The March Chilli Newsletter

G'day

This month's newsletter has a distinctly Australian bias in the content. No ulterior motive here, it's just that the majority of chilli related events I managed to scour from around the world originated in Australia this month.

I'll also take the opportunity to welcome the many new subscribers that have joined as a result of stopping by my stand at the Araluen Chilli Festival. I hope you enjoy the content and find the information as useful as much as everybody else.

OK, let's get into it;

Araluen Chilli Festival

Wow - what a weekend. The Araluen Chilli Festival over the weekend of the 8th & 9th March was the largest ever. Well over 8,500 people visited the event over the course of the weekend according to the Events Officer of the botanic park.

As you'll see in one of the photos below, that was enough people to make it a packed event. My family and I had a fantastic time and talked to well over a thousand people about all things chilli.

Chilli Festival Raffle

Congratulations to Linda of Rivervale. I droppped off the hamper to her during the week, so I'm sure she's enjoying it by now.

Here she is with the prize.

Chillies & Beuaty

Now you may ask why I was reading CosmeticsDesign.com and that would be a fair question - unfortunately I don't have a cool answer. So, glossing over that issue, I came across the following story;

Chillies are the latest in the fight against skin aging according to SiCap, which claim the ingredient helps the skin absorb active ingredients.

The US company has used capsaicin - the ingredient responsible for the burning sensation experienced when eating chillies - in a number of products including a deep cleansing body wash and an unblocking nasal spray.

Now, the ingredient has been combined with acai berries, collagen and acetyl hexapeptide-3 in SiCap's to create a new anti-wrinkle formulation, Youthful Trends.

Apparently, the key lies in the delivery.

According to company founder Wayne Perry the capsaicin helps the skin absorb the other active ingredients in the formulation.

Perry explained: "The chilli extract increases blood flow and absorption at the skin's surface so the ingredients penetrate immediately.

"Traditional anti-wrinkle creams have the right idea by using collagen and peptides, but the ingredients don't penetrate the skin the way Youthful Trends does."

"Any burning side effects?", I hear you asking.

Regarding any possible side effects to the formulation, Perry reassures us that no burning sensation would be felt on applying the products as a result of its chilli-derived ingredient.

"Everybody thinks a chilli based cream has to burn, but you only need a tiny amount of extract to do the job so there is no burn," said Perry.

Almost makes me wish I didn't have a beard so that I could try it. Almost.

Preserving Your Chillies

The website has an extensive number of options for preserving your chillies and which you use really comes down to personal preference and how you think you'll use the fruit later on.

Drying is a very common method familiar to virtually everybody however, there are a number of different ways of doing this. You may like to dry them in the open air or do as I do and use a dehydrator. If you like using green chillies and want to dry those, you need to use a special technique or they turn out looking fairly disgusting.

My favourite method is freezing them as it's fairly quick and results in minimal flavour loss. Also, we have three fridges and a deep freezer at home, which is at least in part due to the fairly ridiculous number of chilli sauces I have.

Many people like pickled chillies and you can find out how to do that here.

I have on occasion pulled out my mum's old Vacola preserving/bottling kit and use that, though you need a lot of chillies to justify the effort. However, I know many of you do grow large amounts of chillies so I have written up the process for you here.

Finally, you can use the method that Mexican and Central American Indians have been using for a few thousand year and smoke your own chillies. This is a fairly long page as there are a number of ways to do it and several things you need to know.

Whatever method you decide to go with, it will enable you to enjoy your chillies all the way through to next summer.

Chomp A Chilli For Science

The study, on the use of chilli to reduce the risk of diabetes, will see participants eating chilli burgers in the name of science.

Research by the university in 2006 found chilli could play a role in improving control over blood glucose and insulin levels - two major factors linked with the risk of developing diabetes.

The follow-up study will test the effects of varying quantities of chilli.

Research Fellow Dr Kiran Ahuja said the study would also test chilli suppliment capsules for people who couldn't handle hot food.

The study is seeking 30-35 people aged 21 to 75 years living in or around Launceston who are not taking medications for blood pressure heart disease or diabetes.

"Preferably we are looking for people who don't eat chilli regularly and those who do like chilli will be asked to abstain from chilli before the experiment," Dr Ahuja said.

The experiment will involve testing on five days over five weeks and the study will run for several months commencing April 17.

To find out more or volunteer contact Dr Ahuja on 63245478 or email kiran.ahuja@utas.edu.au

If any subscribers take part in this study, I'd be very interested to hear of your experience. I'm interested in this both from a scientific point of view and a personal one -my dad is diabetic and as a result I have a a significant chance of it happening to me too.

Chillis & Soccer (Football)

Charges have been laid over a wild brawl in a Perth restaurant involving Perth Glory midfielder Mitchell Prentice and his friend Andrew Gondinoudis.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday February 25, in Fast Eddy's restaurant in the Perth suburb of Morley.

Gondinoudis allegedly punched the restaurant's 20-year-old manager in the face several times, breaking his nose.

