Like Father, Like Son (03/24)

Joakim Noah, of the Chicago Bulls, is not the only athlete in the family.

His father, Yannick Noah, was a professional tennis player and won the French Open in 1983.

I am not sure if Joakim has the same musical aspirations, but Yannick is also a pop-soul singer. Who says you have  to the same thing your entire life?

Wear Gloves (03/23)

Jalapeno Pepper

I learned a few things about jalapeno peppers. First of all, the smaller the pepper the hotter it is. Second of all, if you are chopping a jalapeno – wear gloves.

If you do not , your hand will feel like it is burning (up to 24 hours). It feels like a slow burn, as if you are holding a cup of hot soup for just a little too long, coupled with the pins and needles feeling of a hand that has fallen asleep.

If you are experiencing this pain in your hands and are wearing contacts – DO NOT take your contacts out before going to bed. That is unless you want your eyes to burn as well.

The cure? I read several on message boards. The one that worked for me? Milk. Soak your hand in milk. It may sound a little gross, but it is better than be driven crazy by the pain in your hand.

I would like to share one more helpful tip that I learned last Thanksgiving:

You should also wear gloves when peeling butternut squash. If you do not, the skin on your hand will become dry, tight and have a film over it. This may be an allergic reaction (contact dermatitis) and not affect everyone, but it is worth knowing. It is also recommended to peel the skin off with a knife rather than a peeler. It gets the job done faster and your not in direct contact with the starch.

My hand was so dried out that I could not even open my palm. It was scary at first, but once again message boards saved the day. Although it took a few days, lotion and hand washing (with a little gentle scrubbing) took care of the problem.

Now you don’t have to make the same mistakes that I did…

Caribbean Pineapples (03/22)

For many years Eleuthra (Bahama) was a major center for pineapple production. It has a number of large pineapple plantations and because the pineapple are allowed to ripen slowly without chemical assistance they’re extremely sweet.

Pineapples have been cultivated in the Caribbean for thousands of years. Scientists have reached that conclusion because the Caribbean pineapple no longer produces seeds, and that the fruit has been farmed by man for so long that it no longer feels responsible for its own reproduction.

–Burt Wolf