: alancleaver_2000] Between the trigger of allergies and start of flu season, people go to great lengths to relieve their sinuses during fall. Take my childhood friend, Elizabeth. When we were younger, black pepper was too spicy for her. Though her palate has since become stronger, she's still on the low end when it comes to heat tolerance. [Flickr: ArielAmanda] So I was surprised when she told me how successful cayenne tea was in helping her allergies. "I read in Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford that cayenne pepper will alleviate congestion, so I figured it would be easiest to use in a tea," she said.... More

Photograph: sling on Flickr As summer comes to a close and we kiss the warm, carefree days of summer goodbye, we can console ourselves with a whole new crop of early fall vegetables perfectly ripe and in season. One of those fall treasures is the bell pepper, which hit their peak during the months of August and September. Originating in South America in 5000 B.C., universally popular bell peppers are a member of the nightshade family, which also include potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants. The color bell pepper you choose will bring a unique taste to the table: the green and purple bell peppers have a somewhat bitter flavor, while the red, orange, and yellows are sweeter and almost fruity.... More

Note: On Wednesdays, Andrea Lynn, senior editor of Chile Pepper magazine, drops by with Serious Heat. Photo from jcwadeaz on Flickr Last month, I took two of our interns to New York City's Fancy Food Show to hunt the aisles for spiciness. We separated, and when I met up with them both, they had--separately, mind you--taken a small but scorching sample of a dried bhut jolokia, the hottest chile on Earth. They were both stunned by the heat, gulping up any drinks they could find and ruining their palates for the day. "Did I not teach you anything during your internship?" I asked. Lesson number one of a Chile Pepper internship: Don't eat a sliver of the bhut jolokia unless... More

If you're looking for some pep, this "Hot Pepper" video has got it. Besides the title, it has little to do with food, but has enough bop and boop to make your day very upbeat. According to my Japanese cultural consultant and YouTube commenters, Snoopy and the gang have teamed up with Kaela Kimura, a Japanese pop singer, to promote Hot Pepper, a free coupon magazine. The random beeping and booping only cement this match made in heaven. The video, after the jump.... More

Buy seeds from Uncle Steve's Hot Stuff I have always assumed the mighty habanero pepper is the hottest on the planet, but according to a recent New York Times story the habanero's hotness is child's play compared to the Indian bhut jolokia, which has a scoville rating of a hot, hot, hot, million Scoville units (the habanero red savina has a measly 400,000, in case you're wondering). Has anyone screwed up the courage to try one of these bad, bad, bad boys?... More

Habeñeros and Jalepeños Southern California is suffering from a case of the "in-betweens." It's practically October—normally time to trade in the grilling gear for a cast iron Dutch oven—but yesterday it felt like the middle of August. Now I realize complaining about hot weather won't inspire much sympathy when most of the country is unpacking their sweaters, but it can be a little disheartening when you're eager for those cooler weather fruits and veggies. Instead, most of the Hollywood Farmers' Market (map) still looked like late summer. The heirloom tomatoes were beautiful (and bountiful) and there were a surprising number of tables full of peaches, plums, berries, corn, and melons. There were also still lots of hot and sweet... More

Photograph from Harris Graber on Flickr Around this time of year, you can find a rainbow of bell peppers at the farmers' markets. All baby peppers are green, and change color as they mature. Flavor also changes a pepper matures, becoming sweeter and milder. Take advantage of the the bell pepper bounty with some of these recipes: Pepper Recipes Broccoli and Red Pepper Salad Salad of Shrimp and Roasted Red Bell Pepper Ratatouille Tomatoes and Peppers, Via George Lang [Bitten Blog] Angel Hair Pasta with Red Pepper Pesto and Basil Couscous and Feta-Stuffed Peppers [Smitten Kitchen]... More

With salmonella outbreaks slowing down, the FDA reported yesterday that tomatoes are in the clear, but fresh jalapeño and serrano peppers still need attention. The tomato industry estimates more than $100 million in losses, but according to the FDA, every type of tomato in stores and fields today is safe (and happy). The outbreak peaked between May 20 and June 10 when about 33 people became ill a day, but dropped to an average of 19 people a day between June 11 and June 20. How can two different types of produce get contaminated with the same rare strain of Salmonella Saintpaul? According to FDA food safety chief Dr. David Acheson, a large farm was perhaps growing tomatoes in one... More

Photograph from c.buras on Flickr. Next time you're at the market, be wary of one-eyed, one-horned flying purple pepper eaters. Overall, they're pretty harmless creatures. It's the one-eyed, one-horned flying purple human eaters you have to watch out for. Brutal, and far less tasty.... More