Police said the pair were finally subdued by the chef who threw chilli powder in their faces.

Detectives charged Gondinoudis with one count of assault occasioning bodily harm and two of common assault. Prentice was charged with two counts of common assault.

As I keep saying - there's no end to the list of things that chillies are good for !!

Gold Membership

If you're interested in this service (limited to 77 subscribers) let me know by clicking here if you haven't already and I will to send you the advance notification two days before the official release.

Chillies & High Fashion

Anyway, I'm reliably informed that the Western Australian model received a standing ovation for her last turn on the catwalk as fake snow fell.

Apparently the fashion was not confined to the catwalk, there was So You Think You Can Dance host Natalie Bassingthwaighte in a one-shoulder aqua dress, Collette Dinnigan in a one-shouldered black dress, and designer Pip Edwards in one glove a la Michael Jackson.

And then there were the men.

George Miller (Producer of Mad Max III, Babe, and Happy Feet) explained that the inspiration behind his black shirt embroidered with three chillies. "It's a chef shirt from South Africa," he said.

"I wear it because apart from the way it looks … It's the only shirt I wear — I have eight of them."

Miller said the benefits of the chilli shirt included that it only "has one button", it was warm in winter and cool in summer — "and by far the best advantage is that I never have to think about what I'm going to wear".

It's good to see that someone in the A-list crowd, beside myself, is still in touch with reality.

March's Recipes

Meatballs In Chilli-Sherry Sauce

Traditionally these are made with paprika, but given my tendency towards the spicy, I also add chilli powder.

Meatballs:

• ½ cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped capsicum
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 slices stale bread, crusts removed
• ½kg minced beef
• 2 tablsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teasp paprika powder - if you can get the smoked variety, it's much better
• ½ teasp chilli powder
• ½ teasp freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ teasp cinnamon, freshly ground in a coffee grinder
• 1 egg, beaten
• plain flour for dusting
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil for frying

Chilli & Sherry Sauce:

• ½ cup onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablsp olive oil
• ½ red capsicum, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teasp paprika
- again, smoked
• 1/4 teasp cayenne powder
• 2 tablsp plain flour
• 2/3 cup dry sherry
• 1 cup chicken stock

Garnish: chopped fresh parsley

To Make the Meatballs:

In a bowl cover the bread with milk and soak until the bread is soft, then drain the bread and squeeze to remove the liquid.

In a large bowl, combine the beef and all the meatball ingredients and mix them together well.

Form about 1 tablsp of the mixture into small balls and roll them in the flour.

Reheat the frying pan and add additional oil, if needed, and proceed to brown the meatballs in batches over medium heat, moving them around frequently so they retain their round shape.

Remove and drain.

To Make the Sauce:

Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the onion, capsicum, and garlic until soft and then add the cayenne, paprika, and the flour. Cook for an additional minute or so.

Stir in the sherry and chicken stock, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the meatballs to the sauce and let simmer, turning the meatballs occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes until they are cooked and sauce has thickened slightly.

Serve the meatballs with the sauce, garnished with the parsley and speared with a toothpick.

Peruvian Spiced Chicken & Beef Kebabs

These are a well known Peruvian snack, sold by street vendors, and grilled to order and you eat the beef off the stick.

Traditionally they are made with beef heart, but that's harder to get and let's face it - if I put it there are you really going to go and buy it ?

As the marinade is highly acidic, you can use tougher cuts if you marinate them longer as the vinegar will tenderise the meat

The chillies of choice here would be the native ají chillies, but virtually any small, hot fresh chiles can be used.

Ají Chilli Marinade:

• 2 tablsp olive oil
• 1 teasp soy sauce
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 teasp dried Mexican oregano (substitue normal oregano if you can't get this, but it's not the same)
• 1 teasp ground annato seeds or substitute achiote paste
• 3 red ají chillies, seeds and stems removed, chopped, or substitute red serrano or jalapeño chiles
• 2 teasp minced garlic
• 1 teasp cumin seeds
• 1 teasp salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

The Beef and Chicken:

• 500g rump or sirloin steak, cut into 2 cm cubes
• 500g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 2cm cubes

Simmer the cumin seeds in the oil for around 5 minutes and then strain the oil and discard the seeds.

Then combine with all the remaining marinade ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.

Toss the meat and chicken in the marinade, place in a bowl, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, and longer for tougher cuts of meat.

Thread the meat on skewers and bring to room temperature. Simmer the marinade for 20 minutes over low heat. Grill the beef over medium-hot fire, basting frequently with the marinade for about 4 minutes a side, until the beef is done. Cut a sample to check for doneness.

Serve over greens with your favorite dipping sauces. Alternatively, the meat can be removed from the kebab sticks and served, with greens, wrapped in a corn or flour tortilla.

OK, that's it for this month.

I truly look forward to travelling through the food and flavours of 2008 with you.

Wishing you a life full of flavour

Nigel