Description
This is the first time I have painted chillies. It surprises me as I love the spicy hit a red chilli provides. A few years ago, when my gut issues escalated so I had to remove them completely from my diet. My first memory of chillies is not about eating them. Instead, it was my first encounter with these spicy red peppers. As a very young child I was attracted to the bright shiny red chillies in my grandma’s garden. Sternly warned by my grandma not to touch them but as we know, the forbidden fruit is always the most desirable.
One afternoon while my grandma was busy cooking dinner, I took my chance and made my way into the garden on a mission to get those shiny red jewels into my little hands. I plucked them off the bush and was happily playing with them for a while feeling extremely proud of myself. Of course, the inevitable happened when I brushed my hand across my face. It instantly felt like fire was raining down on my face, in my eyes and I screamed the place down.
My grandparents came running out and quickly splashed cold water on my face and while it did provide me with temporary relief from the burning sensation, I just had to wait for it to subside. Of course, while soothing me, I also got a scolding from my grandma for not listening to her. She did later buy me my favourite cream horn pastry to cheer me up. I learned my lesson and have been extremely careful with them since.
How I get my spice hit without hurting myself
So back to more recent times and while I struggled to have fresh chillies in my food, I found that I could eat a small serving of vinegared chillies without too much trouble. They are lovely as a side condiment with just about everything. It is also a great way to store the summer harvest of chillies for months in the fridge. Use them to provide acidity and spice to rich foods, add spice to the freshness of salads or add a few teaspoons of the spicy vinegar solution to sauces, salad dressings or cocktails. You will find the recipe link to my pickled chillies at the end of this post.
More about my red chilli painting…
I love the way many cultures harvest chillies and then dry them for use through the year. The twine wrapped around the green delicate looking stalks that are surprisingly quite sturdy manage to keep them from falling off.
They look like red jewels with their shiny red skins from the sun beaming down on them. Slowly, the red chilli loses it shine and dries out, providing you with a different flavour profile. It made me think, the whole drying process of chilies reminds me of ageing. The media is often focussed on the beauty of youth and what it has to offer. What is often missed is that as people get older, they also have a lot to offer the world in a different way and I think an untapped resource.
There is a beauty that develops when you combine the wisdom and experience of age with the vitality and ideas of youth. The “Spicy Chilli Charm” painting with its contrasting aged, peeled back wall that the bright, shiny, red chillies rest on will remind you of the the delicate dance of old and new, shining the light on their combined beauty.
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Try my refreshing pickled chilli recipe here